Summer 2015
Elaine Thomas ’76—Showing some metal
Elaine Thomas broke ground as a top metallurgist, a traditionally male field, researching and making high-quality metal castings.
» More ...Materials engineering
Fall 2013
New & noteworthy
Luna Sea
by Kim Roberts ’82
2012
Aloha Jones, harbormaster at Lahaina, Maui, investigates the murder of a local troublemaker in this mystery set in Hawaii and filled with sharks and funky characters on the dark side of paradise.
The Boys From Ireland: An Irish Immigrant Family’s Involvement in the Civil War
by Neil W. Moloney ’53
2012
In this historical fiction, a group of dispossessed Irish immigrants find themselves embroiled in America’s Civil War, enduring poverty, starvation, and the loss of family members.
Biodesign Out for a … » More …
Winter 2012
More energy (and other stuff) from wood
Few materials have been as kind to civilization as wood.
It made possible some of our most revolutionary technologies: the spear, fire, the wheel, the house, the ship. Hunting, cooking, shelter, transportation, all got big assists because wood was abundant, changeable, sturdy, and packed with energy.
WSU researchers are now trying to wring a whole new suite of uses from wood, including jet fuel and alternatives to other petroleum-based products. They have millions of tons of raw material at their disposal in logging residues across the Northwest. Leading the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance, a consortium of universities, government labs, and industry, they have $40 … » More …
Fall 2002
Small and smaller
There’s a limit to how small a piece of chocolate chip cookie you can have. At some point, you’ll either have a piece of chocolate or a piece of cookie, but not a piece of chocolate chip cookie.
You run into the same problem if you’re trying to make smaller silicon processor chips, says Kerry W. Hipps, professor of chemistry and materials science. Eventually the chip gets too small to function as a processor.
The processor is the brain in your computer. It makes the decisions about what data should go where, including how to route input like keyboard strokes, and how to route output … » More …