Open sesame: NIU engineering students pilot voice-operated door lock
DeKalb, Ill. — It’s more of a magical phrase, but throw in a bit of electrical engineering and “open sesame” becomes the key to a successful student project in the…
Category: Research
‘Jurassic’ effort: NIU engineering students work to re-create saber-toothed cat
Senior Design Day project aims to improve animal prosthetics, museum displays.
DeKalb, Ill. — They started with a 3-D prototype of a saber-toothed cat’s forelimb. One day, it could be the entire cat. Inspired by NIU biological sciences professor Virginia Naples,…
Winning Senior Design Day team impresses Yorkville-based textile company
Project could save Aurora Specialty Textiles Group about $100,000 a year.
DeKalb, Ill. — You could say a team of NIU’s graduating engineering students did their homework—and then some. Taking top honors in the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology’s Spring…
NIU students’ air-to-water drone could lessen costs of gathering aquatic data
DeKalb, Ill. — With its own catchy classical theme song borrowed from a Richard Wagner opera, an air-to-water drone created by a team of NIU students won first place in the…
NIU engineering students tackle real-world problems at Senior Design Day
DeKalb, Ill. — It was all about affordability and making a difference for NIU’s graduating engineering students as they proved themselves during Spring 2018 Senior Design Day. The 39 team…
NIU’s David Gunkel takes a serious look at ‘Robot Rights’
Should intelligent machines be due some level of social standing and respect?
They recommend restaurants, music and driving routes for us. They beat us at digital games and interact socially. They can—and increasingly will—drive our vehicles. We use various forms of robots…
NIU engineering students a driving force behind Icebox Derby
Student-designed technology put to use at Chicago event
DeKalb, Ill. — No matter which team crossed the finish line first at a recent ComEd Icebox Derby in Chicago, a group of Northern Illinois University engineering students won. The students…
Mamma mia! The physics behind a perfect pizza
Ah, crispy crust Italian-style pizza with perfectly cooked toppings and a moist fluffy dough. It’s hard to beat, and despite the simple ingredients, it’s also challenging to replicate at home….
New study suggests surprising wrinkle in history of West Antarctic Ice Sheet
At some point since last Ice Age, the WAIS was smaller than it is today
DeKALB, Ill. — Scientists generally have believed that since the end of the last Ice Age, about 15,000 years ago, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) has been getting smaller…
Spearheading protection of Malagasy rainforest
Creation of preserve is a dream come true for professors Mitch Irwin and Karen Samonds
An international nonprofit organization founded by two Northern Illinois University professors and a foreign colleague is now spearheading the creation of a 65,000-acre, high-altitude rainforest preserve in Madagascar. Anthropology professor…
NIU Press Releases- NIU in the News
- The Hype Over Sensory Deprivation Tanks Is Real. Here’s Why
- Could Robots Have Similar Rights to Animals or Humans?
- Following disturbance, most waterways improve but don't fully recover within the study period, researchers found
- Inside Incels’ Looksmaxing Obsession: Penis Stretching, Skull Implants And Rage
- Pizza Physics: Why Brick Ovens Bake the Perfect Italian-Style Pie
- Here Are 16 Psychological Tricks to Immediately Make You More Likeable
- How to Actually Tell if You Should Break Up or Not
- Kennedy Off the Bench But Still on the Job
- All the Possible Reasons Justin Isn't Following Hailey on Instagram
- Bird poop helps keep coral reefs healthy, but rats are messing that up