A prototype "smart drive" connected traffic system that can clear red light signals and warn of traffic tie-ups has been completed.

Using nanotechnology, researchers are paving the way for brand-new asphalt blends to fight off cracks, rutting and potholes.

Engineers have discovered previously unknown properties of a common computer memory material, paving the way for new memory drives, movie discs and computer systems that absorb data more quickly, last longer and allow far more capacity than current data storage media.

Thanks to advances in polymer chemistry and a wide variety of monomer constituents to choose from, the world of multiblock polymers is wide open. These polymers can result in an astonishing array of materials, customizable to almost any specification.

‘Self-healing’ concrete is being developed. Researchers are using a ground-borne bacteria – bacilli megaterium - to create calcite, a crystalline form of natural calcium carbonate. This can then be used to block the concrete’s pores, keeping out water and other damaging substances to prolong the life of the concrete.

A novel energy system increases the amount of energy harvested from microbial fuel cells by more than 70 times.

Microscopic particles are being coaxed by engineers to assemble themselves into larger crystalline structures by the use of varying concentrations of microscopic particles and magnetic fields.

Maximum load capacity with minimal consumption of materials ­– this is how supporting structures in construction should be today. Researchers have now come a great deal closer to achieving this goal. They have constructed a wooden shell which is much thinner than anything deemed possible up to now. With a mere four centimeter thickness the shell spans a surface of over 100 square meters.

Noise levels, fine particulate matter, traffic volumes – these data are of interest to urban planners and residents alike. A three-dimensional presentation will soon make it easier to handle them: as the user virtually moves through his city, the corresponding data are displayed as green, yellow or red dots.

What happens when you put a fully equipped five-story building, which includes an intensive care unit, a surgery suite, piping and air conditioning, fire barriers and even a working elevator, through series of high-intensity earthquakes?