Application Area: Sustainability

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Technologies 14

Circe: Tailored Fats for Food Applications
The Problem Human society relies on an inefficient, carbon-intensive linear manufacturing process in which products are created, used, and discarded. This system produces large amounts of waste at every step that is not captured and reused, causing a significant loss of value and damage to the environment. Food production is responsible for one quarter of...
Sponge-Inspired Architecture for Stronger Buildings
From bridges to skyscrapers to roller coasters, many of the structures city-dwellers see on a daily basis are built using square grid-like frames reinforced with a series of diagonal beams. This design, invented in the 1800s, has changed little over the last 200 years because it is cheap, strong, and lightweight – but not optimal....
Circe: Transforming Greenhouse Gases into Biodegradable Products
Our society is built upon cheap, widely available petrochemicals. Beyond gasoline and other fuels, petrochemicals are primary components of many of the objects in our everyday lives, including clothing, cosmetics, electronics, packaging, paint, floors, cars, and furniture. The vast majority of these products do not biodegrade in the environment and are not recycled, and the...
cold-SNAP: Eco-Friendly Air Conditioning
As average global temperatures steadily climb, the worldwide demand for air conditioning is expected to triple by 2050. Conventional air conditioners, while now cheap to manufacture, still rely on low-efficiency mechanical vapor compression to cool and dehumidify air, making them one of the largest consumers of energy in industrialized countries. An alternative cooling method called...
RAPID: Testing for Food Contaminants
Contamination of food by microorganisms such as certain bacteria, viruses and fungi is a constant concern, with even miniscule amounts of certain species posing a risk for foods to become unsafe and spoiled during storage. Current safety and quality tests are often not sensitive enough to detect rare species, and because they first require the...
Nanoarchitectures for Air Purification
Illnesses caused by air pollution are the third-leading cause of death in developing nations, and over 5 million people worldwide die every year from air pollution exposure. Catalytic converters, the most widely used air purification devices, convert the toxic gases and pollutants produced by fuel combustion into benign chemicals before the exhaust is released into...

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