The Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) recently selected winners for its University Design Competition for Addressing Airport Needs.

Centering science instruction around investigation and design can improve learning in middle and high schools and help students make sense of phenomena in the world around them.

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Bridges make travel faster and more convenient, but, in an earthquake, these structures are subject to forces that can cause extensive damage and make them unsafe. Now civil and environmental engineer Petros Sideris of Texas A&M University is leading a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research project to investigate the performance of hybrid sliding-rocking (HSR) columns. HSR columns provide the same support as conventional bridge infrastructure columns but are more earthquake-resistant. HSR columns are a series of individual concrete segments held together by steel cables that allow for controlled sliding and rocking. This allows the columns to shift without damage, while post-tensioning strands ensure that at the end of an earthquake the columns are pushed back to their original position. Conventional bridges are cast-in-place monolithic concrete elements that are strong but inflexible. Structural damage in these bridge columns, typically caused by a natural disaster, often forces a bridge to close until repairs are completed. But bridges with HSR columns can withstand large earthquakes with minimal damage and require minor repairs, likely without bridge closures. Such infrastructure helps with post-disaster response and recovery and can save thousands in taxpayer dollars. In an earthquake, HSR columns provide "multiple advantages to the public," Sideris said. "By preventing bridge damage, we can maintain access to affected areas immediately after an event for response teams to be easily deployed, and help affected communities recover faster. In mitigating losses related to post-event bridge repairs and bridge closures, more funds can be potentially directed to supporting the recovery of the affected communities." According to Joy Pauschke, NSF program director for natural hazards engineering, "NSF invests in fundamental engineering research so that, in the future, the nation's infrastructure can be more resilient to earthquakes, hurricanes, and other forces of nature."

Image credit: Texas A&M University

A recent study has described a simple method to screen the toxicity of materials used in consumer products. Using utility meter products as examples, the study found, for example, that stainless steel and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) had high toxicity potentials and suggests less toxic, but equally effective and priced, alternatives that could be used instead.

Researchers have developed a method to identify the parts that contribute the most to a product's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and evaluate alternative design solutions. When applied to a LCD television, it showed that GHG emissions could be cut by 36 per cent by using alternative parts to those currently used.

The qualities of sustainable design and the obstacles that Design for Sustainability (DfS) faces are explored by a new study which provides recommendations on how to overcome these challenges. It suggests that design education needs to change and provides advice on how to improve our understanding of consumer behaviour.

Managing landscapes effectively requires the involvement of a wide variety of stakeholders. The views and interests of these different groups can be effectively integrated by agri-environment 'collaboratives' — a type of bridging organisation which can be found in varying forms in Europe. Using data from Germany and the Netherlands, a study concludes that these groups make important contributions to landscape management, ranging from implementing policy to generating income.

The lifetime environmental impacts of non-electrical consumer products, such as clothes, could be cut by over 40% if consumers maintained them in a more environmentally friendly manner, new research suggests. The study found the impacts of eco-designed products fell significantly when user guidelines were included in the eco-design.

Researchers have developed a methodology that allows the analysis of how an existing product design meets design guidelines required for the circular-economy perspective, and which guidelines would need to be incorporated to create a better circular-design product. The results, based on a case study of small electrical equipment in Spain, indicate that the most urgent priority is to incorporate circular-design guidelines related to extending life span and to product/components re-use, while there is a moderate need to include guidelines related to the use of simple removable connections or a modular product structure.

Manufacturing solid state lighting (SSL) with light emitting diodes (LEDs) for easy disassembly at end-of-life will facilitate potential end-of-life uses, thereby reducing life cycle costs and environmental impacts, according to a recent study.

Flat screen televisions and computer monitors should be designed so they can be quickly dismantled for recycling, a recent study says. The researchers calculated that in order to ensure the recycling process remains economically viable, it must be possible to disassemble small screens in less than 11 minutes. Good design could lower the costs of recycling and enable near-total recovery of precious metals from the waste screens.

Ship recycling at the end of a ship’s useful life aims to make the shipping industry more environmentally sustainable and is a major source of employment in developing countries. However, there are associated health, safety and environmental concerns. This study argues these concerns are due to inappropriate design and explains how ‘design for recycling’ can reduce the costs and risks of ship recycling.

By using design tools to increase sustainability at every stage of production, researchers have developed a new eco-light. The light, which uses low wattage LEDs and recycled plastic, has a substantially lower environmental impact than the traditional equivalent LED lights.

A new pomegranate-inspired design is the basis of a longer-lasting lithium-ion battery created by US researchers. They designed a battery with an anode made from ‘silicon pomegranates’, which doubles the amount of energy that can be stored compared to a standard carbon anode.

People who live in the most ‘activity-friendly’ neighbourhoods do up to 1.5 hours more physical activity a week than those in the least supportive neighbourhoods. This is according to a new international study which measured levels of exercise — mainly walking for recreation or transport — in relation to the urban environment across 14 diverse cities. The results show how urban design — such as parks and local amenities — can promote healthy lifestyles which also bring environmental benefits, such as better air quality, through reduced car use.

Researchers have explored the influence of indicators in transport policy in two case studies at the EU and Member State levels. In both cases indicators were widely used, however, this did not always translate into direct influence on policies. Involvement of policymakers themselves in the development of the indicators and good links to achievable goals were thought to increase the likelihood of policy influence.

New research into how landscape architects approach the retrofitting of urban areas with sustainable urban drainage systems to manage stormwater has identified 11 main challenges. Importantly, the study also discusses solutions for how to overcome them.

AI-based recognition systems, and smart security video networks have led to a paradigm shift in the architecture of security video systems.

A recent study has described a simple method to screen the toxicity of materials used in consumer products. Using utility meter products as examples, the study found, for example, that stainless steel and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) had high toxicity potentials and suggests less toxic, but equally effective and priced, alternatives that could be used instead.

Someone recently challenged me to convert the curling simulator we published a few years ago (See this post and this post) to take advantage of new features not available at that time: App Designer and Stateflow for MATLAB.... read more >>

Transforming public spaces with plants that decontaminate soils can add functional, ecological, economic and social value to derelict areas. A new study calls for consideration of social and environmental factors, as well as remediation needs, to produce effective and innovative landscape design.

CULPEPER — The Virginia Department of Transportation invites the public to attend one of three upcoming location and design public hearings about a...

The post Furniture reflects four generations of Australian design appeared first on The Lead SA.

BRISTOL – The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will hold a design public hearing tomorrow to show plans for the widening of a half-mile section of Business Route 23 in the Town of Wise.

The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a Location and Design public hearing concerning improvements to Route 11 (South Valley Pike) and Route 704 (Cecil Wampler Road) in Rockingham County.  The meeting will take place from 4 to 7 p.m., Thursday, December 6, 2018 at Bridgewater Town Hall, 201 Green Street, Bridgewater, Virginia  22812.  The inclement weather date is Thursday, December 13, 2018, same time and location.

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Primary care health workers now have a guide for conducting remote consultation of suspected COVID-19 patients, developed by a team of researchers from Singapore and the UK....

Not in the gift-giving mood for chocolates, flowers and racy lingerie this Valentine's Day? Consider these 10 lust-worthy home design picks sure to please any s

On the hunt for the perfect Valentine's Day gift? Consider these handmade and eco-friendly home accessories that not-so-subtly say 'amore.'

A new generation of do-it-yourselfers is bringing back a trend that started long ago with classic Volkswagens: turning standard vans into full-featured campers.

Although it may strike some as too minimalist, too clinical, this remodel of a cramped studio apartment in Athens is full of clever, space-expanding tricks.

The United States has approved construction of new nuclear reactors for the first time in three decades. The two new reactors approved on Feb. 9 for Georgia wou

Squiggles, swoops, spires, waterfalls and some truly otherworldly latticework are just the beginning.

A winner is announced for Timber in the City, a design competition that challenged entrants to design a wood-centric mixed-use complex for Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Blue Homes' view-ready Balance prefab finds a most appropriate home on the ancestral stomping grounds of Frank Lloyd Wright in Wisconsin.

In the bucolic exburbs of New York City, a mass-produced home designed by the legendary architect hits the market.

In Japan, militantly unfussy retailer Muji sells much more than stationery, travel pillows and slippers.

Vipp, the venerable purveyor of high-end trash bins, gets into the prefab vacation home business.

The basic principles are pretty straightforward, but getting all the details right can be challenging. Probably the biggest issue is finding the right combinati

To harness the power of the wind, some creative minds have looked beyond the traditional turbine. You may never look at a kite in the same way again.

These fun designs will win over even the toughest of skeptics.

University of Oregon architecture student Cameron Huber scores the top spot (and $2,000) in Hammer & Hand's beauty and brawn-seeking perFORM Design Competition.

An international design competition hopes to bring energy-efficient housing and more to Tristan da Cunha.

The iconic hotel is located in Swedish Lapland and was the first of its kind.

Chipotle, one of MNN's top 10 organic fast-food restaurants, is searching for a technical writing and design consultant at its Denver office.

Ben & Jerry's has invited me to create my own custom flavor using fair trade ingredients next month- help me out with some tasty ideas.

Korean scientists create energy-saving windows that reflect heat in the summer and absorb it during the winter.

Imagine a smartphone for the visually impaired that has the tools most sighted smartphone users have come to take for granted

Jay Harman developed technologies from the Lily Impeller that he says may fundamentally change how humans do almost everything.