Dr. Yaqing Jin, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas, was recently named an Early-Career Fellow of the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for his research on offshore wind turbine safety. He is one of five fellows joining the Offshore Energy Safety Track, where their work will focus on contributing to the understanding, management and reduction of systemic risk in offshore energy activities.

Hong Kong’s unique marine environment, with its rich ecosystems, provides vital habitats and food sources for various marine species. However, rapid urbanisation and population growth pose significant challenges, including marine pollution, overfishing and climate change. A research team from the Department of Food Science and Nutrition (FSN) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is actively addressing these sustainability challenges. Their focus is on innovative marine pollution monitoring technologies and sustainable seafood research, which includes assessing the impacts of microplastics on marine ecosystems and human health, and restoring pearl oyster reefs, in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3 and 14.

An advanced aqueous battery design incorporating photothermal technology enables rapid self-heating, making it well-suited for low-temperature environments. The battery uses photothermal current collectors to convert sunlight into heat, which is efficiently distributed throughout the system by high-conductivity suspension electrodes. This design mitigates common cold-climate challenges such as electrolyte freezing and slow ion transfer, ensuring stable performance in sub-zero conditions.

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and at the University of Magdeburg in Germany have developed a novel type of nanomechanical resonator that combines two important features: high mechanical quality and piezoelectricity. This development could open doors to new possibilities in quantum sensing technologies.

University College Dublin (UCD) researcher Dr Nicola Fletcher has received a coveted European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant for her groundbreaking project NanoX.

The European Research Council is funding a consortium consisting of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, ETH Zurich and TU Graz with a total of 10 million euros for developing new methods to determine the mechanical properties of living human tissue. TU Graz researcher Gerhard A. Holzapfel receives 4.2 million euros.