News & Updates

Wild blue yonder: Engineers tackle challenges of hypersonic flight

May. 9, 2012
A multi-year collaboration among Stanford engineering departments uses some of the world’s fastest supercomputers to model the complexities of hypersonic flight. Someday, their work may lead to planes that fly at many times the speed of sound.

Michel Boudart, chemical engineer and expert in catalysis, dies at 87

May. 7, 2012
Professor Boudart taught at Princeton and Berkeley but was best known for his five decades at the heart of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Stanford. His influence shaped catalysis during the post-war period when energy, defense and space industries demanded a deeper understanding of chemical reactions.

Bejeweled: Nanotech gets boost from nanowire decorations

Apr. 26, 2012
Engineers at Stanford have found a novel method for “decorating” nanowires with chains of tiny particles to increase their electrical and catalytic performance. The new technique is simpler, faster and provides greater control than earlier methods and could lead to better batteries, solar cells and catalysts.

Helmut Krawinkler, expert on structural design and earthquake engineering, dies at 72

Apr. 20, 2012
Krawinkler was widely respected around the world and recognized for extraordinary and lasting contributions to earthquake safety. He fundamentally changed the process of evaluating seismic safety and damage potential.

New smartphone scans from Stanford could prevent needless oral cancer deaths

Apr. 17, 2012
Thousands of people die needlessly each year in developing countries from oral cancers that could have been detected early with regular dental checkups. But with fewer than one dentist per 100,000 people in many of the world’s rural areas, these checkups are not an option. Now an ultra-low-cost smartphone device being developed at Stanford may enable early diagnosis of these preventable deaths, with no dentist visits required.

Robots dazzle spectators at Stanford block party, job fair

Apr. 16, 2012
Inventors, researchers and toymakers showed off a variety of robots that do everything from dance to the King of Pop to help doctors perform more precise surgical procedures.

Thomas Cover, acclaimed information theorist and electrical engineer, dies at 73

Apr. 9, 2012
Cover was a man of remarkable breadth in his research interests, making landmark contributions in fields ranging from information theory and mathematical statistics to data compression, pattern recognition and stock market investment strategies.

Twelve companies join Stanford and Berkeley to launch new Open Networking Research Center

Apr. 6, 2012
The new networking research center includes two research groups at Berkeley and Stanford as well as a new nonprofit networking lab. The Center focuses on creating a solid scientific foundation for software-defined networking (SDN) and a practical open source SDN infrastructure that will reinvent networking.

At your service: Stanford's entrepreneurship concierge

Apr. 5, 2012
The Stanford Entrepreneurship Network now offers a concierge to help connect students with business resources across campus and in the larger Silicon Valley community.

Innovation: Stanford student's robotic invention moves toward a business

Apr. 4, 2012
Engineering student Jeff Kessler learned his robotic chops in Stanford classes, and found financial support for his robotic puppet from strangers online.

Lytro’s new perspective: Stanford dissertation leads to a photographic revolution

Apr. 3, 2012
In 2006, while at the Stanford University School of Engineering, Ren Ng published his doctoral dissertation on “digital light-field photography.” His first camera, the Lytro, recently shipped to the world. Photography will never be the same.

Stanford study to try cold cash and social game to relieve rush hour traffic

Apr. 2, 2012
Sleeping in might never feel better. To lower traffic congestion and pollution, a new program seeks to get Stanford drivers to avoid arriving and departing the campus during peak hours. Professor Balaji Prabhakar aims to deliver social benefits at low cost using people's penchant for a chance at a bigger payout over a predetermined small reward.

Plasmons resonate in atomic-scale metal particles

Mar. 21, 2012
Addressing five decades of debate, Stanford engineers determine how collective electron oscillations, called plasmons, behave in individual metal particles as small as just a few nanometers in diameter. This knowledge may open up new avenues in nanotechnology ranging from solar catalysis to biomedical therapeutics.

Engineers enlist weather model to optimize offshore wind plan

Mar. 20, 2012
Using a sophisticated weather model, environmental engineers at Stanford have defined optimal placement of a grid of four wind farms off the U.S. East Coast. The model successfully balances production at times of peak demand and significantly reduces costly spikes and zero-power events.

Straintronics: Engineers create piezoelectric graphene

Mar. 15, 2012
By depositing atoms on one side of a grid of the “miracle material” graphene, researchers at Stanford have engineered piezoelectricity into a nanoscale material for the first time. The implications could yield dramatic degree of control in nanotechnology.

Frederick E. Terman Engineering Center is gone, but not lost

Mar. 14, 2012
The Department of Project Management diverted 99.6 percent of the demolished Terman Engineering Center from landfill through recycling or reuse. The resulting vacant lot will become temporarily available as an open space until it once again houses an academic building.

Robotic presidential candidates vie for votes

Mar. 12, 2012
Stanford Engineering students apply electronics smarts to mock election.

DuPont joins Stanford's Global Climate and Energy Project

Mar. 12, 2012
DuPont is GCEP's newest corporate sponsor, joining ExxonMobil, GE, Schlumberger and Toyota in support of innovative research on sustainable energy technologies.

Stanford to offer more free online classes

Mar. 6, 2012
In an ongoing experiment to leverage new educational technologies, the university is launching five free online classes this month.

Stanford’s Straub, Hecker explain North Korea’s plan to halt nuclear program

Mar. 1, 2012
Professor of Management Science and Engineering, Siegfried Hecker, and Associate Director of the Korean Studies Program, David Straub, both fellows at the Freeman-Spogli Institute, discuss a deal that will allow nuclear inspectors into North Korea and deliver much-needed nutritional assistance to the impoverished country.

The not-so-retiring retirement of Channing Robertson

Feb. 28, 2012
How an unassuming professor of chemical engineering helped save lives, change forensic science and bring down Big Tobacco.

Tiny, implantable medical device can propel itself through bloodstream

Feb. 22, 2012
For fifty years, scientists had searched for the secret to making tiny implantable devices that could travel through the bloodstream. Engineers at Stanford have demonstrated a wirelessly powered device that just may make the dream a reality.

Benefits of hepatitis C treatment outweigh costs for patients with advanced disease, Stanford study shows

Feb. 21, 2012
Engineering is indeed everywhere. Management Science & Engineering graduate student, Shan Liu, helped show how, despite the large price tag and some bad side effects, a "triple therapy" that combines several drugs to combat chronic hepatitis C may be worth it in patients with advanced disease.

In sub-Saharan Africa, a shorter walk to water saves lives

Feb. 12, 2012
More than eight of every ten homes in sub-Saharan Africa lack running water. A new study by researchers at Stanford University shows that reducing the amount of time spent fetching water can improve the health of young children in this region.

Stanford Engineering names eight engineering trailblazers as 2011 Engineering Heroes

Feb. 11, 2012
Heroes program recognizes engineers' achievements and celebrates profound effect engineering has on our everyday lives.

Stanford Engineering professors named to National Academy of Engineering

Feb. 11, 2012
Professors Peter W. Glynn and Helmut Krawinkler have been honored for their contributions to simulation methodology and stochastic modeling and for developing performance-based earthquake engineering procedures for evaluating and rehabilitating buildings

School of Engineering seeks part-time social media intern

Feb. 10, 2012
The Stanford School of Engineering currently seeks a part-time social media intern. This position reports to the Internet & Social Media Strategist in the School's External Relations department.

Nanoshell whispering galleries improve thin solar panels

Feb. 8, 2012
Engineers at Stanford have created photovoltaic nanoshells that harness a peculiar physical phenomenon to better trap light in the solar materials. The results could dramatically improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells while reducing their weight and cost.

UTRC provides Stanford scholarship support

Feb. 7, 2012
United Technologies Research Center, the central research organization of United Technologies Corp., announces a $500,000 gift to Stanford University's School of Engineering to establish an endowed fellowship in aerospace systems.

Stanford engineers weld nanowires with light

Feb. 3, 2012
At the nano level, researchers at Stanford have discovered a new way to weld together meshes of tiny wires. Their work could lead to innovative electronics and solar applications. To succeed, they called upon plasmonics.

Eisenhardt wins 2012 Global Award for entrepreneurship research

Feb. 3, 2012
Prestigious prize recognizes Eisenhardt’s research on entrepreneurship, in particular her emphasis on “corporate entrepreneurship.”

Big changes coming to the Stanford Engineering website

Feb. 2, 2012
We’re in the process of revamping and redesigning our website.

Wireless power could revolutionize highway transportation, Stanford researchers say

Feb. 2, 2012
Stanford researchers have designed a new technology that could lead to wireless charging of electric vehicles while they cruise down the highway.

VIDEO: Bioengineering, transforming human health

Jan. 30, 2012
Can-do meets cutting edge. Stanford Bioengineers discuss their research and the future of bioengineering at Stanford University.

Columbia Journalism School and Stanford Engineering announce $30 million gift from David and Helen Gurley Brown

Jan. 30, 2012
The gift establishes a first-of-its-kind bi-coastal institute for media innovation that combines Columbia’s content leadership with Stanford’s entrepreneurial spirit and proven experience with technology transfer.

Stanford aero-engineers debut open-source fluid dynamics design application

Jan. 29, 2012
Stanford University Unstructured (SU2) is an open-source software package that gives advanced engineering students a crucial leg up on the time-consuming process of writing their own code to optimize aerospace designs — offering for free what commercial applications command thousands of dollars to do.

Year in review: heroes, heavyweights, upstarts and startups

Jan. 28, 2012
A look back over a year in the life of Stanford Engineering in the 2010-2011 Annual Report.

Computer History Museum honors Feigenbaum with fellow award

Jan. 27, 2012
The Computer History Museum names Edward A. Feigenbaum, professor emeritus in computer science in the School of Engineering, to 2012 class of Fellow Award honorees.

Elliott Levinthal, Stanford professor emeritus of mechanical engineering, dead at 89

Jan. 23, 2012
In a career that ranged from radar to medicine to outer space, Elliott Levinthal played an instrumental role in the schools of Engineering and Medicine, and in the rise of Silicon Valley.

Letter from Dean Jim Plummer

Jan. 19, 2012
The past, present and future of the Stanford School of Engineering are all predicated on the exceptional faculty and graduates who have made this an educational institution unlike any other.

Department spotlight: Bioengineering

Jan. 19, 2012
Bioengineers are a new class of scientists who use the tools and the know-how of engineering to solve medical problems and design solutions to disease, abnormalities and injury. Hear bioengineers describe their work and what makes Stanford such a special place.

Charles Litton, engineering hero

Jan. 19, 2012
Charles Litton was a magician of glass vacuum tube manufacture, father of the first practical glass-blowing lathe to mass produce tubes and other glass-based radio components.

Straining the lattice: Stanford engineers improve electrical efficiency in organic semiconductors

Dec. 21, 2011
By packing molecules closer together, chemical engineers at Stanford have dramatically improved the electrical conductivity of organic semiconductors. The advance could herald flexible electronics, more efficient solar panels, and perhaps even better television screens.

Stanford President Hennessy wins IEEE’s highest honor

Nov. 30, 2011
Stanford University President John L. Hennessy will receive the 2012 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Medal of Honor, the technical society’s highest award, given to individuals for an exceptional contribution or an extraordinary career in the IEEE fields of interest.

Nanoparticle electrode for batteries could make large-scale power storage on the energy grid feasible

Nov. 22, 2011
Stanford researchers have used nanoparticles of a copper compound to develop a high-power battery electrode that is so inexpensive to make, so efficient and so durable that it could be used to build batteries big enough for economical large-scale energy storage on the electrical grid – something researchers have sought for years.

Technologies give high-resolution "snapshot" of cancer tissues

Nov. 21, 2011
Researchers combined the tools of engineering and medicine to gauge more accurately how dangerous a cancer is likely to be – work that could lead to more targeted cancer therapies.

Peruvian villagers shown how to protect adobe buildings from earthquake collapse

Nov. 21, 2011
Stanford students and faculty help teach Peruvian villagers to use "geomesh" to retrofit adobe buildings vulnerable to deadly collapse during an earthquake.

Sorting out the nanotubes, for better electronics

Nov. 17, 2011
A new technique developed by Stanford researchers advances commercial potential of semiconducting carbon nanotubes for printable circuits, bendable display screens, stretchable electronics and solar technology.

New lightning-fast, efficient nanoscale data transmission developed at Stanford

Nov. 15, 2011
A new nanoscale light-based device developed at Stanford's School of Engineering transmits data at ultrafast rates while using thousands of times less energy than current technologies. The nanophotonic device is a major step forward for on-chip data transmission, the researchers say.

IBM Watson visits Stanford and UC Berkeley to engage the next generation of leaders

Nov. 11, 2011
Following a day of lectures and panel discussions, teams of students from the two universities will compete against one another and Watson in an exhibition game of Jeopardy!

E. coli could convert sugar to biodiesel at "an extraordinary rate"

Nov. 10, 2011
Researchers studying how biodiesel can be generated using E. coli as a catalyst have determined the bacteria have what it takes to produce high volumes of the fuel. Now they need to figure out how to tweak its cellular controls in order to kick it into high gear.

Stanford team trains computers to evaluate breast cancers

Nov. 9, 2011
Using machine learning, researchers at the Stanford schools of engineering and medicine have trained computers to objectively and accurately assess images of breast cancer tissues to predict patient survival. The computational system could help pathologists make more accurate, reproducible predictions of patient prognosis. In the long run, it could bring world-class pathology to underserved areas of the world and usher in the era of personalized medicine.

Wormhole” connects Stanford and MIT

Nov. 7, 2011
Students and faculty from Stanford and MIT can chat, collaborate or even do lunch, thanks to an innovative communications portal that connects two university cafes.

Stanford software that models human motion travels to museum

Oct. 27, 2011
In a new exhibit at The Leonardo, a science and technology museum in Salt Lake City, a team of Stanford engineers is demonstrating an open source software package called OpenSim that accurately models human movement. OpenSim is free and in use across the world helping scientists understand the complex forces of movement to improve diagnosis of physical disabilities and prevent harmful wear and tear.

Stanford’s John McCarthy, seminal figure of artificial intelligence is dead at 84

Oct. 25, 2011
McCarthy created the term 'artificial intelligence' and was a towering figure in computer science at Stanford most of his professional life. In his career, he developed the programming language LISP, played computer chess via telegraph with opponents in Russia and invented computer time-sharing.

Stanford researchers build transparent, super-stretchy skin-like sensor

Oct. 24, 2011
Using carbon nanotubes bent to act as springs, Stanford researchers have developed a stretchable, transparent skin-like sensor. The sensor can be stretched to more than twice its original length and bounce back perfectly to its original shape. It can sense pressure from a firm pinch to thousands of pounds. The sensor could have applications in prosthetic limbs, robotics and touch-sensitive computer displays.

Stanford Engineering’s new online classes: hugely popular and bursting with activity

Oct. 17, 2011
Hundreds of thousands people from around the world are now participating in Stanford Engineering’s pioneering trio of free online courses.

Open networking summit to explore software-defined networking

Oct. 9, 2011
An industry gathering October 17-19 at Stanford will focus on a new direction for the Internet called “software-defined networking.” The three-day summit will feature leaders from industry and academia with keynote addresses and hands-on classes exploring the future of networking.

Stanford summer course yields touchscreen Braille writer

Oct. 6, 2011
In a two-month summer course on high-performance computing, promising undergrads compete to create innovative applications. This summer's winner developed a touchscreen Braille writer that stands to revolutionize how the blind negotiate an unseen world by replacing devices costing up to 10 times more.

Sulfur in hollow nanofibers overcomes challenges of lithium-ion battery design

Oct. 3, 2011
Yi Cui and his students have used sulfur-coated hollow carbon nanofibers and an electrolyte additive to fabricate a superior rechargeable lithium battery cathode. According to Cui, putting silicon nanowire anodes and sulfur-coated carbon cathodes into one battery could be the next generation in battery design.

Robert Carlson, professor of MS&E, dead at 72

Sep. 25, 2011
Carlson 'helped the Stanford Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management grow from a traditional industrial engineering department into a more broadly focused department that helped to redefine the field.'

Plasmonics Intensifies a Novel Nanoscale Light Source

Sep. 21, 2011
By harnessing plasmonics to intensify light, engineers at Stanford have created an ultra-compact nonlinear light source that shrinks a large-scale, high-energy device to the nanoscale with research implications ranging from data communications to a better understanding of fundamental science.

Bioengineer creates first human heart cells that can be paced with light

Sep. 19, 2011
Oscar Abilez, MD, a doctoral candidate in bioengineering, has used optogenetics, a biological engineering technique developed at Stanford, to create human heart cells that pulse when illuminated by a specific blue light. The work could one day lead to less invasive pacemakers.

Bioengineer Boahen and Electrical Engineer Shenoy win NIH Transformational Research Award

Sep. 19, 2011
The two researchers have created a 'Fully Implantable And Programmable Spike-Based' device that can be implanted in the brain and used to control a robotic arm. The research has implications for new prosthetics controllable by the brain..

Stanford engineers study 9/11 for lessons on how to help buildings withstand threats

Sep. 6, 2011
Ten years after the attacks, engineers are experimenting with new technologies and designs to reduce the toll on life and property from human and natural threats.

Stanford engineers study 9/11 for lessons on how to help buildings withstand threats

Sep. 6, 2011
Ten years after the attacks, engineers are experimenting with new technologies and designs to reduce the toll on life and property from human and natural threats.

Work begins on 'Building 4' - will complete the Science and Engineering Quad

Sep. 5, 2011
The Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering Building, the last component of the Science and Engineering Quad, will echo the design and energy-saving features of the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building, the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center and the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. It too is designed to foster cooperation and teamwork among researchers.

Last but not least: 'Building 4' to complete the SEQ

Sep. 5, 2011
The Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering Building, the last component of the Science and Engineering Quad, will echo the design and energy-saving features of the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building, the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center and the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. It too is designed to foster cooperation and teamwork among researchers.

Stanford researchers invent sutureless method for joining blood vessels

Aug. 28, 2011
In animal studies, a team of researchers including Stanford engineer Gerald Fuller, used a poloxamer gel and bioadhesive rather than a needle and thread to join together blood vessels, a procedure called vascular anastomosis.

Vintage race cars give engineers new insights into man and machine

Aug. 24, 2011
Stanford researchers are using modern sensors to discover the secrets of how antique sports cars handle, to help build the cars of the future.

Oct. 17-19: Stanford's Clean Slate Program hosts Open Networking Summit with Founders of OpenFlow/SDN

Aug. 22, 2011
Stanford's Clean Slate Program is today unveiling the first annual Open Networking Summit, an unprecedented conference focusing on the origins, current state, and potential of OpenFlow and software-defined networking (SDN). The event will take place on October 17-19, 2011 at Stanford University's Li Ka Shing Center, featuring the early adopters, innovators, and founders of OpenFlow – from The Open Networking Foundation (ONF), Facebook, Verizon, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Internet2, Nicira, Big Switch, Cisco, HP, Juniper, NEC, UC Berkeley, Princeton, Stanford, Georgia Tech, and Indiana University.

Former Dean James Gibbons Wins IEEE Founders Medal

Aug. 16, 2011
James F. Gibbons, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering and former dean of the Stanford School of Engineering, will be honored with the 2011 IEEE Founders Medal for commitment to innovation and fostering relationships between academia and industry.

Paulraj Wins IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal

Aug. 16, 2011
Arogyaswami Paulraj, research professor of electrical engineering, emeritus, will be honored with the 2011 Alexander Graham Bell Medal. The medal, sponsored by Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, recognizes Paulraj, an engineer who developed multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology, for pioneering contributions in the application of multiantenna technology to wireless communication systems.

Stanford Engineering professors reinventing online education

Aug. 15, 2011
Stanford Engineering professors are setting out to add a new level of interactivity to online education in three free computer science classes debuting this fall.

Blink of an Eye: Engineers Re-define How the Brain Plans Movement

Aug. 10, 2011
New neurological measurement technologies and algorithms are allowing researchers a more complete look into how the brain functions. Engineers at Stanford are using these tools to better understand how the brain prepares to initiate a body motion and why sometimes we react more quickly than others.

El Gamal Wins IEEE’s Claude E. Shannon Award

Aug. 8, 2011
The IEEE Information Theory Society has named ABBAS EL GAMAL winner of the 2012 Claude E. Shannon Award, the most prestigious recognition in information theory. The Shannon Award is given to persons who provide consistent and profound contributions to the field of information theory.

Dual-action protein developed at Stanford better restricts blood vessel formation

Aug. 7, 2011
Stanford bioengineers have created a single protein able to target two different chemical receptors at the same time, yielding a promising new direction in the development of cancer treatments and other biomedical applications.

NSF Awards $10 Mil to Stanford Technology Ventures Program for National Innovation Center Launch

Jul. 25, 2011
On Monday, the National Science Foundation awarded a five-year, $10 million grant to STVP to launch a national center for teaching innovation and entrepreneurship in engineering, based at Stanford University. This new center addresses the nation’s critical need for greater numbers of innovative and entrepreneurial engineers.

Stanford transparent batteries: seeing straight through to the future?

Jul. 24, 2011
Stanford researchers have invented a transparent lithium-ion battery that is also highly flexible. It is comparable in cost to regular batteries on the market today, with great potential for applications in consumer electronics.

NSF Awards $18.5 Million for Re-inventing America's urban water infrastructure

Jul. 19, 2011
The National Science Foundation has selected a multi-university team from Stanford, UC-Berkeley, Colorado School of Mines and New Mexico State to implement an Engineering Research Center with the goal of re-inventing America's aging and inadequate water infrastructure. NSF will invest $18.5 million over five years with additional funds to follow.

Stanford engineers build a nanoscale device for brain-inspired computing

Jul. 11, 2011
Researchers at the Stanford School of Engineering have delivered a nanoelectronic synapse that might drive a new class of microchips that can learn, adapt and make probability-based decisions in complex environments. Their work might one day lead to real-time brain simulators that enhance our understanding of neuroscience.

Stanford Engineering robotics students show off class projects

Jul. 4, 2011
The class is a chance for students to take the mathematical formulas and programming skills they learned in the 'Intro to Robotics' class and use them to make a pre-fabricated robotic arm perform a task in the real world.

Stanford faculty collaborate to improve online education

Jun. 27, 2011
Professors are building new software to simplify lecture recording, host course material online, spark discussion among students and teachers and share Stanford courses. Others are testing these new tools in the classroom.

Stanford team devises a better solar-powered water splitter

Jun. 19, 2011
The process of splitting water into pure oxygen and clean-burning hydrogen fuel has long been the Holy Grail for clean-energy advocates as a method of large-scale energy storage, but the idea faces technical challenges. Stanford researchers may have solved one of the most important ones.

Professor Emeritus Stig Hagstrom dies at 78

Jun. 1, 2011
Stig Hagstrom was a central figure in the Stanford School of Engineering in the '70s and '80s for his understanding of electron spectroscopy and his role founding the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. In his life he aided a Nobel Prize winner, helped found a Swedish university and established the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning.

Don Knuth inducted as an Engineering Hero

May. 31, 2011
In 1962, a young graduate student set about writing the definitive book on computer programming. Five decades and four volumes later, Don Knuth is still writing and the Stanford School of Engineering has its latest 'Engineering Hero.'

Delp and Salisbury receive industry awards

May. 25, 2011
Professor Scott Delp wins Borelli Award while Professor Ken Salisbury wins IEEE's Inaba Technical Innovation Award.

Stanford computer scientists find Internet security flaw

May. 22, 2011
Researchers at the Stanford Security Laboratory create a computer program to defeat audio captchas on website account registration forms, revealing a design flaw that leaves them vulnerable to automated attacks.

Stanford School of Engineering Announces Terman Award Winners

May. 22, 2011
The Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering Scholastic Award is presented to the students that rank academically in the top 5 percent of the graduating senior class. Each recipient nominates a high school teacher who has been most influential in the student's academic career. Terman, who was dean of the School of Engineering from 1944 to 1958, initiated this award program, which is now named in his honor.

Materials engineers help surgeons reduce scarring

May. 21, 2011
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a special wound dressing that they report was able to significantly reduce scar tissue caused by incisions.

Robert Helliwell, radioscience and magnetosphere expert, dead at 90

May. 19, 2011
Robert Helliwell pioneered the study of how radio waves – both those naturally generated by lightning and manmade signals from a radio transmitter in Antarctica – interact with charged particles in the upper atmosphere.

Aero/Astro Professor Sigrid Close hosts National Geographic special

May. 18, 2011
Known Universe, an eight-part series on the National Geographic channel, has tapped assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics Sigrid Close as a host. The program looks at space exploration and the science and engineering behind it in a very lively manner, with plenty of demonstrations and experiments to keep things moving.

Light and Magic: Stanford engineers create a tiny, energy-efficient laser for optical communication systems

May. 15, 2011
In the push toward ever-smaller and ever-faster data transmission technology, a team of Stanford electrical engineers has produced a nanoscale laser that is much faster and vastly more energy efficient than anything available today.

NBC San Francisco report on the work of the MobiSocial Lab.

May. 15, 2011
The folks at TechNow stopped by the MobiSocial Lab to talk about their cutting-edge apps that merge the worlds of mobile and social.

New Stanford computing lab imagines the mobile-social future

May. 8, 2011
At the MobiSocial Lab, an engineering research team asks fundamental questions about the marriage of mobile communications and social networking, and begins to design the future of open-source social networking.

Prof. Parviz Moin Among Eight Stanford Professors Elected to National Academy of Sciences

May. 4, 2011
Eight Stanford faculty members have been elected to receive one of the highest honors for an American scientist or engineer. Their expertise spans the scientific gamut from photon science to federalism and from adrenergic receptors to early lexical acquisition.

Stanford's Gravity Probe B Confirms Two Einstein Theories

May. 3, 2011
After 52 years of conceiving, testing and waiting, marked by scientific advances and disappointments, one of Stanford's and NASA's longest-running projects comes to a close with a greater understanding of the universe.

Google and Stanford Engineering share close ties

Apr. 28, 2011
Google got its start at Stanford School of Engineering and the two organizations still share a close connection that drives innovation in what has become one of Silicon Valley's most mutually beneficial relationships between academia and industry.

New biosensor microchip from Stanford engineers could speed up drug development

Apr. 18, 2011
The nanosensors analyze how proteins bond – a critical step in drug development. The ultrasensitive sensors can simultaneously monitor thousands of times more proteins than existing technology, deliver results faster and assess the strength of the bonds.

Robots, inventors take center stage at Stanford's second Robot Block Party

Apr. 17, 2011
Academics, commercial robot manufacturers and hobbyists showed off their skills and creations at Stanford's second-annual Robot Block Party.

Hennessy sees potential in creating New York City center of innovation

Apr. 14, 2011
President John Hennessy, delivering his annual address to the Academic Council on Thursday, focused primarily on Stanford's recent expression of interest in developing an applied science campus in New York City.

Farhat named fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Apr. 10, 2011
Chair of Aeronautics and Astronautics recognized for outstanding contributions to applied mathematics and computational science through research and community service.

Stanford-Berkeley group gets $25 million for advanced solar research

Apr. 10, 2011
Stanford-led proposal approved by Department of Energy. Effort aimed at helping the solar power industry overcome technical barriers and reduce the cost of solar installations.

Nanopillars yield more precise molecular photography

Apr. 5, 2011
A Stanford research team uses glowing nanopillars to give biologists, neurologists and other researchers a deeper, more precise look into living cells.

Stanford gets revved about automobiles

Mar. 28, 2011
With celebratory event, Stanford will launch the Revs Program at Stanford, a new program to secure the place of the automobile in our history and culture.

Stanford engineers use river water and salty ocean water to generate electricity

Mar. 27, 2011
Stanford researchers have developed a rechargeable battery that uses freshwater and seawater to create electricity. Aided by nanotechnology, the battery employs the difference in salinity between fresh and saltwater to generate a current. A power station might be built wherever a river flows into the ocean.

New Study Makes Big Claims

Jan. 25, 2011
A new study—co-authored by CEE Professor Mark Jacobson—analyzing what is needed to convert the world’s energy supplies to clean and sustainable sources says that it can be done with today’s technology at costs roughly comparable to conventional energy. But converting will be a massive undertaking on the scale of the moon landings. What is needed most is the societal and political will to make it happen.

DNA Testing on the Fast Track

Jan. 12, 2011
Stanford bioengineer Stephen Quake has developed a microfluidic chip that makes gene research faster, easier, and more precise.

Making Video Games Come Alive (Literally

Jan. 11, 2011
Just when you thought video games couldn’t get any more lifelike, bioengineering Assistant Professor Ingmar Riedel-Kruse has developed a series of “biotic games” involving paramecia and other organisms.

A new research center at Stanford will address mobility disorders with powerful 3-D simulations of a patient's movements

Dec. 29, 2010
Bioengineering Professor Scott Delp is the director of a new national center for rehabilitation research at Stanford. The center will focus on using powerful software that simulates human movement to investigate movement disorders and identify the best treatments for patients.

Students create “do not track” software

Dec. 1, 2010
Software that lets users opt out of third-party web tracking has been developed by a pair of Stanford grad students, just as the federal government is pushing for more online consumer privacy.

Stanford researcher's engineered molecule changes itself to detect and attack diseased cells

Nov. 29, 2010
Assistant Professor of Bioengineering Christina Smolke has engineered biological molecules that regulate a cell's behavior by adjusting their own forms and functions in response to the internal conditions of the cell. These tools can be used to facilitate medical research and biotechnology today and could one day be used as diagnostic and therapeutic aides.

Students fly in zero gravity to protect satellites from tiny meteoroids

Nov. 18, 2010
Nicolas Lee, a graduate student in aeronautics and astronautics, and Assistant Professor Sigrid Close, are part of a team that has completed the first successful tests in zero gravity of a canopy for CubeSats--the tiny satellites that hitch rides on rockets sending larger satellites into orbit.

Next-generation power grid research funded by Stanford

Nov. 17, 2010
The TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy at Stanford is awarding $1.2 million to university researchers to create a greener, more efficient system for delivering electricity through 'smart power grid' systems.