Power/Performance Bits: Dec. 29


Safer Li-ion batteries Scientists from Stanford University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory propose a way to make lithium-ion batteries lighter, more efficient, and fire resistant. One of the heaviest components of lithium-ion batteries are the copper or aluminum sheets that act as current collectors. "The current collector has always been considered de... » read more

System Bits: June 12


Writing complex ML/DL analytics algorithms Rice University researchers in the DARPA-funded Pliny Project believe they have the answer for every stressed-out systems programmer who has struggled to implement complex objects and workflows on ‘big data’ platforms like Spark and thought: “Isn’t there a better way?” Their answer: Yes with PlinyCompute, which the team describes as “a sys... » read more

Bringing Together The Physical, Digital Worlds


With IoT and the Cloud exploding as the next big thing, engineering teams around the world are still scratching their heads as far the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of this genre that in many cases, leverages a good bit of existing technology reimagined in a new way. Of course, security underpins it all. The ‘what’ is really limitless, and actually, much of the ‘how’ is too given that... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 23


Thinnest light absorber Expected to potentially reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of solar cells, Stanford University scientists report they have created the thinnest, most efficient absorber of visible light on record. The nanoscale structure is thousands of times thinner than an ordinary sheet of paper. The researchers said achieving complete absorption of visible light with a mi... » read more