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Mechanical control and modulation of light on a silicon chip could enhance lidar piezo-ring New technology uses acoustics to better control a pulse of laser light split into a frequency comb, potentially helping lidar to achieve detection of nearby high-speed objects. (WoogieWorks graphic/Alex Mehler) Download image WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A self-driving car has a hard time recognizing the difference between a toddler and a brown bag that suddenly appears into view because of limitations in how it senses objects using lidar. The autonomous vehicle industry is exploring “frequency modulated continuous wave” (FMCW) lidar to solve this problem. Researchers have built a way that this type of lidar could achieve higher-resolution detection of nearby fast-moving objects through mechanical control and modulation of light on a silicon chip.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Bovine respiratory disease (BRD), one of the most prevalent and costly illnesses in the beef and dairy industries, accounts for about half of all feedlot deaths in North America and costs producers as much as $900 million a year. Quickly diagnosing the illness could improve the well-being of animals and save producers significant money. Current tests don’t offer results for four or more days. Purdue University researchers, led by Mohit Verma, an assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, are developing technology to reduce diagnosis time to about 30 minutes. Their work is being funded by a $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Inter-Disciplinary Engagement in Animal Systems (IDEAS) grant.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) -- A new technology out of Purdue University is on track to revolutionize coronavirus testing. Students are in the midst of creating a COVID-19 test that can identify if you're positive or negative for the virus in a matter of 30 minutes. And, the test is designed to be able to take in the comfort of your home. Right now, testing sites across the United States are experiencing major delays in getting results, CBS News reports. The total of reported coronavirus cases in the U.S. currently sits at more than 3-million according to the CDC. But a device about the size of a one-dollar coin could greatly curb that number.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — You can't spell Boilermaker without "maker." During the COVID-19 pandemic, Purdue University has manufactured thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment, thanks to a donation of raw materials from 3M. “My background is in roll-to-roll manufacturing and processing, especially of polymer films,” said Mukerrem Cakmak, Purdue’s Reilly Professor of Materials and Mechanical Engineering. “I had already built a roll-to-roll machine in a cleanroom at Birck Nanotechnology Center. So when the pandemic hit, our team decided we had to do something to help.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.— Purdue University, Raytheon BBN Technologies, a Raytheon Technologies company, PortaScience Inc., Cortex Design Inc., and LaDuca LLC on Wednesday, June 25th announced a collaboration to produce and manufacture a COVID-19 point-of-care test. The test will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Highly energetic, “hot” electrons have the potential to help solar panels more efficiently harvest light energy. But scientists haven’t been able to measure the energies of those electrons, limiting their use. Researchers at Purdue University and the University of Michigan built a way to analyze those energies.

‘Intelligent concrete’ could cut down on road repairs and traffic WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Roads always seem to need repairs. Luna Lu is giving concrete the ability to “talk” and even heal itself. Her lab at Purdue University is developing technology that would allow concrete-paved bridges and highways to reveal more accurately when they need repairs and to come equipped with materials that respond to potential damage.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Research into quantum techniques to more quickly detect explosives and exotic types of quantum camouflage have received funding from the U.S. Department of Defense’s 2020 Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. The four faculty members who have been awarded projects in the competitive funding program are members of the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute in Purdue's Discovery Park. The highly competitive, tri-service MURI program is supported by the Army Research Office, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Office of Naval Research. Of the 365 projects nominated, only 26 were chosen via a merit-based review. According to the Department of Defense, the MURI program convenes teams of multiple disciplines to facilitate the growth of new technologies to solve the DoD’s unique problems.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Soft and flexible materials called halide perovskites could make solar cells more efficient at significantly less cost, but they’re too unstable to use. A Purdue University-led research team has found a way to make halide perovskites stable enough by inhibiting the ion movement that makes them rapidly degrade, unlocking their use for solar panels as well as electronic devices.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Bacterial pathogens can live on surfaces for days. What if frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs could instantly kill them off? Purdue University engineers have created a laser treatment method that could potentially turn any metal surface into a rapid bacteria killer – just by giving the metal’s surface a different texture. In a study published in the journal Advanced Materials Interfaces, the researchers demonstrated that this technique allows the surface of copper to immediately kill off superbugs such as MRSA. “Copper has been used as an antimicrobial material for centuries. But it typically takes hours for native copper surfaces to kill off bacteria,” said Rahim Rahimi, a Purdue assistant professor of materials engineering.