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Each year, nearly 20 billion sanitary pads, tampons and applicators are dumped into North American landfills every year, and it takes centuries for them to biodegrade inside plastic bags, according to a 2016 Harvard Business School report. Additionally, it requires high amounts of fossil fuel energy to produce the plastic for these products, resulting in […]

The University of Utah is the top research university in the nation when it comes to commercializing technology innovations, according to the Milken Institute’s 2017 ranking of Best Universities for Technology Transfer. The U has “quietly evolved into one of the most prestigious research universities in the United States with a strong emphasis on commercializing […]

Thanks to the discovery of a new material by University of Utah engineers, jewelry such as a ring and your body heat could generate enough electricity to power a body sensor, or a cooking pan could charge a cellphone in just a few hours. The team, led by University of Utah materials science and engineering […]

You may know Taylor Sparks as a University of Utah materials science and engineering assistant professor. But earlier this month, he was Taylor Sparks, reality TV guest star. Sparks appeared in an episode of the Discovery Channel television show, “Diesel Brothers,” a popular reality program based on his brother’s successful truck modification shop, DieselSellerz, in […]

Utah’s growth in the technology sector continues to skyrocket, and engineering colleges around the state are doing everything they can to meet the high demand for engineers. In the first six months of 2016, Utah had the greatest percentage increase of technology-related jobs in the U.S. with a growth of 7.7 percent, according to the […]

Materials science and engineering assistant professor Taylor Sparks received a five-year NSF CAREER Award. The award is for his project of developing tools to more safely and effectively discover new materials that could be used to harvest wasted energy. Typically, about 60 percent of energy used from things such as a laptop computer, cell phone […]

University of Utah materials science and engineering Distinguished Professor Anil Virkar, who has been with the U for more than 43 years, can add yet another honor to his list — he has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). “I’m extremely honored to be named to NAI. Having worked at […]

Both Kristina Lundgren and Megan Stephanz were honored by the MSE Department by being named MSE Outstanding Seniors...

Alkane fuel is a key ingredient in combustible material such as gasoline, airplane fuel, oil — even a homemade bomb. Yet it’s difficult to detect and there are no portable scanners available that can sniff out the odorless and colorless vapor.

Materials Science & Engineering student, Jeffrey Copeland (B.S., '17) was awarded a Governor's Energy Leadership Scholars (GELS) award from the state of Utah. Copeland is a student in the Professor Taylor Sparks research group.

University of Utah engineers have discovered a new kind of 2D semiconducting material for electronics that opens the door for much speedier computers and smartphones that also consume a lot less power.