Peter Bothum

University of Deleware

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing has a new podcast brought to you by the editors of Industrial Media. In each episode, we discuss the five biggest stories in manufacturing, and the implications they have on the industry moving forward.

Two University of Delaware students have fashioned a biodegradable shoe using mushrooms, chicken feathers and textile waste. The prototype shoe consists of a mycelium-based sole, covered with vegan 'leather,' and an all-natural cotton fabric top.

Shoes Made Out of Mushrooms

The biodegradable shoes are a response to a fashion industry that typically produces a lot of waste.

Through simulations and experiments, the research team showed that a porous membrane stifled the formation of dendrites in lithium metal batteries.

Team Makes Ultra-Powerful Batteries Safer

This could lay the foundation for more widespread use of lithium metal batteries that would have more capacity.

Post-doctoral fellow Philip Saponaro demonstrates the imaging technology being developed in the VIMS lab, which picks up signals from a person in the camera's view.

Imaging Tech Helps Soldiers Spot Explosive Devices

Researchers get $1 million grant for tech that lets soldiers spot explosive hazards from a safe distance.

Engineers Create Interwoven Polymers

Their secret ingredient? Blue light.

Fuel-cell vehicles offer several advantages over battery-powered cars, but costs have been an obstacle. A new paper shows how an alternative technology could give fuel cells greater traction in the quest for zero-emissions vehicles.

Alternative Fuel Cell Tech Reduces Cost

The pathway to zero-emission vehicles has taken two forks. This guy believes in the second fork.

University of Delaware researcher Guoquan Huang has received a National Science Foundation grant to design attack-resilient micro aerial vehicles.

Attack-Resistant Micro Drones

Drones could be a $91 billion market by 2026, so experts are working on ways for the vehicles to detect abnormalities and fight off malicious attacks.

Research by the University of Delaware's Thomas H. Epps, III, and his team documents the design of low-cost, high-performance wood-based polymers. The wood comes from waste from the pulp and paper industry.

Wood-Based Polymers Made from Waste

Waste from the pulp and paper business definitely ticks the cost box as the industry is eager to get rid of this plentiful waste product.

The University of Delaware's Mark Moline has co-authored a paper in Robotics on the advantage of linking multi-sensor systems aboard autonomous underwater vehicles to enable the vehicle to synthesize data in real-time so that it can independently make decisions about what action to take next.

Underwater Robots Can Make Independent Decisions

Imagine what could be learned if the robot was constantly triggering new missions based on real-time information.