Input/Output Magazine 2025-2026
There’s an old adage that you get out of an endeavor whatever you put in. But just as important as the inputs and outputs is the slash between them—the planning, the infrastructure, the programs, the relationships. We hope the content within this magazine helps you not only discover a little more about Duke Engineering, but also ideas and inspiration that make your own slashes a bit bigger.
At the Water’s Edge
In eastern North Carolina, rates of ALS are so high that it can no longer be called a rare disease. Could the ever-greener-waters colored by neurotoxin-releasing algal blooms be to blame? Visit this close-knit community as researchers work to reclaim their gorgeous homes from fear and uncertainty.
Stress-Tested Leadership
It’s easy to captain a ship with clear skies, calm waters and a gentle breeze. But when the storm comes, and it will, that’s when true leadership is put to the test. To pass yours, take some lessons from leaders who have been there: a former NASA surgeon/astronaut, the 23rd secretary of the Air Force, the host of The Leadership Playbook with 1 million LinkedIn followers, and Duke Engineering’s very own dean and serial entrepreneur.
Engineering Character into Curriculum
Einstein once said, “Education is that which remains, if one has forgotten everything he learned in school.” That is, the core value of education is not found in a book, but in the acquisition of the ability to think. Join Retired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and other Duke faculty and staff on what it takes to include empathy and character in this process.
PhD to CEO: Insights Into Making the Leap
He had no intention of becoming an entrepreneur. She chose Duke explicitly for the chance to pursue a start-up. His company just became cashflow-positive. She’s already on her second after a $100 million success story. Both have words of wisdom for PhD students looking to follow in their footsteps. Listen in on their conversation.
Transforming Reality: How Gaming Gear is Impacting Health Care
Virtual reality has come a long way from its roots featuring pixelated viewscreens and bug-ridden software. With the cost of futuristic systems plunging and the imaginations of researchers skyrocketing, an incredible array of health care uses are taking shape. Discover how three projects are using virtual reality to redefine neurosurgery, brain disorder treatment, and physical therapy in the challenging environment of an ICU.
Beyond Black Mirror: The Real Experiment of Giving AI Emotions
Household robots and AI assistants illustrate how personality can make technology more approachable. But these assets come with their own set of ethical dilemmas. Come along on a discussion of whether adding human-like emotions to AI is helpful or hurtful, and why it might already be too late to ask the question.
Privacy in the Age of the Smartwatch: The Hidden Costs of Wearable Tech
The ubiquity of smartphones, smartwatches, and other wearable devices that collect personal health data has made it easer than ever to capture long-term information about a person’s health. But they also open the door to consequential—and very real—privacy issues. Discover how researchers are working the problem to mitigate these worries and unlock the true power of wearable devices.
From Classrooms to Cribs: How Professors Embrace Parenthood
Seven Duke Engineering faculty members welcomed new family members over the course of a year. Nobody expected that they’d all have girls. From group chats to playdates, discover how this unlikely cohort found support not only within this group, but through the wider community’s efforts to help them navigate this major change in their lives.
Built With Teachers: Bringing Engineering Design to Classrooms
Working to bring STEM-inspiration to middle and high school classrooms across the country has been on the minds of faculty across the country for decades. With so much focus on the students, their teachers are sometimes an afterthought. Find out how two former high school teachers are making sure these programs are true partnerships to amplify their impact.
The I/O Team
Publisher:
Jerome P. Lynch, PhD, F.EMI
Vinik Dean of Engineering
Executive Director:
Angela Brockelsby, EdD
Editor-in-Chief:
Ken Kingery
Cover Design:
Lacey Chylack
Content Creators and Contributors:
Leslie Gray Baker
Samara Brogan
Mandy Butler
Maddie Go
Michaela Martinez
Caroline Orth
Eamon Queeney
Alex Sanchez
Andrew Tie
Faculty Advisory Council:
Cate Brinson, PhD
Ashutosh Chilkoti, PhD
Chris Douglas, PhD
Maria Gorlatova, PhD
Heileen Hsu-Kim, PhD
Aaron Kyle, PhD
Jon Reifschneider
