Skip to main content

Engineering

Latest Innovations
A Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer Using Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Professor Songbin Gong and researchers from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have developed a design strategy and method for fabricating efficient... Read More Professor Songbin Gong and researchers from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have developed a design strategy and method for fabricating efficient piezoelectric micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) optimizing both ultrasonic transmitter and receiver performance in a combined platform. Currently, there are two leading material types for pMUTs : ferroelectric perovskites with solid solutions containing PbTiO3, like PZT and PMN-PT (primarily used as transducers ) and the non-ferroelectric structures such as AlN (primarily used as sensors). This balanced ultrasonic transceiver can be implemented in miniature ultrasound applications, specifically in consumer electronics for gesture recognition, biometric sensing and occupancy sensing.
Miniature Mercury Lamp Researchers from the University of Illinois, along with their collaborators at Eden Park Illumination, have developed a new miniaturized lamp for uses in atomic clocks and... Read More Researchers from the University of Illinois, along with their collaborators at Eden Park Illumination, have developed a new miniaturized lamp for uses in atomic clocks and environmental sensors. These atomic clocks are highly useful in autonomous vehicles due to the precision and accuracy they provide. While most lamps use direct electron impact, this new lamp takes advantage of atomic excitation transfer to increase the efficiency of the lamp. This process reduces the size, and therefore the cost, of producing the lamp. Utilizing smaller lamps will allow for atomic clocks to be more easily integrated into commercial vehicles. Several iterations of the Hg+ lamp have been tested and can be made as small as 0.25 cm3.
New catalyst formulations for Frontal Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (FROMP) Researchers at Illinois have developed new catalytic systems to perform FROMP. Large-scale, energy efficient industrial polymerization syntheses are accessed with FROMP.... Read More Researchers at Illinois have developed new catalytic systems to perform FROMP. Large-scale, energy efficient industrial polymerization syntheses are accessed with FROMP. So far, 2nd generation Grubbs catalyst has been extensively used for FROMP. Exploring new catalyst formulations resulted in polymers with varied mechanical properties and affected the polymerization process. These new formulations expand on previously developed synthesis to offer greater flexibility, tunability, and control of end products and the manufacturing process. Benefits: Energy efficient Short reaction times Resultant polymers with different mechanical properties Unusually flexible polymer Market Application: Varied applications including chlor-alkali production, automotive, construction industries Image shows swelling behavior of the resultant polymersusing new catalyst formulations.
High Efficiency Electrodialysis System for Water Purification Researchers from the University of Illinois have developed a unique geometry of an electrodialysis system for enhanced efficiency of water purification. Electrodialysis... Read More Researchers from the University of Illinois have developed a unique geometry of an electrodialysis system for enhanced efficiency of water purification. Electrodialysis can be inefficient due to concentration polarization of the ion depleted zone. The unique geometry of this technology increases the flux of purified water by removing current limiting regime in electrodialysis system.
UV Distribution System for Disinfection Researchers at the University have created a system of UV disinfection using visible light lasers. The COVID-19 pandemic has vastly increased the need and urgency for... Read More Researchers at the University have created a system of UV disinfection using visible light lasers. The COVID-19 pandemic has vastly increased the need and urgency for effective and safe sanitation of large spaces including hospitals, public transportation, and meeting spaces. This fiber optic system tracks existing internal wiring and emits light via diodes that distribute ultraviolet light throughout a space to maximize disinfection. The UV light is emitted at a wavelength of less than 222 nm, making it safe for human contact. There are no lamps or filters required.
Electrochemical Systems for the Remediation of Organic Pollutants Professor Xiao Su and researchers at the University of Illinois have developed an electrochemical/electrocatalytic system capable of separating PFAS from solution and... Read More Professor Xiao Su and researchers at the University of Illinois have developed an electrochemical/electrocatalytic system capable of separating PFAS from solution and degrading it in-situ. This electrochemical system is comprised of a redox-polymer working electrode, that that is responsible for electrochemically separating the PFAS (charged or uncharged) from solution, and a counter electrode that is responsible for electrochemically degrading the PFAS. When incorporated into an electrochemical device the redox copolymers presents an exceptionally high adsorption capacity for PFAS (>1500 mg PFOA/g adsorbent) and separation factors (500 vs. chloride), and demonstrates exceptional removal efficiencies in diverse per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and halogenated aromatic compounds. This technique represents the state of the art in PFAS remediation, and is more versatile than activated carbon, less expensive than ion exchange systems, and capable of handling large loads than high pressure membranes.
Optical phantom for multimodal optical instruments using fluorescent nanodiamonds Dr. Boppart has created a new manner of calibrating multimodal optical instruments. Unlike prior solutions, such as fluorescent beads, this invention does not bleach and... Read More Dr. Boppart has created a new manner of calibrating multimodal optical instruments. Unlike prior solutions, such as fluorescent beads, this invention does not bleach and can be used calibrate instruments across multiple frames longitudinally. This solution can also be used to normalize imaging data and is able to calibrate instruments for 2D and 3D multimodal instruments so that standardized imaging under realistic, tissue-sample-like settings can be achieved.
Ultra-scalable and Resilient Etched Metal Enhancements for Enhanced Refrigerant-Side Heat Transfer in HVAC Equipment Dr. Miljkovic has developed microstructured aluminum (Al) tubes with increased heat transfer rates of 240% during refrigerant flow boiling. Highly conformal are generated... Read More Dr. Miljkovic has developed microstructured aluminum (Al) tubes with increased heat transfer rates of 240% during refrigerant flow boiling. Highly conformal are generated by a scalable etching technique. The cost-effective techniques used to create etched-Al microstructures stand to significantly reduce manufacturing cost and time required for current enhancement approaches such as extrusion, drawing, and welding. At the same time increased performance is ensured on the thermal side. In addition, the fabricated etched structures are highly durable due to structure formation based on the base metal, and therefore do not suffer from thermal expansion coefficient mismatch issues, as is the case with other enhancements.
Strategy for Rotary Wing Design for Blade-Vortex Interaction Noise Reduction Researchers have developed a novel design strategy that mitigates the formation of vortices across the rotor near-wake region. The unique design aims to reduce thrust... Read More Researchers have developed a novel design strategy that mitigates the formation of vortices across the rotor near-wake region. The unique design aims to reduce thrust distribution across the tip region in order to mitigate the formation of energetic, coherent vortices at the blade tip. The invention features a unique geometrical rotary wing design that creates zero vortices at the wingtip allowing noise reduction generated by blade-vortex interactions. This invention could be used for lifting rotors or propellers on standard helicopter flight vehicles, other vertical lift aircraft, and turbines with minimal effect in total rotor efficiency.
Electrochemical Recycling of Homogeneous Catalysts Professor Xiao Su and colleagues have developed an electrochemical system for the separation and reutilization of homogenous catalysts including Pt and Pd-cross coupling... Read More Professor Xiao Su and colleagues have developed an electrochemical system for the separation and reutilization of homogenous catalysts including Pt and Pd-cross coupling catalysts and many other noble metal homogenous catalysts. This catalyst recycling system allows for the direct capture of a homogenous catalysts from a reaction mixture, the captured catalyst can then be desorbed into a new reaction mixture. Notably, this catalyst capture and release system operates without chemically altering the catalyst species thus this system maintains the original catalyst activity. This electrochemical system utilizes redox polymer electrodes allowing for the >99% catalyst adsorption within a 5-minute period. The adsorption properties of this system can be easily adjusted by modifying the applied current and electrode dimensions. Furthermore, >99% of the catalyst adsorbed can be released from the redox electrodes resulting in a highly efficient catalyst recycling system.

Pages