Large-scale oyster reef restoration in the Chesapeake Bay is successfully creating three-dimensional habitats that support larger, more diverse fish communities, according to new research led by UMBC’s Allison Tracy in collaboration with scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The study merged GoPro video and sophisticated sonar imaging, offering a template for effective monitoring in murky estuaries. And, by studying reef habitat years after restoration, the team could "see how the efforts paid off—and they did pay off," Tracy says.

Imagine a car seat that reshapes itself around the person sitting in it, clothing that gently assists someone as they walk or a soft safety system that can sense an impending impact and respond. At Rice University, mechanical engineer Vanessa Sanchez is working toward a future in which those functions could be built directly into fabric. Sanchez, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has received the Toyota Programmable System Innovation Fellowship to develop “Programmable 3D-Knitted Soft Robotic Textiles for Human-Centered Mobility.” The project will explore how sensing, movement and mechanical behavior can be programmed directly into knitted structures rather than added later as separate components.

Researchers designed an AI-driven system that could boost the safety and speed of minimally invasive surgical procedures by rapidly matching X-rays captured during surgery with a patient’s preoperative 3D medical scan.