OJ Engineering: Newsletter
Hello! Thanks for checking out this week’s edition of the OJ Engineering Newsletter. In the past week, the STEM world continued pushing boundaries across robotics, AI, biomedical innovation, environmental engineering, and academic development.
This past week saw IIT Indore break new ground in innovation, recording a remarkable 112 % surge in patent filings for the 2024–25 academic year—rising from 33 to 70 applications and bringing its cumulative total to 215, with 102 patents granted, including in the US and China. Notably, the Department of Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Space Engineering contributed its first-ever filings, and the institute also licensed five technologies to industry and saw fourteen innovations adopted by startups The Times of India.
At IIT Kanpur, the MIDNAMSCON 2025 mid-term conference and CME workshop—held August 16–17 in collaboration with the National Academy of Medical Sciences and GSVM Medical College—drew over seventy leading experts in engineering and medicine. The intense two-day program of talks, panels, and student events laid out a strategic roadmap for enhanced MedTech collaboration and stressed the importance of tapping into government innovation schemes The Times of IndiaIndian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
The 9th AI City Challenge advanced the frontiers of computer vision and AI with a 17 % increase in participation—welcoming 245 teams from 15 countries. The competition featured four ambitious tracks, covering multi-camera 3D tracking, traffic-safety video question answering, fine-grained spatial reasoning in warehouse environments via RGB-D data, and efficient fisheye-camera road object detection for edge deployment. Its public datasets have already recorded over 30,000 downloads arXivMoonlight.
Materials science reached a breakthrough at Northwestern University with the development of the first two-dimensional mechanically interlocked material, akin to nanoscale chainmail. It delivers exceptional flexibility and strength, featuring an unprecedented density of 100 trillion mechanical bonds per square centimeter—setting a new standard for ultra-strong, lightweight composites Northwestern NowIOM3.
Meanwhile, Earth’s climate signals remain urgent: the Mauna Loa Observatory documented a record annual atmospheric CO₂ increase of 3.58 ppm between 2023 and 2024, pushing levels to 427 ppm—a stark reminder that concentrations now stand more than 50 % above pre-industrial levels Smithsonian MagazineThe Guardian.
In cardiovascular research, scientists at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute unveiled theranostic nanoparticles that can both detect and reduce arterial plaque. These particles are taken up by immune cells in arterial walls, mitigating inflammation and removing cholesterol. In preclinical tests, they demonstrated significant plaque shrinkage and delivered built-in imaging capability for early diagnosis and treatment New AtlasAdelaide Now.
On the immunology front, emerging research indicates that common cold infections may provide temporary protection against COVID-19—especially in children. New studies suggest that rhinovirus triggers strong airway antiviral defenses, which reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the weeks after infection National Jewish HealthPharmacy Times.
As showcased this week, the pace of discovery spans institutional innovation and AI challenges to advanced materials, climate urgency, health-tech breakthroughs, and immune resilience—highlighting a vibrant, interdisciplinary push toward impactful solutions.
- OJ Engineering Team
References:
IIT Indore patent surge The Times of India
IIT Kanpur MIDNAMSCON 2025 The Times of IndiaIndian Institute of Technology Kanpur
9th AI City Challenge participation and tracks arXivMoonlight
Northwestern 2D mechanically interlocked material Northwestern NowIOM3
Mauna Loa CO₂ jump to 427 ppm Smithsonian MagazineThe Guardian
Theranostic nanoparticles for arterial plaque New AtlasAdelaide Now
Common cold protection against COVID-19 National Jewish HealthPharmacy Times