Soft Matter & Hybrid Materials

Defects can make a material stronger or make it fail catastrophically. Knowing how fast they travel can help researchers understand things like earthquake ruptures, structural fail

Injecting patients with a gel that would dissolve over several months could replace the need to administer daily or weekly shots. But to make this possible, researchers first had t

These fleeting disruptions, seen for the first time in lead hybrid perovskites, may help explain why these materials are exceptionally good at turning sunlight into electrical curr

The device can sense levels of virtually any protein or molecule in the blood, and could be transformative for disease detection, patient monitoring and biomedical research.

High-speed manufacturing could spur the commercialization of these energy-efficient, cost-effective alternatives to the silicon solar panels that are widely used today.

Olulana participated virtually in Stanford School of Engineering’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program.

Heilshorn’s experience of navigating the unfamiliar and intimidating inspires her to encourage underserved students and create a more inclusive work environment in her lab.

Researchers have developed a way to create a two-in-one shot that could make it easier for diabetics to more effectively control their blood sugar levels.

Stanford engineers have developed a new type of protective face mask that can counteract the side effects of oxygen deficiency.

A 100-year-old test that takes days to complete is the current norm for identifying bacteria and the correct antibiotic for treatment. Researchers are working to find a better way.

Tests suggest that spraying this environmentally-benign fire retardant on high-risk areas could dramatically cut the number of fires that occur each year.

These glass-like protrusions poke small holes in cell walls to deliver their cargo and may improve cancer treatment and gene therapy for certain diseases.

Stanford professors Russ Altman and Sarah Heilshorn discuss the promise and the complexities of engineering new tissues to replace damaged parts of the human body.

​A new gel could help grow the large quantities of neural stem cells needed for sought-after therapies. Its success depends on the cells’ ability to stay in touch.

​New research on the biomechanical properties of skin has implications for new cosmetics, wearable tech, and treatment of damaged skin.

New insights about the protective layers in chips could help build sturdier products.

Lasers are nothing like meteor strikes, but in the nanosecond when each strike silicon dioxide, the main ingredient in coastal sand, stishovites form. Understanding how this rare c

A team of engineers and scientists is developing a gel to help protect cells from the trauma of being injected into an injury site. The work could help speed cell-based therapies f

By depositing atoms on one side of a grid of the “miracle material” graphene, researchers at Stanford have engineered piezoelectricity into a nanoscale material for the first time.