Researchers are working on implantable neurostimulators to treat debilitating neurological conditions, including blindness.

Most functions of the human body are controlled by small electrical signals delivered via nerves. Thus, it is no surprise that electrical signals applied to the body ...

Brain-computer interfaces create alternate communication channels for people with severe motor impairment.

The ability to enable the brain to control an external device with thoughts alone is emerging as a real option for patients with motor disabilities. The goal of this area of study, known ...

The green building community is using information technology to drive fundamental changes in the real estate market.

The built environment shapes our lives both as individuals and as a society. It is not only a tangible library of our history, a reflection of our technology, and a window ...

Improving the construction and performance of buildings could lead to huge reductions in carbon emissions.

Buildings account for a higher proportion of greenhouse gas emissions than any other economic sector, and emissions attributable to building construction and operation have been increasing in ...

Additive manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize the production of aerospace and defense components.

The advantages of additive manufacturing are now widely recognized, even in the general media, and are predicted to revolutionize manufacturing processes for many industries (Economist, ...

Machine-learning algorithms for image annotation can enable the classification of huge amounts of different types of data.¹

The emergence of the web as a tool for sharing information has led to a massive increase in the size of potential datasets. Millions of images on web pages have tens of ...

The Shape of Things to Come

Additive manufacturing technologies—machines that can automatically fabricate arbitrarily shaped parts, pixel by pixel, layer by layer, from almost any material—have evolved over the last three decades from a limited number of expensive prototypes to ...

Editor’s Note

Every year the U.S. Frontiers of Engineering (FOE) Symposium brings together approximately 100 outstanding young engineers, ages 30 to 45, to share ideas and learn about cutting-edge research on a wide range of engineering topics. A unique characteristic of the symposium ...