Impact

For nearly 150 years, researchers have contemplated the idea of a space elevator—an alternate way to shuttle people and goods to space that wouldn’t involve a shuttle at all.

Denis Wirtz, vice provost for research, says unifying the field of cell mechanics around a common set of approaches will make it more valuable to the larger cancer research community.

A robot travels through a tunnel buried deep underground. Using its camera, it searches every nook and cranny in the dark passageway for potential hazards, mapping its path as it goes. It relays this information to its operators in real time. “Nothing like this really exists in current fielded systems for military, law enforcement, or the harsh environments of space,” says Hopkins engineer William Bagley.

Breaking the ice socially in new groups is challenging for many people, but a new device promises to make that process easier.

A team of researchers led by mechanical engineering professor Noah Cowan has successfully designed and tested a new system that could be used to help researchers and naturalists collect valuable environmental and wildlife data in sensitive natural habitats.

Algorithm helps medical offices to schedule reminders and fill vacant appointment slots with patients who urgently need to be seen.

Johns Hopkins engineers are training computers to see only structures of interest—say, a needle tip and kidney cyst for a drainage procedure—extracting out all “noisy” background material in ultrasounds.

Knowing as much as possible about the genetic makeup and impaired biological pathways of a particular patient could help physicians make more informed decisions, says Professor Donald Geman.