Marine Heat Waves in the Gulf of Mexico, Emerging Offshore Wind Energy Data Opportunities Take Center Stage at GCOOS Fall Meeting

The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) recently hosted its annual Fall Meeting, focusing discussions on emerging issues related to long-term climate change, including marine heat waves and the development of renewable wind energy platforms in the Gulf.

WVU engineers advance U.S. Air Force search and rescue missions in hostile territories with unmanned drones

Through a 21-month, $300,000 project with funding from the Small Business Innovation Research of the U.S. Air Force Laboratory and in partnership with Kinnami Software Corporation, engineers in WVU’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources are making it possible for combat search and rescue operations to pinpoint isolated personnel without using radio GPS that can be intercepted.

Search and rescue volunteers from Sandia respond to wilderness misadventures

A dozen Sandia National Laboratories employees volunteer to go off the beaten trail and give back to their community by participating in wilderness searches and rescues. As members of the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council, they use their technical expertise to solve the complex challenges involved in finding lost hikers and hoisting injured rock climbers to safety.

Jitterbug: Roaches and robots shake it to transition between movements in tricky terrain

By chasing cockroaches through an obstacle course and studying their movements, the Johns Hopkins engineers that brought you the cockroach robot and the snake robot discovered that animals’ movement transitions corresponded to overcoming potential energy barriers and that they can jitter around to traverse obstacles in complex terrain.