Liquid is the material state whose shape depends on the container; on the other hand, solid material has a specific shape that resists the external force-induced deformation. Most of the time, we can tell if the material is liquid or solid by examining its response to external force. However, can you think of a material that can be both liquid and solid at the same time depending on how you interact with the material? In this hands-on activity, we will guide you to make a material that is between liquid and solid. When you gently and slowly poke the material, it is fluid like water but when you poke it hard and fast, it is elastic like a solid material. This material is categorized as a non-Newtonian fluid. In this activity, you will learn how non-Newtonian fluid behaves differently from conventional Newtonian fluid.
We all love things that glow in the dark and a night time celebration isn’t complete without glow sticks, but have you ever wondered how they work? What exactly happens to make light appear when you bend the glow stick and hear that crack. Learn about chemiluminescence and the chemistry behind glow sticks!
Recycling is a key process for a sustainable future, and yet it is far from desired levels of efficiency. As mixed-stream recycling is the most common approach for domestic waste, the recycling industry heavily relies on the development of reliable waste sorting technologies. Robotic systems have remarkable potential for fulfilling this need and moving the industry to the next level.
The dangerous process of dismantling large ship hulls often involves cutting down and recycling the ship’s infrastructure. According to US OSHA standards, ship breaking operations expose workers to a wide range of hazards or conditions likely to cause injury or illness. Learn how a group of WPI students worked together to develop a solution to improve worker safety in the ship-breaking industry by designing a prototype that displays the viability of a robotic approach to ship recycling.
Every year, thousands of people are killed or maimed because of land mines. Countless acres of land can’t be used to grow food because they are littered with these deadly mines. Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are working on a robotic solution that would be inexpensive enough for small towns and organizations to use. The project uses an autonomous robotic team – a rover that uses a metal detection system to detect the mine and a drone that will drop a payload on the mine to detonate it.
Perhaps you are a student interested in a STEM career, but you are unsure what that could like. Maybe you are a parent looking to guide your student as they start to think about what career path to seek. Hear from David Saul, the WPI Business School’s Executive-in-Residence, about some of the highlights from his career in STEM.
See how TRINA, the tele-robotic intelligent nursing assistant can be operated using different interfaces such as a game controller, stylus, and motion mapping to complete tasks. Which interface do you think will work best?
Can you think of a few similarities between a hospital and a factory? Based on a hospital-factory analogy, this presentation provides a novel way to innovate in the medical device field with manufacturing science and technology. Examples of medical device innovation to tackle the world #1 cause of death will be introduced.
Have you ever wanted to design and program your own game? Now is your opportunity! Visit our website and check out games that have already been created, watch tutorials, explore our visual programming language and design and program a game of your own!
We have some algebra problems for 7th to 12th graders to solve! In this one-hour study, students will solve some algebra problems, find errors in worked examples, and judge whether two expressions are mathematically equivalent. Through this research, we hope to learn how to better design algebra problems to support student learning. Thank you so much for supporting our research!
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