Thermal energy management materials encompass engineered solids, fluids, and composites designed to control heat generation, transport, storage, and dissipation in devices, buildings, and wearables. The area integrates thermoelectric and thermomagnetic converters, elastocaloric and solid-state heat pumps, phase-change and thermochromic systems, and radiative or evaporative cooling structures, often with microfluidic or porous architectures. Emerging work couples these materials with machine learning, additive manufacturing, and bioinspired designs to optimize thermal performance, efficiency, and adaptability across scales from electronics to infrastructure.
Engineering
Wireless charging is nothing new for our phones, watches, earbuds and other tech. Now, researchers want to bring wireless power to the skies—recharging drones in flight by beaming a laser under their wings.
Jul 29, 2026
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87
Engineering
To keep drinks cold on a hot summer day, beverage cooler manufacturers rely on polyurethane foam, which is made from raw chemicals that are hazardous to handle before processing. To reduce health and environmental risks associated ...
Jul 29, 2026
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46
Energy & Green Tech
Due to the falling price and manageable size of silicon solar cells, the sight of solar panels on household rooftops has become familiar. However, solar energy, like many other sustainable forms of energy, is intermittent. ...
Jul 27, 2026
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7
Energy & Green Tech
Perovskite solar cells have gained considerable momentum in the search for cheaper, more efficient solar energy. However, the materials degrade over time, limiting their widespread commercial use. To overcome one of the biggest ...
Jul 22, 2026
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11
Energy & Green Tech
Inspired by the cracked, water-trapping skin of elephants, Penn researchers have developed a low-cost cement tile that cools buildings by capturing and slowly evaporating water—turning a structural flaw into a climate solution.
Jul 22, 2026
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625
Telecom
Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a novel chip architecture that enables the miniature acoustic devices inside smartphones to withstand more than 12 times higher power ...
Jul 21, 2026
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35
Energy & Green Tech
Developing thermoelectric materials that efficiently convert waste heat into electricity remains challenging because high electrical performance and low thermal conductivity are difficult to achieve simultaneously. Researchers ...
Jul 17, 2026
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9
Electronics & Semiconductors
Publishing in the journal npj Flexible Electronics, researchers from Kyushu University have developed prototype thin-film electronic modules that can automatically connect and disconnect with one another.
Jul 17, 2026
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19
Energy & Green Tech
A spray-based immersion cooling technology capable of effectively cooling lithium-ion battery packs and reducing fire risks using a small amount of dielectric liquid has been developed. The technology demonstrated stable ...
Jul 14, 2026
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19
Engineering
As data centers and crypto-mining facilities expand to handle growing digital demands, keeping massive banks of servers cool has become a primary operational challenge. To address the energy inefficiencies plaguing these ...
Jul 13, 2026
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