john boyd | Engineering Recruiting

March 17, 2023

3D Bioprinter Prints Tissue in Situ

by john boyd in Engineering, Engineering News, Robotics

Bioprinting is the use of 3D printing techniques to fabricate tissues out of biomaterials. It is mainly used to create human tissue for research and for drug testing in vitro. When used to create a body part intended for implantation in a patient, the part must first be printed with a desktop bioprinter, and then […]

December 1, 2022

This Free-Space Optics System Could Boost Space Comms

by john boyd in Aerospace, Engineering, Engineering News

Optical fiber has long since replaced copper wiring in core information networks. But that’s not the case for free-space optical (FSO) communications using optical lasers to transmit data through the air. Despite FSO having the potential to provide orders of magnitude more data capacity compared with that of the traditional radio-frequency communications space missions currently […]

March 17, 2022

This Diamond Transistor Is Still Raw, But Its Future Looks Bright

by john boyd in Engineering, Engineering News, Semiconductors

Diamonds may be forever, wrote Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels. But a cynical engineer might add, “Yes, forever on the periphery of being practical as a material for semiconductors.” For despite the material’s upsides—a bandgap wider than competing silicon carbide and gallium nitride (GaN), excellent heat conduction, and the ability to operate […]

March 15, 2022

Expert: Powering Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Is Still a Problem

by john boyd in Energy, Engineering, Engineering News

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine—after Russia’s recent military takeover of the facility—still poses a possible danger that could spiral into a nuclear accident if not managed properly, according to a nuclear expert who has some familiarity with Russian and Ukranian reactors. Tadashi Narabayashi, professor emeritus at Hokkaido University and now a specially […]

March 9, 2022

The State of Ukraine’s Nuclear Plants in the First Weeks of War

by john boyd in Energy, Engineering, Engineering News

Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Ukraine had four nuclear power plants (NPPs) in operation run by the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine (also known as Energoatom). Of these, the Zaporizhzhia NPP, located near Enerhodar, southeast Ukraine, is by far the biggest, housing six reactors, each with […]