EurekAlert! News by Subject: Tech & Engineering - News by Subject: Tech & Engineering

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)have just published an article in Photonics Research about a new process for packaging photonic integrated circuits so that they can survive and operate in some of the most extreme environments imaginable.

Here's a link to the press release. https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/03/nist-researchers-develop-photonic-chip-packaging-can-withstand-extreme

The advance could allow photonic chip-based technologies to operate in deep-space probes, inside nuclear reactors, in ultrahigh vacuum systems, and at temperatures both near absolute zero and in scorchingly hot industrial settings. Although the new packaging process now requires several days to complete, engineers could shorten the time dramatically, making the technique suitable for large-scale manufacturing.

30-Mar-2026

Collaboration between ORNL, General Atomics to advance manufacturing for energy and security

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Business Announcement

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore advanced manufacturing for extreme environment materials with energy and national security applications.

30-Mar-2026

Foundation models reshape financial engineering: New survey maps progress across three frontiers

Higher Education Press

Foundation models are transforming financial engineering, with specialized financial foundation models emerging to tackle domain-specific needs. Categorized into three types, they excel at text processing, time-series analysis, and visual-text integration. This survey unpacks their progress, real-world uses, and key challenges, offering a vivid roadmap for AI-driven finance innovation.

Journal: Engineering

30-Mar-2026

UMass Amherst research demonstrates new technology for shrinking quantum computers

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Peer-Reviewed Publication

AMHERST, Mass. — Scientists in the Riccio College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of California Santa Barbara have demonstrated key laser and ion trap components necessary to help drastically shrink the size of quantum computers, an achievement aligned with the shrinking of integrated microprocessors in the 1970s, 80s and 90s that allowed computers to move from room-sized behemoths to today’s ultrathin smartphones.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Army Research Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency