Raffaello D'Andrea's robotic chair creates stir online, falling apart and reassembling itself

A seemingly simple, sturdy, wood-veneer chair has become an online video hit. With its 'brain' in its seat, the chair collapses into a disheveled, disconnected heap; its legs then slowly find each corner of the base, connect back together and eventually, the chair stands upright.

Cornell again ranks first in engineering physics in U.S. News rankings, and is called top Ivy by Washington Monthly

U.S. News and World Report has placed Cornell at the top of its rankings for best undergraduate engineering science/engineering physics program for the second year in a row. In overall rankings, Cornell tied for 12th place. (Aug. 18, 2006)

Of puzzles, seductions and Andrew Dickson White

Kathy Ramsey has a weakness for Sudoku puzzles. So when she glanced at the enticing 25-by-25 square published in the March 2 issue of the Cornell Chronicle (which appeared with a story about Cornell physicist Veit Elser's work on X-ray diffraction microscopy), she figured she would toy with it in her spare time. (March 28, 2006)

Physicist's algorithm simplifies biological imaging -- and also solves Sudoku puzzles

Veit Elser, Cornell professor of physics, has found that an algorithm developed to process X-ray diffraction data also solves Sudoku puzzles. (Feb. 26, 2006)

Q&A: Larry Walker calls for a 'Manhattan Project' for energy in biofuels

Kevin Stearns/University PhotographyBehind Professor Larry Walker is a large bale of switchgrass, one of several possible alteernative fuel sources. Copyright © Cornell UniversityIn his State of the Union speech last month, U.S…

Milky Way's fastest pulsar is on its way out of the galaxy, astronomers find

Scientists using the Very Large Baseline Array show that the fastest known neutron star has sufficient velocity to escape the galaxy. The study, co-authored by Cornell professor of astronomy James Cordes, was published last fall in Astrophysical Journal Letters. (February 6, 2006)

Taking a new chip from invention to start-up takes teamwork

It's so common that it's almost a cliché: To start a high-tech company, you need to team a scientist with a business person. Associate Professor Rajit Manohar has found a way to increase the speed of computer chips. When he described his idea to business consultant and neighbor John Lofton Holt, Achronix Semiconductor was born. (December 14, 2005)

From mazes to Mars and tropical forests, high schoolers build virtual worlds aided by Cornell student mentors

About 18 Cornell University students hired by the Cornell Theory Center for its SciFair outreach program serve as online mentors to middle and high school students across the nation to help them research, design and build virtual worlds based on such issues as Mars exploration and the human genome project. (December 07, 2005)

Hook, yarn and hyperbolic planes: Crocheting curved space to illustrate indescribable geometry

Daina Taimina, a Cornell mathematician and visiting scholar, uses crocheted models to teach hyperbolic geometry. (December 06, 2005)