Ken Kingery

Durham

Writing science for Duke engineering, drinking beer, eating good food, exploring the outdoors, exercising religiously and loving every minute of it.

Articles

A Unique Approach to Preparing Roboticists for Industry

Jan 10, 2025 | pratt.duke.edu | Ken Kingery

A new Master of Engineering in Robotics & Autonomy program joins Duke's undergraduate and graduate certificates for aspiring technology leaders For the past couple of years, Duke Engineering has been working steadily and intentionally to grow its curriculum focused on robotics. New faculty have launched several classes that form the basis of robotics certificates offered independently to undergraduate and graduate students.
Platform allows AI to learn from constant, nuanced human feedback rather than large datasets

Dec 3, 2024 | techxplore.com | Ken Kingery

During your first driving class, the instructor probably sat next to you, offering immediate advice on every turn, stop and minor adjustment. If it was a parent, they might have even grabbed the wheel a few times and shouted "Brake!" Over time, those corrections and insights developed experience and intuition, turning you into an independent, capable driver.
Building Air Quality Management Capacities Worldwide

Nov 18, 2024 | pratt.duke.edu | Ken Kingery

A group of researchers with air quality projects across six continents funded by the U.S. Department of State recently gathered at Duke University to build capacity and collaboration Air quality is a global and ubiquitous challenge facing human health.
Collaborative Diamonds Form Under Pressure of Climate Change

Nov 4, 2024 | pratt.duke.edu | Ken Kingery

A closer look at the design experiences becoming more common in engineering schools across the country An insurance salesman, an engineer and a priest walk into a classroom. While that might sound like the opening line to a bad dad joke, it’s exactly the type of unexpected collaboration being fostered by the Duke Climate Commitment.
Listening Skills Bring Human-Like Touch to Robots

Oct 29, 2024 | pratt.duke.edu | Ken Kingery

Researchers give robots a sense of touch by “listening” to vibrations, allowing them to identify materials, understand shapes and recognize objects just like human hands Imagine sitting in a dark movie theater wondering just how much soda is left in your oversized cup.
Engineering the Acceptance of Climate Change Solutions

Oct 24, 2024 | pratt.duke.edu | Ken Kingery

No matter how clean our technologies become, people must be persuaded to use them to make a difference Our buildings are filthy—and not just in terms of whether they’re tidied by cleaning crews or not. According to the UN’s Global Status Report for Building and Construction, energy demand and emissions from the building and construction sector make up 20% of global emissions.
Seeing Duke in a Whole New Color

Oct 23, 2024 | pratt.duke.edu | Ken Kingery

New program allows color blind Duke personnel to borrow EnChroma color enhancing glasses from the library for up to a week at a time David Petersen has spent his entire life figuring out how to compensate for his color blindness. It wasn’t until a routine sports physical in junior high that he even realized he saw the world differently than most.
Targeting 'selfish' bacteria could optimize inhibitors that fight antibiotic resistance

Oct 10, 2024 | phys.org | Ken Kingery

As strains of pathogens resistant to frontline antibiotics become more common worldwide, clinicians are more often turning to combination treatments that degrade this resistance as a first treatment option. One might expect, then, that antibiotic-resistant pathogens might evolve to adapt to this approach.
Most Tropical Lightning Storms Are Radioactive

Oct 2, 2024 | pratt.duke.edu | Ken Kingery

New observations from a retrofitted U2 spy plane reveal a surprising amount and variety of gamma radiation is produced in large tropical thunderstorms In the 1990s, NASA satellites built to spot high-energy particles coming from supernovas and other celestial-sized objects discovered a surprise — high energy gamma radiation bursts coming from right here on Earth.
Teaching the Science of Innovation to Military Members

Sep 19, 2024 | pratt.duke.edu | Ken Kingery

Design Defense Studio brings together over a dozen members of the United States military to learn the science of innovation while tackling real-world problems for the Department of Defense This past summer, more than a dozen members of the Untied States military from several branches came to Duke University with one goal in mind—learn the science of innovation. And maybe solving a couple of major challenges for the Department of Defense while they were at it.