R & D articles from August 2005

R & D archives from August 2005

Building a new future.(National Peace Corps Association educational services)(Editorial)
August 1, 2005... As researchers in the baby boomer generation approach retirement age, they are laced with a number of choices about what to do with the rest of their lives. As workers, some look forward to a life free from the pressures of deadlines and...

ITER site selected.(International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... A decade since its inception, ITER (formerly the Int'l. Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) has found a home in Cadarche, France. The new site comes after years of heated discussions from ITER member countries (China, European Union, Japan,...

Sponsored travel for analytical chemists.(Pfizer Graduate Travel Awards)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The Division of Analytical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (ACS) is now accepting applications for the Pfizer Graduate Travel Awards in Analytical Chemistry. The award provides funding for graduate students to travel to an ACS...

The next step in SEM?(new generation of scanning electron microscopes )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Mass.-based start-up, Alis Corp., claims to have made a significant step in the evolution of scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) with the creation of a commercially available, atomic level microscope based on helium ion technology. "Our...

Testing EUVL optics.(extreme ultraviolet lithography)(measurement system for mirrors)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... As part of its efforts to develop extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) metrology and calibration services, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Md., is creating a measurement system for accelerated lifetime...

Intel reinvests in Arizona site.(production facility )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., has unveiled plans to build a new 300-min wafer fabrication facility at its site in Chandler, Ariz. The new factory, designated Fab 32, will begin production of leading-edge microprocessors in the second half...

HP cuts back on R&D.(Hewlett-Packard Development Company L.P downsizing research projects)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... In late July, printing giant HP Palo Alto, Calif., announced that it would cut nearly 14,500 jobs, roughly I0% of its workforce, as part of a massive restructuring. In addition, the company is also closing four major research projects currently...

Protein Structure Initiative in phase II.(National Institutes of Health research project)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Protein Structure Initiative (PSI) has entered its second phase. The program, created in 2000, aims to discover the 3-dimensional shapes of a wide range of proteins in order to assess their role in...

The future of Lab Design.(Upcoming Conferences & Events)(Calendar)
August 1, 2005... The editors of Lab Design Newsletter and R&D Magazine will be hosting this year's Fall 2005 Lab Design Conference on Sept. 19-21 in Waltham, Mass. This event is a unique opportunity to learn about the latest trends in lab design (i.e.,...

LANL bid phase complete.(Los Alamos National Laboratory maintenance contract)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The deadline for the final bid proposals for management of Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM., came in late-July after months of heated preparation by two competing bidders: the current operator, the Univ. of California (UC), and defense...

Open and shut nanovalves.(MICRO/NANO TECHNOLOGY)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Chemists at the Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles, have created the world's first "switchable" nano valve. "With the nano valve, we can trap and release molecules on demand," says Jeffrey Zink, team member. According to UCLA, this nanovalve...

Water solution for clinical studies.(water purification platforms for laboratories)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Millipore Corp., Billerica, Mass., has introduced a new series of water purification platforms for clinical laboratories. According to the company, the Elix Clinical system is designed for medium-sized clinical analyzers performing chemistry...

Building high-performance mirrors.(LASERS & OPTICS)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Better mirrors, better resolution. This is the theme behind a research effort taking place at the Dept. of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tenn. Led by Gene Ice, the team has been able to fabricate precision mirrors used to focus x-rays...

Pfizer drops pipeline projects.(Capravirine and Daxas product discontinuation)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... In late July, Pfizer, New York, N.Y., announced that it would be discontinue development of its HIV/AIDS antiretroviral candidate Capravirine and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drug, Daxas, from its pipeline. Pfizer added that the...

Software learns to recognize Spring thaw.(software for spacecraft)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Spring thaw in the Northern Hemisphere was monitored by a new set of eyes this year--an Earth-orbiting NASA spacecraft, Earth Observing-1, carrying a new version of software trained to recognize and distinguish snow, ice, and water from space....

Pittsburgh unveils Big Ben the supercomputer.(Data Management & Analysis)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Big Ben, the newest, most advanced Cray Inc., Seattle, Wash., system, is up and running at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, Penn. Acquired via a $9.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in September 2004, Big Ben--the...

Medical imaging forecast.(Data Management & Analysis)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The overall U.S. imaging equipment and auxiliary products market is estimated to be $7.9 billion in 2004 and is expected to increase at a 5.7% AAGR (average annual growth rate) to reach $10.4 billion by 2009. The fastest-growing category of the...

PC chipset market soars.(Data Management & Analysis)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The PC core-logic chipset market is expected to rise from $6.9 billion in 2005 to $10.3 billion in 2009 due to continued growth in PC demand combined with new standards for chipset designs. New chipsets will be required to support multicore...

Centralized data management for greater control and compliance.(Data Management & Analysis)
August 1, 2005... Talking to customers and integrating their feedback into product design is a priority at Waters Corp., Milford, Mass. Through technical seminars, tradeshows, and workshops we have been able to gain invaluable input from users and what's heard...

Standards for a safer world.(World Standards Day event)
August 1, 2005... The title above is this year's theme for the World Standards Day, celebrated every October 14th for the past 35 years by the world's standards organizations. The goal of the organizers is to raise the awareness of the importance of global...

Toyota expanding R&D base.(ASIA)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Toyota Motor Corp., Tokyo, is continuing its technology growth, opening a number of R&D centers over the past six months. The latest addition is a $68 million, 320 [km.sup.2] facility in Samut Prakan, Thailand. This facility took two years to...

Largest China-Russia on-site research.(ASIA)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the Russian Academy of Sciences have agreed to conduct joint research into the ecology and industry around Lake Baikal, in southeastern Siberia. The investigation, to be manned by 15 experts from the...

Motorola extends Asian R&D.(ASIA)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., has announced the opening of two new R&D centers in Bangalore, India and Taipei, Taiwan. The new Indian center will be Motorola's third in that country and will combine all of their core network and embedded...

China upgrades collider.(ASIA)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... An upgrade of the Beijing Electron-Positron Collider (BEPCII) officially entered its second phase this past July with the dismantlement of the 17-yr old single storage ring and the installation of a new double ring system. The circumference of...

Digital Chinese newspaper.(ASIA)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Guangdong Mobile Communications Co., Ltd., (China's largest mobile phone company) and Xinhua News Agency have collaborated with several Chinese newspapers of Guangdong Province to introduce a mobile phone newspaper service throughout the...

Bringing sight to the blind: Dr. Mark Humayun has seen the world. Now he's helping others see it too with the creation of an artificial retina.(2005 INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR)
August 1, 2005... Dr. Mark Humayun, a professor of ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine and associate director of research at the Doheny Eye Institute at the Univ. of Southern California, has pioneered new ways of helping the blind to see. He is doing...

Nano invades BioMEMS: BioMEMS sensors are increasingly making use of developments in the nanotechnology arena to advance state-of-the-art devices.(biological microelectromechanical systems)
August 1, 2005... Since the first MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) devices became available, one of the two largest applications was in the bioMEMS (biomedical/biological/biochemical MEMS) area, with the other application being in the accelerometer based...

Silicon photonics: Intel researchers challenge convention and demonstrate a world's first in silicon photonics.
August 1, 2005... It has been traditionally considered impossible to get efficient light emission from silicon as it is an indirect band gap semiconductor. Using a silicon waveguide fabricated with standard CMOS technology, Intel researchers recently...

World's tallest lab: architects from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill offer an inside look at building the world's tallest lab.(Expanded Article Online)
August 1, 2005... Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), the world leader in cancer research and treatment, has nearly completed the featured tower in a new laboratory development project on its main campus in New York, N.Y. Once completed, the new...

Touching the future--next-generation AFMs: recent advances have made atomic force microscopy faster, more flexible, and more productive than ever before.(Keywords)
August 1, 2005... Invented in 1986, the atomic force microscope (AFM) is finally coming into its own, taking on an active role in electronics, materials and life science research. While it remains slower than optical microscopy, the AFM isn't affected by the...

A simple fix for contamination problems: contamination problems can be solved or avoided by special gas purging of the system and/or pumping lines during operation.(Keywords)
August 1, 2005... Contamination is the constant bugaboo that haunts practitioners of vacuum technology. If we define contamination as anything that is likely, or even liable, to interfere with the process or activity being carried out, we can easily understand...

U.S., et al. release SPP report.(Regulatory Update)(Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Representatives from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada have released the first report of the recently formed Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). "Through the Security and Prosperity Partnership, we are building upon the...

Investigating "newborn pollution".(Regulatory Update)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Not long ago scientists thought that the placenta shielded umbilical cord blood, and the developing baby, from most chemicals and pollutants in the environment. But researchers have discovered that a steady stream of industrial chemicals,...

USPTO streamlines appeals.(United States Patent and Trademark Office)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced that it has instituted an avenue for applicants to dispute rejections of their applications, before they file an appeal brief. In these cases, a panel of examiners will review the...

IEEE's new XML standard.(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The IEEE has approved a new learning technology standard that allows learning object metadata (LOM) to be created in XML. The new standard, "Standard for Learning Technology--Extensible Markup Language (XML) Schema Definition Language Binding...

Metabolic analysis policy.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The Standard Metabolic Reporting Structures group, composed of leaders in the field from industry and academia, has undertaken an initiative to investigate the reporting needs and to consider recommendations for standardizing reporting...

Making donated blood safer.(Industrial: Emerging Technologies)
August 1, 2005... Even with all the advances in blood safety, gaps still exist in the defenses against transfusion-transmitted disease within the global blood supply. These gaps can easily make transfused blood the home of infectious diseases (i.e., AIDS,...

Streamlining drug discovery.(Industrial: Emerging Technologies)(Commonwealth of Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Image analysis software from Australian-based CSIRO (Commonwealth of Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) is being used to find new treatments for neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's, by measuring nerve cell changes....

Future of education.(Industrial: Emerging Technologies)(Systema Technologies)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Systema Technologies, Athens, Greece, has recently completed testing on its Lab@Future project. This learning platform uses real and computer generated objects interfaced with mechatronic systems, mobile technologies, and 3-D multi-user...

Talking with robots.(Industrial: Emerging Technologies)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Japan's National Institute of Advanced industrial Science and Technology has developed a speech recognition function on the Humanoid Robotic Project HRP-2, "Promethee." Mounted on the robot's head are eight omnidirectional microphones and a...

Laser therapy destroys cancer cells.(Academic: Emerging Technologies)
August 1, 2005... "One of the long-standing problems in medicine is how to cure cancer without harming normal body tissue," says Hongjie Dai, an associate professor of chemistry at Stanford Univ., Calif. "Standard chemotherapy destroys cancer cells and normal...

Activating brain stem cells.(Academic: Emerging Technologies)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Using customized nanoparticles that they developed, Univ. at Buffalo, NY, scientists have delivered genes into the brains of living mice with an efficiency that is similar to, or better than, viral vectors and with no observable toxic effect....

Image analysis aids research.(Academic: Emerging Technologies)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... John Reinitz, of Stony Brook Univ., NY, and his team have developed a high-throughput method to measure gene expression and protein levels in fruit fly embryo nuclei. The method is essentially an automated pipeline that captures confocal...

Moving micro particles.(Academic: Emerging Technologies)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Researchers at the Univ. of California, Berkeley, have invented "optoelectronic tweezers" that can maneuver microscopic particles as small as living cells without damaging them. The tool uses optical energy from a low-intensity laser beam to...

Genomic factories on the horizon.(synthetic genomics emerging science)
August 1, 2005... You know when an emerging technology has reached a critical stage when a large study is created to investigate its ethical and security concerns. And that's just what has occurred with synthetic genomics. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute...

Support for [H.sub.2] economy.(Eurek: Emerging Technologiesa)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... A General Motors-sponsored independent survey (by Peter D. Hart Research Associates) has revealed wide-based public support for a "moon shot" effort through government-industrial collaborative research to develop a hydrogen economy. ...

CNTs closer to wide use.(Eureka: Emerging Technologies)(carbon nanotubes )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Md., the Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, and Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, have discovered a process for enabling carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to be...

Reversing RCT.(Eureka: Emerging Technologies)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Researchers at AstraZeneca, Sodertalje, Sweden, and Avanir Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, Calif., are collaborating to develop and commercialize reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) enhancing compounds for the treatment of cardiovascular disease....

Thermal conductivity.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... LFA 447 NanoFlash measures thermal conductivity, diffusivity, and specific heat from RT to 300 C using the xenon flash technique for samples such as electronic packaging materials, polymers (including melts), thin films, aerogels, composites,...

Research-grade UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Shimadzu's UV-3600 is equipped with three detectors, which ensure high sensitivity over the entire measurement range and help achieve the world's lowest noise level with Shimadzu Scientific Instruments InfoLINK 065-50801-701 or Call...

AC power distribution and control systems.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Pulizzi Engineering, Inc. offers AC power distribution and control systems for mainframe computer systems. Product is rack-mounted and provides: circuit breaker protection, EMI and RFI filtering, spike/surge protection, remote power on/off,...

New XP Analytical balance.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... METTLER TOLEDO is excited to announce the newest addition to the Excellence Plus Series, XP Analytical! Touting three innovative features: SmartSens, a hands-free user option; SmartGrid, the revolutionary grid-style weighing pan: and...

Selection of pre-manufactured catalog peptides from APC.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... American Peptide Company, Inc. (APC) offers comprehensive selections of pre-manufactured catalog peptides in convenient aliquots, a spectrum of custom synthesis services from array screens to mg and kg of research-grade peptides, and full-scale...

Seebeck Coefficient Measuring System.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Measure thermoelectric properties with the Seebeck Coefficient Measuring System from Ulvac. It automatically measures both the Seebeck Coefficient and electrical resistance of bulk samples, thin-sheet, or thin-film deposited thermoelectric...

Your custom alarm leader.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Floyd Bell is the world header in creating customized audible alarms. We have pioneered audible alarms to meet the unique needs of elevators, golf carts, radar detectors, automobiles, and many marine applications. Our full-time staff of...

Zipper Development Kit.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... YKK (U.S.A.) Inc. is offering a "New Zipper Development Kit" for engineers and designers who are interested in evaluating zippers for non-standard fastening applications. Free for the asking, this kit should be of particular interest to...

Quality electro-optic instruments.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... The LTX-5510 enables the precise conveyance of analog plus four channels of digital information over fiber optic links ranging from meters to more than 10 km. Incoming analog data is digitized to 12-bit precision at 50 mega-samples/s and...

Low-cost/high-performance Fiber Stretcher.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... The PZI-STD is a cost-effective fiber-wound piezoelectric optical Fiber Stretcher useful for a wide range of fiber interferometric applications. Our unique multi-layer winding approach produces an enhanced modulation function while maintaining...

New Mouser catalog every 90 days.(Product/Literature Showcase)(Advertisement)
August 1, 2005... Mouser Electronics releases latest quarterly catalog--1,588 pages of the newest products and latest technologies from 300+ premier suppliers of ICs to passives and every board-level component in between. Best technical support. NO minimums. NO...

Gas mass flow controller.(Product/Literature Showcase)(Advertisement)
August 1, 2005... Porter Instrument Co.'s MPC Series represents a totally new concept in cost efficient mass flow control. These units combine a fast, accurate mass flow sensor and complete closed loop control system in a compact, panel mount 1/16 DIN package....

Free catalog of 45,000+ industrial components.(Product/Literature Showcase)(Advertisement)
August 1, 2005... The Reid Supply catalog contains over 1,000 new items. Items in this 512 page catalog include knobs, handles, handwheels, spring and ball plungers, clamps, leveling pads, abrasives, magnets, lubricants, drawer slides, fasteners, and much more....

Microwave R&D tool--alternative oven solution-.(Lambda Technologies product info)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
August 1, 2005... Lambda Technologies' advanced heating tools for faster, lower temperature reactions with Variable Frequency Microwave. Selectable center frequency, 4096 frequencies rapidly swept. Stirred electric fields accelerate reaction rates without hot...

Joining and thermal management materials.(AIM Specialty Materials products)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
August 1, 2005... AIM Specialty Materials manufactures alloys of Indium, Tin, Lead, Bismuth, Cadmium, Gold, and Gallium for a wide range of applications. These materials come in a variety of forms, including preforms, wire, foil & ribbon, seals, pastes,...

New mass flow controller for gases.(Sierra Instruments)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
August 1, 2005... Sierra Instruments' popular Smart-Trak[R] 100 Series family of high-performance mass flow meters and controllers can now be used up to 200 s1pm. Measure and control gas flows from Sierra Instruments InfoLINK 065-50801-717 or Call...

The new handbook from Molecular Probes.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Published in March 2005 and newly revised, The Handbook: A Guide to Fluorescent Probes and Labeling Technologies, Tenth Edition, continues the legacy of this authoritative resource for fluorescence technology. The Handbook contains a wealth of...

Over 5,000 optics with 5,000,000 in stock!(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Experimental and commercial grade optics are ideal for low volume, educational applications, prototype, research, start-up, initial run requirements and single unit application use. A line of 5000 lenses, prisms, mirrors, windows, filters and...

MKS Series 900 vacuum transducers.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... MKS Series 900 vacuum transducers incorporate MEMS-based technologies, including MicroPirani[TM] and piezo sensors, combined with Mini Ion BA technology. Designed for a variety of vacuum system and analytical applications, Series 900...

Order high vacuum components online.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... A&N Corp. (www.ancorp.com) offers convenient online ordering of high and ultra-high vacuum components including flanges and fittings (ISO, CE and ASA), couplings, view ports, leak detector accessories, feedthroughs, valves, and...

Eberbach scientific instruments.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Our 2005 catalog presents Eberbach's complete line of instruments and apparatus. The shaker section contains our classic line of reciprocal and orbital units in addition to our EL series of tube rotators and rockers, hand-action and bench top...

Precision orifices and filters.(Product/Literature Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Bird Precision offers laser-drilled, wire-lapped ruby and sapphire orifices with flows from Bird Precision InfoLINK 065-50801-722 or Call 800-441-6180 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Next-generation data acquisition--more performance, more I/O, more value.(Manufactures' Showcase)
August 1, 2005... The new National Instruments (NI) M Series data acquisition (DAQ) devices set a new standard for DAQ hardware capabilities with a revolutionary architecture designed from the ground up. In addition to integrating the most advanced commercially...

DIN rail mount configurable signal conditioners.(Manufactures' Showcase)
August 1, 2005... The DRF series DIN rail signal conditioners from OMEGA Engineering Inc. are designed to accept a broad range of input signals, such as AC/DC voltage and current, frequency, temperature, and process transducers, and provides standard process...

JMP Version 6.(Manufactures' Showcase)
August 1, 2005... JMP 6 will dramatically extend statistical discovery capabilities throughout your organization. From non-statisticians to statistical experts. From Green Belts to Master Black Belts. From R&D to production and customer service. Buy JMP 5 Now to...

Nanometer positioning with 10 mm travel!(Manufactures' Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Now available from Ocean Optics is the NTS-10, a software-controlled linear nanopositioner that combines incredible high-resolution ( InfoLINK 065-50801-303 or Call 800-441-6180 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

New calibration baths.(Manufactures' Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Julabo introduces a new range of calibration baths designed for NIST calibrations. These units cover the range of-30 [degrees]C to 300 [degrees]C with a precision of +/- 0.005 [degrees]C and come with different bath depths for different...

HexaLight TM Hexapods, 6D-motion for less.(MANUFACTURES' SHOWCASE)
August 1, 2005... PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P. offers the largest selection of submicron-precision Hexapod 6D Micropositioners and Microrobots, ideal tools for precision alignment and handling of microoptics, CCDs/LCDs, MEMS etc. Parallel 6D-motion: vacuum...

Interactive Test & Measurement Troubleshooting Guide CD.(Manufactures' Showcase)
August 1, 2005... Keithley Instruments has published Interactive Test & Measurement Troubleshooting Guide: How to Avoid Common Measurement Errors. The CD lets users explore the symptoms and causes of errors associated with low voltage, low current, low...