Easter 2007
Flexible rigid structures
Contacts: Dr Matthew Santer,Cambridge University Engineering Department Mentor: Marc Bax More information: http://www-civ.eng.cam.ac.uk/dsl Dr Santer, working with colleagues at both Cambridge University and MIT, has developed a design for flexible plate structures that are rigid in different configurations. This allows the construction of objects which are flexible, since they change shape, but also rigid, since they hold…
Recycling car batteries in an energy-efficient way (CLEAN Lead)
Contacts: Dr Vasant Kumar, Department of Materials Science Car batteries represent a recycling success story, in that 90% are already recycled and over 50% of new batteries are produced using recycled lead. However, the processes used to break the batteries down into their component parts (lead and other chemicals) are in themselves environmentally unfriendly. Techniques either…
Cheaper, more power-efficient displays
Contacts: Dr Steve Morris, CAPE, Cambridge University Engineering Department Mentor: Caren Weinberg Today, LCD displays are everywhere, in mobile phones, iPods, laptops, and as computer screens and domestic TVs. Current screens use white backlights with red, green and blue filters, and require three liquid crystal cells for each visible pixel (one per colour). They are also…