How Israel used innovation to beat its water crisis

Good News Notes: “How did Israel, a country that is more than half desert, frequently hit with drought, and historically cursed by chronic water shortages, become a nation that now produces 20 percent more water than it needs? Water demand from Israel’s rapidly growing population outpaced the supply and natural replenishment of potable water so…

Stanford engineers create solar panel that can generate electricity at night

Good News Notes: “A team of engineers at Stanford University have developed a solar cell that can generate some electricity at night. The research comes at a moment when the number of solar jobsand residential installations are rising. While standard solar panels can provide electricity during the day, this device can serve as a “continuous renewable power source…

These are the world’s first wind turbine blade bridges

Good News Notes: “On a former train track bed connecting the towns of Midleton and Youghal in County Cork, Ireland, workers recently excavated the rusted remains of an old railway bridge and installed a pedestrian one in its place. The bridge would have been an unremarkable milestone in the development of a new pedestrian greenway…

Engineers are ‘driving’ innovation to help eliminate plastic waste

Good News Notes: “Each year in the United States, millions of tons of plastic waste are discarded and not recycled, leading to serious environmental problems. In an effort to help keep this waste from ending up in the environment, engineers at the University of Missouri are partnering with Dow and the Missouri Department of Transportation…

MU, MoDOT to use recycled plastic to resurface Stadium Boulevard

Good News Notes: “Although plastic isnotoriously difficult to recycle, engineers at the University of Missouri are partnering with Dow and the Missouri Department of Transportation for a potential use of large volumes of waste plastic in road material. A section of Stadium Boulevard will be resurfaced using the waste plastic in the asphalt mixture sometime…

€1 Million Prize for Plastics-to-Protein Research Awarded to Steve Techtmann, Ting Lu

Good News Notes: “Plastic waste and access to nutritious food top the list of humanity’s challenges. Yet humans are nothing if not innovative, especially in the face of adversity. Michigan Technological University’s Steve Techtmann, associate professor of biological sciences, aims to convert plastic waste and inedible biomass into edible protein — a biological sleight of hand…

A Clever Robot Spies on Creatures in the Ocean’s ‘Twilight Zone’

Good News Notes: “THE GRANDEST MIGRATION on Earth isn’t the journey of some herbivore in Africa or a bird in the sky, but the vertical movement of whole ecosystems in the open ocean. All kinds of animals, from fish to crustaceans, hang out in the depths during the day, where the darkness provides protection from predators. At night, they…

Engineers Have Developed the World’s First Fully Recyclable Printed Electronics

Good News Notes: “Engineers at Duke University have developed the world’s first fully recyclable printed electronics. By demonstrating a crucial and relatively complex computer component — the transistor — created with three carbon-based inks, the researchers hope to inspire a new generation of recyclable electronics to help fight the growing global epidemic of electronic waste….