Aerogel Sample (IMAGE) University of Wisconsin-Madison Caption As seen on Feb. 11, 2014, Shaoqin 'Sarah' Gong, a researcher at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduate student Qifeng Zheng, and Zhiyong Cai, a project leader at the US Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, have recently created and patented a new aerogel technology that may offer a cheaper and greener method to absorb oil and heavy metals from water and other surfaces. Pictured here, Zheng uses tweezers to hold a sample of the aerogel that has been used to absorb red-dyed diesel fuel (right), while Gong holds a sample of unused aerogel (left). Credit Bryce Richter/University of Wisconsin Madison Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.