Engineering Out Loud

Imagine the camera of a self-driving car switches to a power-saving mode and takes low-resolution images. As a result, the car hits a pedestrian. A mundane decision to save battery thus becomes a dec…

The Klamath River is transforming after four dams were removed in 2024. In this episode, we join the research team studying the impacts of the dam removals on plant and algae. Hear from the students …

The removal of four dams from the Klamath River was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capture the interplay of science, engineering, and culture. Desirée Tullos, professor of water resources engine…

This is a historic year on the Klamath River, where the biggest dam removal in the U.S. is underway. The hope for the monumental engineering project is that it will restore some balance to a damaged …

The final episode of the season occupies a time of transition, as spinoff company Espiku ramps up. We get an update on two systems that received patents and a third that could provide an environmenta…

The pandemic didn’t stop Bahman Abbasi’s desalination research. In this third episode, we learn about the successful lab-scale demonstration of his team’s technology and the next steps toward its com…

In the second episode of this four-part season, we travel to Bend, Oregon to visit the Water and Energy Technologies Laboratory and meet the team that is inventing a new technology to desalinate wate…

Can turning seawater into drinking water be a cost-effective way to provide clean, fresh water for the growing numbers of people facing water scarcity? Bahman Abbasi, associate professor of mechanic…

What is Oregon doing to prepare for earthquakes, tsunamis, and wildfire? Researchers at Oregon State University are working with the state Legislature to help them make informed decisions about how …

Can plants fortify Oregon’s coastal dunes against storm surge? Meagan Wengrove, assistant professor of coastal and ocean engineering, built scale versions of dunes in one of the world’s largest wave …

After a major disaster, hidden amid the rubble and debris are precious clues about the extreme forcesstructures were subjected to, and exactly what caused them to fail. How can researchers collect th…

What will it take for Oregon to recover after a magnitude 9.0 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake? Among other things, it will need a major airport to receive the tons of relief supplies from around …

Wildfires that devastate mountain communities have the potential to foul the water distribution system running underneath residential structures. But knowing which water pipes have been affected is c…

How do engineers fight wildfires? With fire. David Blunck, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is trying to better understand and predict the behavior of embers that spread blazes. To do t…

What happens to bridges, buildings, and pipelines when the soil holding them up behaves like a liquid? Ben Mason, associate professor geotechnical engineering, has traveled the world doing post-earth…

The long-feared 9.0 magnitude Cascadia subduction zone earthquake, which seismologists say is inevitable, will damage or destroy large swaths of Oregon’s electrical grid. How long will it take to get…

How do you manage a COVID-19 surge? When intensive care units are beyond capacity, health care workers are stretched thin, and life-saving equipment is in short supply, there are a lot of tough choic…

How can we get a more diverse group of young people interested in computer science? Focus on equity, says Jill Hubbard, instructor of computer science and co-principal investigator of a multi-univers…

Can middle schoolers learn computer science concepts using tabletop games? How about during a pandemic, when classroom interaction takes place remotely? Researchers in computer science and education …