Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2021 - 52

FACILITY FOCUS
Princeton University School of Engineering and
Applied Science

ounded in Elizabeth, NJ in 1746 as the College of New
Jersey, Princeton University was formally renamed in 1896.
It is the fourth-oldest college in the United States.
The School of Engineering and Applied Science was created
in 1921. Notable graduates of the school include Amazon CEO
and founder Jeff Bezos, Google executive Eric Schmidt,
Internet pioneer Bob Kahn, former Chrysler head Lee Iacocca,
and six NASA astronauts.
Today, the school consists of six departments:

Chemical and Biological Engineering
Princeton University offered its first courses in chemical
engineering in 1922. Today, researchers in chemical and biological engineering (CBE) address problems in human health,
energy, materials science, and industrial processes.
A new technology being developed by Princeton researchers
and alumni could offer a more effective and robust delivery method for COVID-19 vaccines. Compared to current vaccines, the technology - which relies on a
new type of nanoparticle - could introduce five
times as much of the vaccine's active ingredient, mRNA, into recipients' cells. This technology will be a boon for triggering a stronger
immune response while also providing a more
scalable vaccine production line.
In research that may eventually help crops
survive drought, scientists uncovered a key reason that mixing hydrogels with soil has sometimes
proven disappointing for farmers and demonstrated an experimental platform that allows scientists to study the hydrogels'
hidden workings in soils along with other compressed, confined environments. Results will provide guidelines for designing hydrogels that can optimally absorb water depending on
the soil in which they are meant to be used, potentially helping to address growing demands for food and water.
CBE researchers are helping to develop a new treatment for
the widespread and devastating diseases toxoplasmosis and
malaria. They are preparing the drug compound into a medicine that is both safe and effective for humans and is
able to reach its intended sites of action in the body in
sufficient doses. The new drug - designated
JAG21 - was found to be highly effective against parasites in cell-based studies in the lab.
Researchers are looking to an unusual water source: air. The team aims to
use thermo-responsive hydrogels or networks of polymers commonly used in
biomedical applications for water harvesting. The hydrogels change whether they attract or repel water
52

depending on their temperature. The material can absorb water
from the air in the evening when it is cool and when the temperature warms up during the day beyond a certain threshold, the
hydrogel releases the absorbed water.
A CBE team developed a sensor that could allow practical and
low-cost detection of low concentrations of methane gas. The
sensor uses an interband cascade light emitting device (ICLED)
to detect methane concentrations as low as 0.1 part per million.
Measuring methane emissions and leaks is important to a variety
of industries because the gas contributes to global warming and
air pollution. The sensors could be used to better understand
methane emissions from livestock and dairy farms and to enable
more accurate and pervasive monitoring of the climate crisis.
As the planet's burden of rubber and plastic rises, scientists look
to the promise of closed-loop recycling to reduce trash. CBE scientists discovered a potentially game-changing new molecule - from
a material known for over a century and used to make
common products like tires and shoe soles. The molecule - referred to as a " polymer of squares " -
could one day enable the use of plastic products
many times over, unlike most of today's plastic
that can only be recycled once, if at all.

www.techbriefs.com

Cov

ToC

Civil and Environmental
Engineering
Civil and environmental engineering research addresses fundamental questions associated with the built environment, the natural environment, and interactions between the two. Focus
areas include environmental and structural monitoring, air quality and water quality, urban environments including smart cities, impacts of climate
change on water resources and natural hazards, and
impacts of energy technology on the environment.
Researchers at Princeton used two industrial
robots to build the LightVault that is 7 feet tall, 12
feet across, and 21 feet long and is constructed of 338
transparent glass bricks. Using the robots improved
the structural efficiency by making it doubly curved,
which reduced the amount of material
required. This was only possible beA Princeton-led international team developed a ventilator that consists of a gas
inlet valve and a gas outlet valve, along
with a series of controls and alarms to
ensure proper monitoring and customizability from patient to patient. The design is built from readily available parts
and is presented under an open license, allowing developing countries to quickly and easily
manufacture their own units.

Tech Briefs, May 2021

http://www.techbriefs.com http://www.abpi.net/ntbpdfclicks/l.php?202105TBNAV

Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2021