WTOP Radio Series Archive

description for WTOP logoThe National Academy of Engineering works with the Washington, D.C. region's only all-news radio station— WTOP Radio— and the nation's only all-news radio station for federal employees— WFED 1500 AM— to provide weekly features highlighting engineering innovations and stories that add technical context to issues in the news.

description for federal news radioThese features are now available as podcasts. Find out how to subscribe.

Your comments and ideas are welcome. Please share them with Randy Atkins at atkins@nae.edu.

 

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    Huge Screen TV
    Imagine a 23-foot long video wall, that provides a hundred times more detail then the best high-definition TV. It exists but, sorry football fans, only for science now.
    Date: February 5, 2012

    Resource Added: February 3, 2012

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    Blood Clot Bandage
    Stopping blood flow from a wound can, of course, mean the difference between life and death. So a new sponge has been engineered to speed clotting.
    Date: January 29, 2012

    Resource Added: January 27, 2012

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    Instant Immunity
    When you get a vaccination, it takes time for your body to make the antibodies that protect you from a threat. But now scientists are engineering instant immunity.
    Date: January 22, 2012

    Resource Added: January 20, 2012

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    Facial Opinions
    A new tool allows you to give opinions about video content – say, a politician’s debate performance – without doing survey forms. All you need to do is watch.
    Date: January 15, 2012

    Resource Added: January 13, 2012

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    Car for the Blind
    It may sound impossible, but engineers at Virginia Tech are designing a car for the blind. Not a car that drives itself, one in which the driver has control.
    Date: January 8, 2012

    Resource Added: January 6, 2012

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    Genetic Clocks
    We simultaneously celebrate as the clock strikes midnight on New Years. Now bacteria are being engineered to do something similar.
    Date: January 1, 2012

    Resource Added: December 30, 2011

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    Cake Engineering
    Want that perfect Santa-shaped cake, but you’re just not sure how to make it work? You might want to take some engineering classes!
    Date: December 25, 2011

    Resource Added: December 22, 2011

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    Gasoline-Powered Fuel Cell
    Fuel cell vehicles promise energy efficiency and less pollution. But the focus has been on using hydrogen as the fuel, and so far there aren’t many places to fill up.
    Date: December 18, 2011

    Resource Added: December 16, 2011

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    Phony Photos
    As we’re being bombarded with holiday ads showing beautiful models and products, do you ever wonder how real the photos really are?
    Date: December 11, 2011

    Resource Added: December 9, 2011

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    Capturing Heat Energy
    Wouldn’t it be great if we could re-capture some of the energy used on all those holiday lights? A newly engineered material may allow waste heat to be turned into energy at unprecedented efficiencies.
    Date: December 4, 2011

    Resource Added: December 2, 2011

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    Traffic Engineering
    The Sunday drive home from a holiday can be filled with unpleasant surprises, like bad traffic on usually fast moving back roads and highways.
    Date: November 27, 2011

    Resource Added: November 23, 2011

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    Digital Age Cooking
    Thanksgiving dinner could one day go high tech. A digital revolution in cooking might make even the worst cook's food perfect every time.
    Date: November 20, 2011

    Resource Added: November 18, 2011

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    Communicating Cars
    Maybe your car already has sensors to detect some hazards…but soon it could be communicating with other cars and traffic signals to help you avoid accidents.
    Date: November 13, 2011

    Resource Added: November 10, 2011

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    Clothing that Communicates
    Your clothing could, one day, communicate much more than your fashion sense.
    Date: November 6, 2011

    Resource Added: November 4, 2011

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    Scared Healthy
    Halloween is every day at a medical center where doctors are using the latest virtual reality technology to scare people, on the way to curing them.
    Date: October 30, 2011

    Resource Added: October 28, 2011

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    Ethical Robots
    In the midst of the debate over use of unmanned drones, a computer scientist says robots might actually be programmed with ethics…to save lives.
    Date: October 23, 2011

    Resource Added: October 21, 2011

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    The Perfect Insulator
    Much of the world’s energy usage goes toward heating or cooling our buildings. But that could change if engineers are successful at making the perfect insulator.
    Date: October 16, 2011

    Resource Added: October 14, 2011

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    Stress Sensor
    It’s not always easy to know when a person is agitated or excited. Sometimes you may not even know when you are. So a new wearable device has been engineered to detect stress, bad or good.
    Date: October 10, 2011

    Resource Added: October 7, 2011

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    Cancer on a Chip
    Cancer cells can take over your body when they evolve in ways that make them resistant to chemotherapy drugs. A new lab technique is shedding light on the process.
    Date: October 2, 2011

    Resource Added: September 30, 2011

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    Foldit
    This week, researchers reported a key step toward a possible treatment for AIDS…and it was discovered by players of a computer game.
    Date: September 25, 2011

    Resource Added: September 23, 2011

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