UCLA helped launch a complementary approach to computing in which richly connected, self-organized networks of nanowires or nanoparticles act as hardware-based neural networks.

Inspired by the brain, this approach is well-suited for processing complex data quickly and energy-efficiently.

A forward-looking article in Nature Reviews Physics explores these self-organized networks and their potential to complement cloud computing by handling sensor data locally in applications such as smart devices, autonomous vehicles, industrial robots and satellites.

Uranium contamination in water poses a serious challenge because uranyl ions, the most stable form of uranium in many aquatic environments, combine chemical toxicity, radioactivity, and high mobility. Researchers have now developed a fluorescent sensing platform that can detect these ions at very low concentrations while producing a color change that can be analyzed with a smartphone. The study was published in Sustainable Carbon Materials.

Toxic sulfur-containing gases such as hydrogen sulfide and sulfur oxides are serious concerns for human health, industrial safety and the environment. Developing materials that can not only detect these gases but also capture them efficiently is therefore an important goal. Yet identifying materials that balance strong adsorption with a useful sensing response remains challenging.

The study, based on data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, found that stress, anxiety, and depression are the factors that most weaken psychological resilience.

Plasticorals, the latest type of plastiglomerate to be described, is created when polymers from household plastic melt and seep into the skeletal pores of coral rubble. Found on beaches throughout the subtropical island of Okinawa, Japan, including within a protected natural park, they are a lasting reminder of human interaction with these threatened ecosystems and may pose a distinct chemical and physical threat to corals and their reef habitats.

The Cross-Cultural Leadership Story Puzzle Game is an interactive educational platform that helps participants develop leadership and communication skills in culturally diverse environments. Delivered through Discord, the game uses role-based storytelling in which players receive unique information and must collaborate to solve workplace-style challenges. An integrated AI assessment system evaluates decision-making, communication, and cross-cultural leadership behaviors in real time, providing personalized feedback to support skill development. The platform combines narrative engagement, automation, and scalable online delivery to create an immersive learning experience for higher education, corporate training, and professional development. The patent-pending technology is at TRL 3 and available for licensing.

SafeSeal is an AI-driven watermarking technology designed to protect large language model (LLM) outputs from unauthorized use while preserving text quality and readability. The system embeds detectable watermarks through context-aware synonym substitutions while using named entity recognition to preserve critical information and maintain semantic integrity. Performance testing demonstrated a BERTScore of 0.981, an entity similarity score of 0.962, and a watermark detection rate of 95.1%, indicating strong content fidelity and reliable verification. Potential applications include intellectual property protection, AI content authentication, compliance, and secure deployment of commercial LLMs. The patent-pending technology is at TRL 3 and available for licensing.

GrantsMate is an AI-powered research support platform developed at the University at Albany that streamlines key research activities by integrating funding discovery, collaborator identification, and institutional policy guidance into a single system. Using machine learning, natural language processing, retrieval-augmented generation, and vector databases, the platform delivers personalized, context-aware recommendations through a conversational interface. Its modular architecture supports both cloud and on-premises deployment, allowing institutions to tailor the system to their needs. By reducing inefficiencies created by fragmented research support tools, GrantsMate helps researchers identify funding opportunities, build collaborations, and navigate administrative requirements more effectively. The patent-pending technology is at TRL 3 and available for licensing.