Engineering

Steel is getting more expensive because the prices of iron and coal are rising. Are there alternatives to steel that can do the same job -- or better -- for less?

By Becky Striepe

If you think regular old domes took the world of structural engineering by storm, you should meet their geodesic cousins. What is a geodesic dome, and who first came up with the idea of building triangle-covered spheres as practical structures?

By Nathan Chandler

Bridges span the gap and help us get from point A to B, but who knew they could float, too? Find out what the deal is with floating bridges in this article.

By Nathan Chandler

Jenga seems like such a simple game -- all you have to do is keep a tower of wooden blocks from toppling over. It may be simple, but it's anchored by several complex structural engineering concepts.

By Dave Roos

Playing with Lego blocks isn't just child's play. In fact, these blocks and products present a hands-on opportunity to learn the basics of structural engineering.

By Marianne Spoon

You may see most bridges as those things you cross on your way to somewhere else, but where would you be if one collapsed? We've figured out 10 reasons why the worst happens.

By Ed Grabianowski

The World Trade Center employed several new approaches to skyscraper construction. From slurry walls to sky lobbies to "tube within a tube" design features, what made this project distinctive from an architectural engineering standpoint?

By Michael Franco

The materials used to build the World Trade Center's twin towers have been heavily scrutinized since the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- including the steel that formed the frames of the skyscrapers.

By Michael Franco

It's been compared Jerusalem's Wailing Wall. What purpose did the slurry wall serve the World Trade Center, and what is its significance now?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Environmental engineering existed long before it had a name. It began at the dawn of civilization when we started changing our surroundings to meet our needs.

By Bernadette Johnson

It's a recipe for disaster: Venice is sinking, and the waters around it are rising. Can the controversial MOSE project save Italy's famous city with a series of aqua gates?

By Nathan Chandler

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

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

It took 22 government agencies and more than 180 firms to turn Eero Saarinen's groundbreaking airport terminal into a spectacular hotel.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

The dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is the largest masonry dome ever built and still defines the city of Florence over 500 years later.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

The St. Louis Arch was so spectacularly designed that, when construction kicked off in 1961, many predicted an epic failure.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Man has been building islands all over the world for centuries using extraordinary feats of engineering. But at what cost to the environment?

By Mark Mancini

A hospital stay can be a stressful experience for anybody, and especially for a child. But a smiling new robot named Robin plays games, tells stories and comforts children in need of a friend.

By Jesslyn Shields

If you think asphalt is what hot tar roads are made of, you'd be wrong. Asphalt is only one ingredient in the recipe that makes up our roads. And it has a very long, very interesting history.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

It's easy to confuse the Parthenon and the Pantheon. The names are so similar, and they're both ancient ruins. But despite those similarities, the two structures are very different.

By Carrie Dennis

Despite what the nursery rhyme says, London Bridge is not falling down - and never really has. But the bridge that spans the Thames has been rebuilt again and again for two millennia.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

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

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

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

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