Cornell Engineers Turn to Nature for Solving Machinery’s Age Old Dilemma

While machines seem to have boundless capabilities, there has been one factor limiting machines since their inception: heat. Cornell engineers, Prof. Rob Shepherd, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Prof. Emmanuel Giannelis, material science and engineering, sought to battle heat through sweating — the same method employed by students walking up the slope on a hot summer day. Shepherd and Gianelis employed 3D-printing techniques to stimulate sweating in robots, which they are currently testing on a robotic hand. High powered robots currently require maintenance after extended use because of the heat they build up during use. One of the collaborators from Shepherd’s Organic Robotics Lab, Anand Mishra, told The Sun the initial research project was “bio-inspired” — the basic functions of living things influenced the researchers, prompting them to design this multifunctional robotic hand.

As Senate Tries Trump, Professors Predict Impeachment Outcomes

As the impeachment of President Donald Trump moves to trial in the Senate, Cornell professors shared their views on the significance of the House charges –– and their predictions for how America’s historic impeachment trial will play out. On Tuesday afternoon, as the Senate began trial proceedings, bitter partisanship was on full display, with Senators sticking to party-lines in several key votes, The New York Times reported. By the end of Tuesday night, multiple attempts by Senate Democrats to subpoena documents from the White House had failed –– reflecting a so far intense battle on what process the impeachment trial will follow. While Democratic leaders in the chamber have insisted that additional witnesses and evidence be subpoenaed by the Senate, many Republicans have resisted such plans. “If witnesses are, in fact, called, they might have some very significant things to say, and the trial would be much longer,” Prof. Richard Bensel, government, said in an email to The Sun, who said that House Democrats’ decision to impeach Trump was the “one ethical choice.”

However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) has thus far stuck to a limit on the time for arguments: three days.

Five Cornell Faculty Named AAAS Fellows

Each year, scholars around the nation are nominated to join the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific body. This year, five Cornell faculty were named Fellows, according to a University press release.