Pratt News

“Key” Genetic Search of Novel Electrical Crystals
May 14, 2012
DURHAM, N.C. – After creating a master “ingredient list” describing the properties of more than 2,000 compounds, Duke University engineers have now developed the a key to turning these ingredients into the next generation of electrical components.
CEE Student Wins DOE Fellowship
May 1, 2012
Creating Nano-Structures from the Bottom Up
Apr 24, 2012
DURHAM, N.C. -- Microscopic particles are being coaxed by Duke University engineers to assemble themselves into larger crystalline structures by the use of varying concentrations of microscopic particles and magnetic fields. These nano-scale crystal structures, which until now have been difficult and time-consuming to produce using current technologies, could be used as basic components for advanced optics, data storage and bioengineering, said the research team.
Andy Stershic wins Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship Award
Apr 11, 2012
Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate student Andrew Stershic won a Computational Science Graduate Fellowship from the Department of Energy.  In his doctoral research, he aims to build multi-scale computational  models that allow for efficient consideration of micro-scale fracture of  brittle materials (e.g. concrete) within structure-scale analysis, with  special consideration of impact loading.
Jessica Erlingis wins National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Apr 11, 2012
Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate student Jessica Erlingis won a 2012 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Her research interests include simulation and prediction of hydrometeorological extremes, such as heavy precipitation events and flash flooding. An understanding of these extremes and how they may change with a changing climate is crucial for hazard mitigation and water resources management, among many...
Anna Wilson wins National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Apr 11, 2012
Anna Wilson, civil and environmental engineering graduate student, won a 2012 Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. In her doctoral research, Anna will investigate the microphysical processes playing a role in orographic enhancement of convection and tropical cyclones propagating across the southern Appalachians.
Xue Feng wins National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Apr 11, 2012
Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate student Xue Feng won a 2012 Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. In her doctoral research, Feng plans to study how seasonal and interannual climate variability propagates through seasonally dry ecosystems (such as in the northeast region of Brazil), by building theoretical models with probabilistic frameworks.
Dowell Named MEMS Chair
Apr 10, 2012
Earl Dowell has been named chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Sciences at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering. The announcement was made by Pratt Dean Tom Katsouleas. Dowell, William Holland Hall Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, had been serving as chair since 2010 when Tod Laursen left to become president of Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research in the United Arab Emirates. Dowell’s new term runs through June...
Metamaterials Will Change Optics
Mar 20, 2012
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University engineers believe that continued advances in creating ever-more exotic and sophisticated man-made materials will greatly improve their ability to control light at will.
Process Makes Polymers Truly Plastic
Mar 15, 2012
DURHAM, N.C. -- Just as a chameleon changes its color to blend in with its environment, Duke University engineers have demonstrated for the first time that they can alter the texture of plastics on demand, for example, switching back and forth between a rough surface and a smooth one. By applying specific voltages, the team has also shown that it can achieve this control over large and curved surface areas.
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Supports Next Generation of Problem-Solvers
Mar 13, 2012
It makes perfect sense that Sidney Primas is double-majoring in biomedical engineering and electrical and computer engineering – his father suffered from the effects of a blood vessel disorder in his brain during a good portion of Primas’s childhood. Since then, Primas has been fascinated with the brain and its intricate network of nerves.
Memo from the Dean 3/7/2012
Mar 7, 2012
Dear Pratt Community, I open today’s memo with an invitation to our students: come to a party! We are partnering with the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and Intel corporation to help launch the Engineering: Stay With It campaign. Our goal is to help the United States graduate 10,000 engineers each year. And you are the most important part of this effort.
Exotic Material Boosts Electromagnetism Safely
Feb 29, 2012
DURHAM, N.C. – By using exotic man-made materials, scientists from Duke University and Boston College believe they can greatly enhance the forces of electromagnetism (EM), one of the four fundamental forces of nature, without harming living beings or damaging electrical equipment. This theoretical finding could have broad implications for such applications as magnetic levitation trains, which ride inches above the surface without touching it and are propelled by magnets receiving electrical...
Wringing More Energy Out Of Everyday Motions
Feb 21, 2012
DURHAM N.C. – Randomness and chaos in nature, as it turns out, can be a good thing – especially when trying to harvest energy from the movements of everyday activities. Duke University engineers believe they have come up with the theoretical underpinning that could lead to the development of energy harvesting devices that are not only more versatile than those in use today, but should be able to wring out more electricity from the motions of life.
I’ll Take Dream Fulfillment for 100, Alex
Feb 3, 2012
Watch Greer compete Thursday, Feb. 8, at 7. p.m. on the ABC network's Durham's affiliate WTVD-TV. Watch a sneak preview. ---
At the Intersection of Technology and Business
Jan 31, 2012
For Andrew Mang, the Grand Challenge Scholars Program was a natural fit. “I’ve always seen myself at the intersection of technology and business,” said Mang, a senior double majoring in mechanical engineering and economics and one of Duke’s National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenge Scholars.
Monseratte: Drawn to Environmental Engineering
Jan 31, 2012
Martha Monserrate found her calling in the most unlikely place, a former toxic waste dump. Monserrate was working at the infamous Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York, where a neighborhood and school had been built on top of 21,000 tons of hazardous chemical waste. Every day, she would don a moon suit, navigate the neighborhood that had been evacuated, and collect soil, water and air samples to determine if the area could ever be inhabited again.
Diekman Sweeps TIRMS Awards
Jan 30, 2012
Brian Diekman, a Biomedical Engineering graduate student in the laboratory of Farshid Guilak, swept the awards at the annual meeting of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society.
The Career of Gene Goodson
Jan 18, 2012
Gene Goodson grew up around cars. From the age of 12, he spent his summers helping out in his father’s automobile dealership, doing everything from putting on seat covers to changing oil to driving the wrecker on nights and weekends. So it would seem inevitable that Goodson would end up with a career in the automotive industry. But to him, the choice wasn’t that obvious.
Armbrust Builds Young Minds
Jan 18, 2012
As the principal of a newly approved charter school in poverty-stricken East Austin, Texas, John Armbrust, ’04, knows the challenges he will face building a school system from scratch. He should; it was his idea to start the school in an area most Texans would rather that visitors to the Texas capitol city didn’t see.
Graduate Student Rewarded for Aeroelasticity Work
Jan 6, 2012
For his work on characterizing the properties of folding-wing aircraft, mechanical engineering graduate student Ivan Wang was recently awarded a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship from the Department of Defense and the American Society for Engineering Education. Wang was inspired to pursue this line of research while an undergraduate Pratt Fellow working in the laboratory of Earl Dowell, William Holland Hall Professor and chairman of the Department of Mechanical...
Jumping Droplets Take A Lot Of Heat, As Long As It Comes In A Cool Way
Dec 12, 2011
Microscopic water droplets jumping between surfaces that repel and attract moisture could hold the key to a wide array of more energy efficient products, ranging from large solar panels to compact laptop computers.
New Elemental Cookbook Guides Efficient Thermoelectric Combinations
Nov 29, 2011
A materials genome repository developed by Duke University engineers will allow scientists to stop using trial-and-error methods for combining different elements to create the most efficient alloys for a promising method of producing electricity. These thermoelectric materials produce electricity by taking advantage of temperature differences and are currently being used in such applications as deep space satellites to campsite coolers. In the past, scientists have not had a rational basis for...
Paulson Wins Elevator Pitch Comp at Duke Start Up Challenge
Nov 23, 2011
Laura Paulsen, a Master of Science student in biomedical engineering won the Duke University Startup Challenge Elevator Pitch competition.
test
Nov 17, 2011
Testing scheduled publication of stories for Richard, please ignore.