TS-074864 — Modern structural systems increasingly demand integrated sensing, actuation, and health monitoring capabilities, particularly in aerospace, automotive, and advanced manufacturing. However, current approaches rely on separately fabricated sensors that are later attached to structures, introducing r…

TS-074793 — Sustainable production of advanced biofuels and biochemicals remains constrained by low yields, poor carbon efficiency, and limited scalability of current microbial platforms. In particular, biobutanol has struggled to achieve cost competitiveness due to inefficient carbon utilization and metabol…

TS-074512 — Modern diesel and high‑performance internal combustion engines demand pistons that withstand extreme thermal and mechanical loads while becoming lighter, more fuel‑efficient, and lower cost to manufacture. Steel pistons offer durability advantages over aluminum but are traditionally heavy and …

TS-073880 — Industrial CO₂ electroreduction remains limited by high energy input, poor selectivity, and low formation rates of valuable multi‑carbon products. Conventional copper catalysts often favor hydrogen evolution or low‑value C₁ products such as methane, while catalysts that improve selectivity…

TS-073587 — Magnetic nanoparticles are widely used in applications such as magnetic hyperthermia, catalysis, sensing, and data storage, yet their performance is often limited by poor control over key magnetic properties. Existing materials typically rely on size or shape control alone, which provides limited …

TS-072576 — The Need Drinking water utilities face mounting challenges in managing alum sludge, a byproduct of water treatment, as landfill options dwindle and disposal costs rise. Simultaneously, utilities must address increasingly stringent regulations for organic contaminants such as disinfection byproducts …

TS-071961 — The Need Despite near-perfect external quantum efficiency in blue InGaN LEDs, devices emitting green, amber, and longer visible wavelengths remain inefficient. This is due to internal electric fields and charge separation in conventional quantum wells, which worsen with higher indium content and wid…

TS-071748 — Pipeline and recirculating water systems lose significant energy to turbulent friction. Today’s polymer DRAs are effective in hydrocarbons but irreversibly shear‑degrade, need continual re‑injection, and cannot be “turned off” in heat exchangers. Earlier aqueous surfactant DRAs reduced p…

TS-071745 — The Need Current two-way shape memory polymers (SMPs) require expensive, crystalline or liquid crystalline monomers and complex synthesis, limiting their use in cost-sensitive and biocompatible applications. Widely used amorphous polymers (e.g., polystyrene, PMMA) are inexpensive and common in con…

TS-071267 — The Need Modeling solvent effects on catalytic surfaces is critical for designing industrial processes like biomass conversion, fuel synthesis, and electrocatalysis. Traditional multiscale simulations combining density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) offer accuracy but are comp…