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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Oct-2026 19:15 ET (30-Oct-2026 23:15 GMT/UTC)

Keystone microbes help stabilize nutrient cycling in a massive deep-water reservoir

Shenyang Agricultural University Collaborative Journals
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Microbial communities in large reservoirs may change markedly from year to year, yet the essential processes they perform can remain surprisingly stable. A new study of the Xiaowan Reservoir in southwest China shows that a small group of highly connected microorganisms may help maintain carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and iron cycling despite major shifts in the wider microbial community.

Journal: Environmental and Biogeochemical Processes

China’s climate goals could reshape the global palm oil industry

Shenyang Agricultural University Collaborative Journals
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Palm oil is found in foods, cosmetics, detergents, fuels, and many other everyday products. It supplies about 30% of the world’s vegetable oil while producing substantially more oil per hectare than crops such as soybean. Yet its expansion has also been linked to deforestation, peatland degradation, biodiversity loss, and high greenhouse gas emissions.

Journal: Agricultural Ecology and Environment

Pitfalls of AI speech-to-text in clinical settings

University of Cincinnati
Peer-Reviewed Publication

UC researcher Nelly Elsayed’s study in the International Journal of Medical Informatics reveals key risks in clinical speech-to-text AI and shows why human review is essential.

Journal: International Journal of Medical Informatics

Major NSF award to turbocharge quantum tech innovation in Conn.

Yale University
Grant and Award Announcement

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today that Connecticut is one of twelve regions selected to receive an NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) award, joining a portfolio of regional technology clusters that are accelerating the development of critical technologies and building a durable U.S. technology advantage.

The NSF Quantum Technologies Engine in Connecticut, also known as the QuantumCT Engine, will initially receive a two-year, $15 million award. A public-private quantum research initiative, QuantumCT is led by the University of Connecticut (UConn) in partnership with Yale University, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), ConnCORP, CT Innovations, and the State of Connecticut.

The NSF Engines award will support QuantumCT’s technology translation, workforce development, and incubator operations. The funds will also facilitate industry and community engagement to deliver broad societal benefits, including economic opportunities, workforce training, and innovative technology that advances the nation’s competitiveness, security, and economic growth. By demonstrating sufficient progress, QuantumCT has the potential to receive $160 million from the NSF over the next decade.

NSF selects Rochester, New York, as national laser innovation hub

University of Rochester
Grant and Award Announcement

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) announced it will award $15 million over the next two years to launch the NSF STELLAR Engine in the Rochester/Finger Lakes Region of New York, led by the University of Rochester. The award, matched by $16 million in New York State support over the next six years will establish an internationally competitive technology and innovation cluster in the region focused on laser technologies, education, business expansion and attraction, manufacturing, and workforce development.

Powering up economies, WVU with Pitt and Carnegie Mellon will recharge energy security and resilience with $320M for new technology, AI, infrastructure, and jobs

West Virginia University
Grant and Award Announcement

The Resilient Energy Technology and Infrastructure Consortium, led by West Virginia University in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and more than 60 regional partners, will use $321 million in public and private funding to develop the nation’s next leading industrial energy innovation hub in the heart of Appalachia.

Uncanny valley effect observed in macaques through 3D animated monkey avatars

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new tool that allows researchers to create realistic full-body animations of monkeys has provided the first evidence that non-human primates experience the “uncanny valley” phenomenon for body avatars, according to a study by Lucas Maximilian Martini at the University Clinic Tubingen in Germany and colleagues at KU Leuven in Belgium, publishing July 14^th in the open access journal PLOS Biology.

Journal: PLOS Biology

New process turns mixed plastic waste directly into hydrogen fuel without sorting

University of California - Los Angeles
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team co-led by researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and Ewha Womans University in South Korea has demonstrated a new chemical approach that converts a mixture of the three most common plastics directly into high-purity hydrogen fuel at temperatures far below conventional gasification. The process locks carbon dioxide away as a solid mineral without releasing the greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: National Research Foundation of Korea, Korea government (Ministry of Science and ICT and Ministry of Education)

Oregon team of nearly 100 partners awarded NSF Regional Innovation Engine Award, set up to receive up to $160 million to grow state’s semiconductor industry

Oregon State University
Grant and Award Announcement

Frontiers of Advanced Semiconductor Technology, known as FAST, an Oregon consortium that includes nearly 100 partners from across Oregon, will receive up to $160 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) during the next 10 years to grow the state’s semiconductor ecosystem. Oregon State University is the administrative home for FAST.