Aerospace Engineering at Illinois – Developed by Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor Tim Bretl and his students, Aadeel Akhtar and Kyung Yun Choi, the fingers of this flexible model prosthetic hand are smashed, twisted, and bent in every direction. Surviving the torment, the digits bend back into shape. Bretl and Akhtar are members of Beckman’s Mechanisms of Cognitive Control Group.

Smithsonian Magazine – U of I entomologist Andrew Suarez, a member of Beckman’s Bioimaging Science and Techology Group, commented in Smithsonian Magazine on a new study about how ants have successfully migrated around the world. “I think ants globally really are one of the bigger and more problematic invasive taxa,” said Suarez, who has long studied invasive ants. He points to fire ants as a prime example. Their aggression in colonizing new areas and attacking rival insects helps them push out native insects and even nesting birds and reptiles.

MechSE at Illinois – Randy Ewoldt, an assistant professor of mechanical science and engineering and member of Beckman’s Autonomous Materials Systems Group, was one of just 82 of the nation’s brightest young engineers selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) 23rd annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium in September. He is one of three engineers invited from the University of Illinois. 

New Atlas – Scientists may have found a fix for one of the recurring problems of virtual reality and augmented reality: eye fatigue. A new type of display module was developed by Liang Gao, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and graduate student Wei Cui, both members of Beckman’s Bioimaging Science and Technology Group. The module uses an approach called optical mapping to create realistic 3D images by using a series of 2D subpanel images.