TS-076188 — Polypropylene (PP) is an attractive engineering polymer due to its low cost, recyclability, chemical resistance, and favorable processing characteristics. However, conventional PP is notoriously difficult to foam because of its low melt strength and highly crystalline structure, often resulting in…

TS-076137 — Heavy-duty trucks consume significant fuel during highway operation, with aerodynamic drag representing a major source of energy loss and operating expense. As fleet operators face increasing pressure to reduce fuel costs, improve vehicle efficiency, and lower emissions, there is a growing need fo…

TS-076055 — Microplastics and, increasingly, nanoplastics, are emerging contaminants of concern in water systems, consumer products, and environmental samples. However, most existing analytical workflows are optimized for larger particles and often fail to reliably isolate, quantify, and identify plastics in …

TS-075918 — Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential for advanced manufacturing, energy technologies, electronics, and defense applications, yet their separation remains one of the most challenging and costly steps in the supply chain. Conventional separation methods often require extensive processing, hazard…

TS-075834 — Indoor moisture and mold exposure remain significant challenges for building owners, environmental testing providers, and public health stakeholders. Existing detection methods often focus on visible contamination, microbial growth, or genetic signatures, but they may not directly measure biologic…

TS-075572 — The transition to advanced electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and defense technologies is driving growing demand for rare-earth elements. However, many valuable rare-earth resources exist in dilute waste streams, recycling processes, low-grade leachates, and hydrometallurgic…

TS-074913 — Energy and chemical industries increasingly rely on hydrogen, natural gas, and syngas streams that require efficient removal of CO₂ and H₂S to meet purity and regulatory requirements. Conventional separation technologies (e.g., amine absorption, adsorption, cryogenic distillation) are energy-i…

TS-074623 — The construction industry faces growing pressure to reduce the carbon footprint of cement while maintaining performance, durability, and reliable supply chains. Traditional supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash and blast furnace slag are increasingly scarce or regionally cons…

TS-074525 — Many advanced electronic, sensing, and optical devices rely on high‑quality thin films, yet manufacturing uniform, defect‑free films over large areas remains challenging. Conventional solution‑based approaches often result in rough, cracked, or non‑uniform coatings, while vacuum‑based de…

TS-074441 — Chemical looping gasification and combustion are promising pathways for low‑carbon energy conversion, CO₂ capture, and syngas production, but their commercial deployment is constrained by the performance of available oxygen carrier materials. Existing metal oxide oxygen carriers often suffer f…

TS-074295 — Many applications require compact, long‑lived power sources that can operate reliably for years without maintenance, battery replacement, or recharging. This is particularly true for remote sensors, implantable medical devices, space systems, and defense or industrial monitoring deployed in hars…

TS-074248 — Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions remain a major regulatory and environmental challenge for power generation, industrial combustion, and waste incineration. The dominant abatement technology, selective catalytic reduction (SCR), relies on ammonia or urea, introducing safety, cost, and operational co…

TS-074143 — Across desalination, water reuse, and other separation markets, operators continue to face a fundamental tradeoff between membrane permeability and selectivity. Existing commercial polyamide membranes often sacrifice water flux to achieve high salt rejection, driving higher energy consumption, inc…

TS-074049 — Commercial and industrial HVAC systems face growing pressure to reduce energy consumption while delivering precise humidity control, particularly in hot and humid climates. Conventional desiccant and vapor‑compression systems require high regeneration temperatures, waste low‑grade heat, and st…

TS-073930 — Many industrial gas–solid reactions, such as ironmaking, chemical looping, and other redox-based processes, are fundamentally constrained by thermodynamic equilibrium in conventional reactor designs. Single-inlet/single-outlet reactors force tradeoffs between gas conversion and solid conversion,…

TS-073732 — Advanced lithium-ion batteries increasingly adopt metallized polymer current collectors to improve safety by mitigating internal short circuits and thermal runaway. However, these collectors are inherently difficult to join to each other and to battery tabs using conventional manufacturing methods…

TS-073712 — Advanced quantum technologies, cryogenic sensors, and space instrumentation increasingly require reliable, compact cooling below 1 K. Today’s sub-Kelvin refrigeration relies heavily on dilution refrigerators and gas-gap thermal switches that are complex, slow, mechanically fragile, and dependent…

TS-073646 — Industrial chemical and physical processes consume large quantities of thermal energy and steam, yet most facilities still rely on external power generation or low‑efficiency Rankine‑cycle systems to meet their electricity demand. This leads to significant energy losses, high operating costs, …

TS-073403 — The rapid growth of electric vehicles and energy storage systems is driving an unprecedented volume of end‑of‑life lithium‑ion batteries, creating both environmental and supply‑chain challenges. Conventional recycling routes focus on metal recovery through energy‑intensive processes and …

TS-073264 — Low‑oxygen, toxic environments created by fires or explosions in mines, tunnels, and enclosed spaces remain a leading cause of fatalities for trapped occupants and rescuers. Current self‑contained breathing and escape devices are constrained by limited oxygen supply, bulk, weight, heat generat…

TS-073219 — Global demand for low‑carbon hydrogen is rising, yet current methods carry efficiency penalties, complex gas clean‑up, and cost and footprint burdens. These drawbacks are amplified when upgrading dilute or variable‑quality feedstocks such as biogas and waste‑derived fuels. Industry needs a…

TS-073184 — Direct air capture (DAC) technologies are essential for meeting global carbon‑reduction goals, yet most current systems remain limited by high energy demand, high cost, and materials with insufficient stability. Traditional solid‑sorbent DAC approaches require significant thermal input for reg…

TS-073138 — Designing online monitoring (OLM) for safety‑critical systems is constrained by scarce early‑stage operational data and by quantitative models that are slow to build, brittle across configurations, and costly to iterate. This creates expensive sensor networks with blind spots, poor diagnosabil…

TS-072927 — Current concrete structures, such as bridges, pavements, and buildings, lack integrated solutions for efficient temperature control. Existing heating or cooling systems are typically installed on or near the surface, risking damage and failing to provide uniform thermal management. There is a need…

TS-072842 — The energy density and safety of lithium-metal solid-state batteries (LIMSSBs) are limited by the stability of the interface between the lithium-metal anode and the solid-state electrolyte. Traditional approaches using static interlayers or coatings often fail to maintain continuous contact during…

TS-072615 — The Need Efficient carbon dioxide (CO₂) utilization and separation remain critical challenges in energy, chemical, and environmental sectors. Existing processes for CO₂ conversion to carbon monoxide (CO) and for separating CO₂/CO mixtures are energy-intensive, costly, and often lack selectivit…

TS-072583 — The Need The ammonia industry is a major contributor to global CO₂ emissions, primarily due to its reliance on fossil fuels for hydrogen production and the energy-intensive air separation process for nitrogen. With over 500 million tons of CO₂ emitted annually from ammonia synthesis, there is a …

TS-072580 — The Need Rising atmospheric CO₂ levels from fossil fuel combustion pose urgent climate and regulatory challenges. Existing carbon capture and sequestration technologies are often costly, energy-intensive, or limited in scalability. There is a critical need for economically viable solutions that no…

TS-072579 — The Need Industrial processes that utilize syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) often generate tail gas streams rich in CO₂ and other byproducts. Conventional carbon capture methods, such as acid gas removal units, are highly energy-intensive and reduce overall plant efficiency. There is a critic…

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-072330 — The Need Current solid-state batteries (SSBs) offer high energy density and improved safety but require high stack pressures for stable operation, limiting their practicality in electric vehicles and consumer electronics. Silicon anodes, while promising for their high capacity, suffer from rapid deg…

TS-071809 — The Need Syngas is an essential intermediate for producing high-value chemicals such as gasoline, methanol, and dimethyl ether. Current industrial methods (steam reforming, autothermal reforming, and partial oxidation) are energy-intensive, costly, and environmentally burdensome. Moreover, these met…

TS-071808 — The Need Industrial syngas and hydrogen production processes are highly energy-intensive and contribute significantly to carbon emissions due to reliance on fossil fuel combustion. Existing methods require multiple unit operations, resulting in low efficiency and high operational costs. There is a c…

TS-071806 — The Need Current syngas production from methane relies on energy-intensive air separation units (ASUs) to supply molecular oxygen, driving up capital and operating costs. Conventional catalysts also suffer from carbon deposition at low oxidant concentrations, limiting process flexibility and efficie…

TS-071746 — The Need Oil spills continue to pose significant threats to aquatic environments, public health, and economies worldwide. Existing sorbent technologies struggle to efficiently capture thin oil sheens and often lack buoyancy, limiting their effectiveness in real-world conditions. There is a critica…

TS-071606 — The Need There is a critical need for compact, long-lasting, and maintenance-free power sources for applications where conventional energy harvesting is impractical or impossible. These include deep space missions, implantable medical devices, and remote or harsh environments where solar or thermoel…

TS-071386 — The Need The search for sustainable, high-performance battery materials is hindered by reliance on finite metal-based resources and slow, trial-and-error development cycles. Organic electrode materials (OEMs), composed of earth-abundant elements, offer a more sustainable path but present challenges …

TS-070971 — The Need Modern gas turbines and compressors rely on bladed disks, which are highly sensitive to mistuning caused by manufacturing tolerances, wear, or damage. Existing modeling tools are fragmented, complex, and often limited to specific mistuning types. Industry will greatly benefit from a unified…

TS-070970 — Many vibration-based energy harvesting systems are limited by narrow operational frequency bands, making them inefficient for environments where excitation frequencies drift, such as in bridges, machinery, or vehicles. Current solutions often sacrifice energy density to broaden bandwidth. A more e…

TS-070635 — The Need We urgently need to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental controls in buildings to reduce viral transmission and to prioritize resources. In 2021, $200 billion dollars was allocated in the US to improving ventilation in schools in response to COVID-19, but without reliable …