In 2023, Japan made the monumental move to begin releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster into the ocean. The decision was mired in controversy, met with both support and opposition from international bodies, neighboring countries, and environmental groups.

As technology continues to advance, engineers are constantly looking for new ways to improve processes and enhance their work. One technology that has gained significant attention in recent years is Augmented Reality (AR).

We use electricity every day, but most people don’t stop to think about how it’s made and how its production might change. But researchers have been thinking about it for decades. In a quest for new ways of quelling our current global energy crisis.

Zippers, buttons, glue, staples, stitching. Prior to 1955, those were the main ways in which things were fastened together. But inventor George de Mestral’s 1941 discovery led to an easier and often more effective way of conjoining two things: VELCRO. While we’ve all used the substance and it’s a common part of things we use every day, it was an invention that was a long time in the making.

Sandblasting is commonly used to prepare a surface prior to painting and to strip paint from machinery and metal. It is also used to produce the lettering and engraving on most modern cemetery monuments and markers and to clean boat hulls, brick, stone and concrete.