Engineering

Smart traffic lights monitor traffic and continuously adjust their timing to improve flow, and can even help disabled or elderly pedestrians navigate crosswalks. Could they be a solution to the problems of traffic stress and road rage?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Gothic architecture first appeared in France in the late Middle Ages. Some of the world's most stunning cathedrals were built using its key architectural elements.

By Lauren David

Standing 1,428 feet tall and just 60 feet wide, Steinway Tower in New York City has earned the nickname, "The Coffee Stirrer."

By Patty Rasmussen

Stanford researchers emulated the feet and legs of a peregrine falcon to enable a flying robot to land and perch on various surfaces, which could have lasting implications for future drone design and use.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Smart buildings have technology embedded inside them, allowing unprecedented levels of interaction between a building and its occupants. Some would call it "unprecedented levels of snooping."

By Patrick Lecomte

The Hongshui River Scenic Park walkway is shaped like a super- colossal, brightly colored butterfly and is twice as long as the island of Manhattan.

By Carrie Tatro

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most iconic and enduring symbols of the city of Paris, France. But why did Napoleon commission it?

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

The first CT scan let doctors see inside a woman's skull and confirm her cystic brain mass. That scanner? It was developed by an eccentric engineer who worked at the Beatles' record company.

By Edmund S. Higgins

EPCOT was Walt Disney's "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow." But it didn't actually turn out the way he had envisioned it.

By Alex Krieger

Famed composer Ludwig von Beethoven died leaving just a few notes for his 10th Symphony. More than 200 years later, scientists use artificial intelligence to finish the job.

By Ahmed Elgammal

Elon Musk's Tesla Bot raises serious concerns, but probably not the ones you think.

By Andrew Maynard

Heck, it's even hard for some people to have common sense.

By Mayank Kejriwal

The Senate just crossed a hurdle to get a bipartisan infrastructure bill signed. It could pay for new roads, bridges and other installations that a country needs to function. But why is infrastructure so notoriously hard to fund in America anyway?

By Patrick J. Kiger

A 12-story building in Surfside, Florida, just outside Miami collapsed, with residents inside. Why would a 40-year-old structure fall from the sky seemingly out of nowhere, and are there other buildings in danger of falling?

By Trivess Moore & David Oswald

This postwar era architecture has a heavy, raw look, hence the name. But the designs are sensible and authoritative, and many Brutalist buildings are experiencing a revival.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Crumpling is a physical process that occurs when a thin sheet is forced to adapt to a smaller space and is seen in everything from DNA packing in a cell nucleus to the formation of mountains.

By Patrick J. Kiger

This dragon is illuminated every night, spitting out both fire and water on weekends and holidays, as it sways its way over the Han River in Da Nang.

By Jesslyn Shields

All steel is not the same, and Damascus steel has a reputation for being the best. But is today's Damascus steel the same as that forged centuries ago?

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Obelisks can be found in cities throughout the world, from Washington, D.C., to Paris, France. But what is the origin of these massive structures?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Windmills and wind turbines work on the same core principle to convert wind into energy, but one creates mechanical energy while the other creates electricity. Here's how they work.

By Trevor English

First developed in the 1920s, Geiger counters still use the same basic technology to detect radiation, but today can be the size of a smartphone.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Set over Bear Run, a tributary of the Youghiogheny River in the mountains of southwestern Pennsylvania, Fallingwater is perhaps the architect's best-known work.

By Tara Yarlagadda

The designer of New York's Central Park believed that public parks were 'democratic spaces' belonging to all citizens, and aren't we glad he did?

By Wendy Bowman

You think stainless steel is a strong metal. So would it surprise you to learn it can't hold an edge when it comes to your hair?

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

PROTEUS, the underwater research station and habitat, is being designed to address medical discoveries, food sustainability and the impact of climate change. Plus, it's really cool looking.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky