Top research and faculty news from Engineering at Maryland
Mote Named NAI Fellow
C.D. (Dan) Mote, Jr. - President of the National Academy of Engineering - has been named a Fellow in the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Mote, a University of Maryland Regents’ Professor and Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering in the Clark School's Department of Mechanical Engineering, is a former president of UMD. Learn more.
Super Wood Could Replace Steel
Engineers at the University of Maryland have found a way to make wood more than 10 times stronger and tougher than before, creating a natural substance that is stronger than many titanium alloys. The research team tested the new wood material by shooting bullet-like projectiles at it; the fully treated wood stopped the projectile partway through. Learn more.
The ability for cancer cells to develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs - known as multi-drug resistance - remains a leading cause for tumor recurrence and cancer metastasis. But now, recent findings led by a University of Maryland bioengineer offer hope that oncologists could one day direct cancer cells to "turn off" their resistance capabilities. Learn more.
NASA Mission to Asteroid Bennu
Christine Hartzell of the Clark School's Department of Aerospace Engineering is one of 13 scientists selected by NASA for the agency’s first asteroid sample return mission. OSIRIS-REx launched in September 2016 and is currently on a seven-year journey to rendezvous with, study, and return a sample of Bennu, a carbonaceous asteroid, to Earth. Learn more.
Fire-Safe Building Design
José Torero is a world-renowned fire-safety expert with a particular interest in blazes in tall buildings. He recently returned to the University of Maryland with appointments in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering and Center for Disaster Resilience. And he’s been tapped to work on an inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire in London, which killed more than 70 people in June. Learn more.
