• The Military Cannot Rely on AI for Strategy or Judgment

    Using artificial intelligence (AI) for warfare has been the promise of science fiction and politicians for years, but new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology argues only so much can be automated and shows the value of human judgment.

  • A New Concept for low-Cost Batteries

    Made from inexpensive, abundant materials, an aluminum-sulfur battery could provide low-cost backup storage for renewable energy sources.

  • Fighting Against Disinformation with Lessons from Cybersecurity

    Mary Ellen Zurko pioneered user-centered security in the 1990s. Now she is using those insights to help the nation thwart influence operations.

  • Wi-Fi System Improves Fire Detection

    Engineers have developed a new fire detection system that could help save lives by monitoring the changes in Wi-Fi signals. A Sydney Harbour Tunnel explosion showcases the work of the researchers, which use wireless signals and artificial intelligence to more accurately identify dangerous fire situations.

  • Laredo Confronts Drought and Water Shortage with Minimal Options

    A mounting water supply crisis in scorching far-South Texas has left local governments pressed to respond. Two major cities, Brownsville and McAllen, rolled out watering restrictions in recent weeks, but leaders in the South Texas city of Laredo are reluctant to impose substantial restrictions on watering lawns even as water supplies near record lows.

  • Thirty Years After Hurricane Andrew Devastated Florida, Researchers Are Using a “Wall of Wind” to Design Safer Homes – but Storms Are Getting Even More Intense

    Studies show tropical storms are ramping up in intensity as the climate changes and ocean and air temperatures rise. Designing homes and infrastructure to withstand future storms like Dorian will require new test facilities that go well beyond today’s capabilities – for what we believe should be called Category 6 storms.

  • Scientists Evaluate Earth-Cooling Strategies

    A group of international scientists is – more rigorously and systematically than ever before – evaluating whether and how the stratosphere could be made just a little bit “brighter,” reflecting more incoming sunlight so that an ever-warming Earth maintains its cool.

  • Forging the Future of U.S. Microelectronics Manufacturing

    U.S. initiatives are necessary to fortify access and restore the supply chains underpinning modern communications, travel, national security, and manufacturing. Foundational new program will fuel domestic microsystem innovations beyond today’s 2D limitations.

  • Computer Chips: While U.S. and EU Invest to Challenge Asia, the U.K. Industry Is in Mortal Danger

    U.S. semiconductor giant Micron, on the back of incentives in the recent U.S. Chips Act, is to invest U.S.$40 billion (£33 billion) during the 2020s in chip manufacturing in America, creating 40,000 jobs. The EU is also making moves to boost computer-chip manufacturing at home. In the U.K., however, successive governments have overlooked the importance of having a home-grown industry for this vital component. There is a clear absence of any strategic plan, and no way of riding on the coattails of the EU following Brexit.

  • Strengthening Puerto Rico's Power Grid

    The 2017 Hurricane Maria made a direct hit on Puerto Rico in 2017, it ravaged the island’s power grid and caused the longest blackout in U.S. history. Maria left many residents without power for nearly a year. As more hurricanes threaten, Puerto Rico utilities are shoring up their defenses using the Electrical Grid Resilience and Assessment System (EGRASS) planning tool.

  • ‘Silicon Lifeline’: Report Reveals Western Technology Guiding Russia’s Weapons in Ukraine

    Microelectronics produced in the United States and allied countries are crucial components of Russian weapons systems used in the Ukraine invasion. A new report says more than 450 foreign-made components have been found in Russian weapons recovered in Ukraine. The report’s authors say Moscow acquired critical technology from companies in the United States, Europe and Asia in the years before the invasion.

  • Drone Research to Support Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Response

    FAA Awards $2.7 million in drone research to support disaster preparedness and emergency response. This is the third round of Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) grants, which brings the total to 20 grants valued at $21 million for Fiscal Year 2022.

  • Critical Minerals Competition Uses AI to Accelerate Analytics

    The United States depends on a variety of raw, non-fuel materials dubbed “critical minerals” to manufacture products considered essential to national security. Increasing demand, coupled with limited domestic supply and increasing reliance on foreign companies to import these critical minerals, poses significant risks to the U.S. supply chain. DARPA is offering prizes for automating aspects of USGS critical mineral assessments.

  • Predicting Landslides Along Wildfire Burn Scars

    A wildfire followed by an intense rainstorm is often a recipe for disaster. Without vegetation to cushion rainfall, water runoff can turn into fast-moving, highly destructive landslides. Simulations could become an early warning system for people living in high-risk areas.

  • Multiform Floods: A Growing Climate Threat

    We are in the thick of danger season (aka summer), that time of year when droughts, heat waves, wildfires, floods and hurricanes are more likely to happen. Not only that; climate change has made these disasters more severe and more likely to occur.