Materials scientist Suveen Mathaudhu shows us how both our favorite superheroes and real-world scientists create materials to save the world every day. Some of Mathaudhu’s own research at UC Riverside has been inspired by Captain America’s shield: is it possible to make a material that is both incredibly strong and super lightweight? Advances in this … Read more
According to some surveys, 90 percent of all information in businesses today is retained on paper, even though the bulk of this printed paper is discarded after just one use. First developed in China in about the year A.D. 150, paper has many uses, the most common being for writing and printing upon. Indeed, the … Read more
Genghis Khan bathed in sherbet ice cream. This is how The Oatmeal described the violent AND beautiful mantis shrimp in their comic: “Why the mantis shrimp is my new favorite animal.” These little guys, along with 20 other animals, will serve as inspiration for a team of engineers and researchers –– led by UC Riverside’s … Read more
The trilobite, which became extinct millions of years ago, is commonly known as one of the first complex forms of life on earth. Their fossils can be found in many parts of the world and are often collected for their interesting shapes and varieties. (There’s even a vacuum cleaner designed after this creature…) In fact there are actually 20,000 known varieties of … Read more
Being happy isn’t always easy. Humans are complicated creatures and although our brains might be capable of performing wildly complex tasks, they can also sabotage our well-being. “Not everyone is going to be naturally happy all the time,” Sonja Lyubomirsky suggests. As a professor of psychology at UC Riverside, she has devoted her career to … Read more