2026 Media Watch Archives
120 gbps leap: US engineers develop wireless chip delivering fiber-level speed
Interesting Engineering -
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have developed a 140-gigahertz (GHz) wireless chip that can power the transition to 6G and more advanced transmission protocols at speeds that match fiber-optic cables. To do so, the researchers combined digital and analog signal processing, according to a university press release. … The team of researchers led by Payam Heydari, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UC Irvine, had long recognized that conventional chips would soon hit a performance wall. Read More
Engineers invent wireless transceiver that rivals fiber-optic speed
Tech Xplore -
"We call this technology a 'wireless fiber patch cord' because it offers the blistering speed of fiber optics without the physical cables," said Payam Heydari, NCIC Labs director, UC Irvine Chancellor's Professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and senior author of both papers. "By operating in the F-band—a frequency range well above current 5G standards—we can offer massive bandwidths that will transform how machines, robots and data centers communicate." Read More
UC Irvine Unveils Wireless Transceiver Matching Fiber Speed
Mirage News -
"We call this technology a 'wireless fiber patch cord' because it offers the blistering speed of fiber optics without the physical cables," said Payam Heydari , NCIC Labs director, UC Irvine Chancellor's Professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and senior author of both papers. "By operating in the F-band – a frequency range well above current 5G standards – we can offer massive bandwidths that will transform how machines, robots and data centers communicate." Read More
Inspired by Octopus Skin, This Synthetic Material Can Change Color and Texture on Demand
Smithsonian Magazine -
[Researchers] created a flexible material that can rapidly change color and texture by swelling into incredibly detailed designs, according to a study published on January 7 in the journal Nature …. the new research provides “a very nice proof-of-principle addition to the existing literature of color- and texture-changing materials,” Alon Gorodetsky, a chemical and biomolecular engineer at the University of California, Irvine … Read More
How scientists learn from the masters of invisibility: Octopus
National Geographic -
Scientists have recently demonstrated a crop of innovative materials that mimic these biological processes—stretchable, reflective skins, light-refracting color-changing membranes, light-scattering films and fibers, and texture-changing silicon-mesh fabrics with the potential to trick the eye, avoid detection, and seemingly disappear. … Alon Gorodetsky, an associate professor at the University of California, Irvine, who has pioneered numerous cephalopod-inspired camouflage materials, says interest from manufacturers is high and products could begin to reach consumers within the next decade. Read More