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Store, Harvest, Fix: How Texas Can Save Its Water Supply
State lawmakers are poised to devote billions to save the state’s water supply. These are some of the ways the state could spend the money.
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“Water Is the New Oil: As Texas Cities Square Off Over Aquifer Pipeline Plans
Fast-growing Georgetown plans to pump 89 million gallons a day from the Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer but the project is being fought by Bryan, College Station and Texas A&M University, which depend on the same water.
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Devastation from 7.7 Magnitude Earthquake in Myanmar Underscores Regional Lag in Construction Standards, Regulations, Says Resilience Expert
A lot of factors are converging here,” says Daniel Aldrich, director of the university’s Resilience Studies Program. “But the bottom line is we’re talking about construction standards in developing countries.”
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Heathrow Power Outage Exposes Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
The cause of Thursday’s power outage at Heathrow Airport, the result of a fire at the North Hyde electrical substation, is still not known, but it has highlighted several vulnerabilities in the U.K.s infrastructure.
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Heathrow Fire Shows Just How Vulnerable U.K. Energy Infrastructure Is – We’ve Simulated the Major Climate-Related Risks
The closure of one of the world’s largest airports due to a failure of just one electricity substation underlines how important it is that critical national energy infrastructure –pylons, substations and so on –keeps functioning.
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Making Airfield Assessments Automatic, Remote, and Safe
U.S. Air Force engineer and PhD student Randall Pietersen is using AI and next-generation imaging technology to detect pavement damage and unexploded munitions.
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In Case We Forgot, Typhoon Attacks Remind Us of China’s Cyber Capability—and Intent
The Salt Typhoon incident reminds us that China has the intent, and increasingly the capability, to seriously challenge US and Western technology advantage.
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Research Drives Innovation in Gen-IV Reactor Safety and Efficiency
All U.S. nuclear reactors, which currently provide more than half of the nation’s carbon-free power, are first- or second-generation light water reactors. This means they use water as both a coolant and neutron moderator to control the nuclear reaction and produce useful electricity. Ut researchers pursue all kinds of reactor designs, and nuclear engineers at Argonne frame the future of nuclear design.
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U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Texas Nuclear Waste Disposal Case
The case could establish the nation’s first independent repository for spent nuclear fuel in West Texas, despite the objections of state leaders.
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Questions and Confusion as Trump Pauses Key Funding for Shrinking Colorado River
An executive order issued in the early days of the Trump administration hit pause on at least $4 billion set aside to protect the flow of the Colorado River. Halted funding threatens the sustainability of the entire system, experts say.
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Trump Says He’s Sending Water to LA. It’s Actually Going to Megafarms.
The president’s executive orders on California water will help irrigate Central Valley farms. They won’t do anything to fight wildfires.
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New Lab Studies How Cities Can Survive Extreme Climates
“The city is a dynamic creature; it’s changing all the time,” says architect Merav Idit Battat. “I think we shouldn’t focus on how to think of everything from the beginning, but how to create a more adaptive city over time.”
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Exploring the New Nuclear Energy Landscape
In the last few years, the U.S. has seen a resurgence of interest in nuclear energy and its potential for helping meet the nation’s growing demands for clean electricity and energy security. Meanwhile, nuclear energy technologies themselves have advanced, opening up new possibilities for their use.
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Power Boost: Resilient Systems to Energize the Future
Life without electricity is not just cold, dark and quiet. Disruptions to the electric grid, whether from hurricanes, wildfires or cyberattacks, can threaten lives as well as comfort.
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Water Is the Other U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis, and the Supply Crunch Is Getting Worse
The United States and Mexico are aware of the political and economic importance of the border region. But if water scarcity worsens, it could supplant other border priorities. The two countries should recognize that conditions are deteriorating and update the existing cross-border governance regime so that it reflects today’s new water realities.
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The long view
Helping Strengthen America’s Critical Infrastructure
Everyday life depends on a robust infrastructure network that provides access to running water, communications technology and electricity, among other basic necessities. The experts who keep our national infrastructure secure and resilient also need a strong network to share their knowledge and train the next generation of professionals capable of solving complex infrastructure challenges.
AI and the Future of the U.S. Electric Grid
Despite its age, the U.S. electric grid remains one of the great workhorses of modern life. Whether it can maintain that performance over the next few years may determine how well the U.S. competes in an AI-driven world.
Using Liquid Air for Grid-Scale Energy Storage
New research finds liquid air energy storage could be the lowest-cost option for ensuring a continuous power supply on a future grid dominated by carbon-free but intermittent sources of electricity.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems: A Promising Source of Round-the-Clock Energy
With its capacity to provide 24/7 power, many are warming up to the prospect of geothermal energy. Scientists are currently working to advance human-made reservoirs in Earth’s deep subsurface to stimulate the activity that exists within natural geothermal systems.
Experts Discuss Geothermal Potential
Geothermal energy harnesses the heat from within Earth—the term comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). It is an energy source that has the potential to power all our energy needs for billions of years.