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Engineering

bioplastic knives, forks, and spoons
Winter 2021

Plant plastics

Why make plastic from petroleum and fossil fuels when they can be made from plants and bio-based materials?

Plastic waste remains a huge problem, one that WSU researchers are working on, but other research across the country looks at alternatives to fossil fuel-based plastics.

WSU collaborates with Iowa State University on the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (CB2) on developing high-value biobased products from agricultural and forestry feedstocks. The WSU Composite Materials and Engineering Center provides expertise in renewable resources to develop those novel bio-based polymers, chemicals, and composites.

The work at WSU has been underway for a … » More …

Man uses a screen with eye control technology
Fall 2021

Videos: Eye control research at Microsoft

Eye-controlled wheelchairs and other devices can help people with neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS, communicate and connect.

Watch how engineer Jon Campbell (’03 Comp. Sci. & Comp. Eng., ’05 MS Comp. Sci.) and the Microsoft Research Enable Team are developing eye control technology.

 

 

Read more about Campbell and eye-control technology.

Car by small hydrogen fueling station. Courtesy The Protium Company
Spring 2021

Hydrogen fuel research at WSU

Washington State University is home to the Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) Laboratory. As the only cryogenic hydrogen research laboratory in US academia, HYPER has a number of projects to improve hydrogen production and storage, all at extremely cold temperatures below 130 Kelvin (-225°F).

Read more about hydrogen fuel and the rising green hydrogen economy.

Hydrogen refueling stations

Current refueling stations use large and expensive hydrogen compressors to achieve the necessary pressure for fuel storage.  Those large compressors are also prone to breakdowns. A new method called cryogenic thermal compression being tested at WSU may … » More …