Main content startEngineers used X-ray CT scans to study how wood catches fire and fused that knowledge into a computer simulation to predict where forest fires will strike and spread.Risk assessment | Unsplash/Dominik LangeAs wildfires rage across much of the American West, researchers at Stanford have used CAT scanners, the same instruments used in medicine to peer inside the human body, to understand the process of smoldering — the state of burning without flame that often leads to fire.They then folded this deeper understanding of burning into computer models to predict where wildfires...…Main content startEngineers used X-ray CT scans to study how wood catches fire and fused that knowledge into a computer simulation to predict where forest fires will strike and spread.Risk assessment | Unsplash/Dominik LangeAs wildfires rage across much of the American West, researchers at Stanford have used CAT scanners, the same instruments used in medicine to peer inside the human body, to understand the process of smoldering — the state of burning without flame that often leads to fire.They then folded this deeper understanding of burning into computer models to predict where wildfires...WW…

Main content start,Using “lab on a chip” technology, Stanford engineers have created a microlab half the size of a credit card that can detect COVID-19 in just half an hour.This article is part of the series: The microlab test takes advantage of the fact that coronaviruses leave behind tiny genetic fingerprints wherever they go. | Getty ImagesThroughout the pandemic, infectious disease experts and frontline medical workers have asked for a faster, cheaper and more reliable COVID-19 test.Now, leveraging the so-called “lab on a chip” technology and the cutting-edge genetic editing...…Main content start,Using “lab on a chip” technology, Stanford engineers have created a microlab half the size of a credit card that can detect COVID-19 in just half an hour.This article is part of the series: The microlab test takes advantage of the fact that coronaviruses leave behind tiny genetic fingerprints wherever they go. | Getty ImagesThroughout the pandemic, infectious disease experts and frontline medical workers have asked for a faster, cheaper and more reliable COVID-19 test.Now, leveraging the so-called “lab on a chip” technology and the cutting-edge genetic editing...WW…

Main content start,Gently heating N95 masks at a relatively high humidity was found to inactivate any SARS-CoV-2 virus trapped within, without degrading the masks’ performance.This article is part of the series: A new way to make N95 mask reusable could stem shortages. | U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jake Greenberg, via FlickrAs the COVID-19 pandemic swept around the world early this year, shortages of protective equipment such as N95 masks left healthcare workers little choice but to reuse the masks they had — increasing the risk of infection for both...…Main content start,Gently heating N95 masks at a relatively high humidity was found to inactivate any SARS-CoV-2 virus trapped within, without degrading the masks’ performance.This article is part of the series: A new way to make N95 mask reusable could stem shortages. | U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jake Greenberg, via FlickrAs the COVID-19 pandemic swept around the world early this year, shortages of protective equipment such as N95 masks left healthcare workers little choice but to reuse the masks they had — increasing the risk of infection for both...WW…

Main content startStanford engineers are part of a nationwide effort to build a next-generation hardware and software system to provide the ultimate assurance of safety when space rockets blast off.What will happen at the critical instant a rocket engine ignites? Stanford engineers will help answer that question. | Image courtesy of Javier UrzayPutting humans on another celestial body is among the most complex and noble pursuits society has ever undertaken, but it doesn’t come quickly or cheaply.Imagine, then, the precise moment that all that effort and expense — everything — is riding...…Main content startStanford engineers are part of a nationwide effort to build a next-generation hardware and software system to provide the ultimate assurance of safety when space rockets blast off.What will happen at the critical instant a rocket engine ignites? Stanford engineers will help answer that question. | Image courtesy of Javier UrzayPutting humans on another celestial body is among the most complex and noble pursuits society has ever undertaken, but it doesn’t come quickly or cheaply.Imagine, then, the precise moment that all that effort and expense — everything — is riding...WW…

Main content start,Researchers combined avalanche physics with ecosystem data to create a computational method for predicting extreme ecological events.Researchers developed a computational method for predicting unprecedented, extreme events, known as “black swan” events. | Getty ImagesA black swan event is a highly unlikely but massively consequential incident, such as the 2008 global recession and the loss of one-third of the world’s saiga antelope in a matter of days in 2015.Challenging the quintessentially unpredictable nature of black swan events, bioengineers at Stanford University...…Main content start,Researchers combined avalanche physics with ecosystem data to create a computational method for predicting extreme ecological events.Researchers developed a computational method for predicting unprecedented, extreme events, known as “black swan” events. | Getty ImagesA black swan event is a highly unlikely but massively consequential incident, such as the 2008 global recession and the loss of one-third of the world’s saiga antelope in a matter of days in 2015.Challenging the quintessentially unpredictable nature of black swan events, bioengineers at Stanford University...WW…