Stanford Innovation: Self-Healing Skin, Easier Drink Pouring, and a New Kind of Jump Rope

On our California road trip, we knew that to find innovation, we’d have to stop at Stanford. About 30 miles south of San Francisco, the private university partners with all sorts of industries to cook up new ideas. Many of those ideas come from students, past and present. Google’s algorithm to comb the web was designed by two Stanford grad students, and leaps in anesthesiology, DNA research, and software development have been made by other Stanford eggheads.

But never mind the next world-changing idea. Most innovation happens incrementally, over long stretches of time and among teams of patient researchers.

We caught up with one of them, Ben Tee, a budding electrical engineer researching self-healing skin. Tee and his colleagues are developing a

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.

Create your free account to continue reading

No credit card required. Unlimited access to free content.
Or get a Premium Subscription to access the best of Nat Geo - just $19
SUBSCRIBE

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet