R & D articles from December 2005

R & D archives from December 2005

Online evolution or revolution?(software engineeres graduating in United States )(Editorial)
December 1, 2005... A number of studies have recently focused on the relatively low number of engineers being graduated in the U.S., compared to those in Asian countries, particularly those in China, Japan, Korea, and India. China and India combined create about...

Gauging nanotubes' flow factor.(MICRO/NANOTECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... Researchers from the Univ. of Kentucky (UK), Lexington, have offered up new research into the flow rates permitted by carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The work, reported in the Nov. 3 issue of the journal Nature, found that the flow dynamics of carbon...

Shimadzu expands mass spec.(ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTS)(Shimadzu Scientific Instruments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Officials at Shimadzu Scientific Instruments have announced the opening of their new Mass Spectrometry/Biotech Applications laboratory in their Columbia, Md. headquarters. The new facility will serve as the company's central U.S. facility...

Gov't. recognizes U.S. innovators.(BULLETIN)
December 1, 2005... President Bush has announced this year's National Medal of Technology winners. The awards, established in 1980, are the nation's highest award for innovation and recognize the significant contributions that America's leading innovators have...

Photonics focus.(Conferences & Events)(International Society for Optical Engineering)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
December 1, 2005... The International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) will hold its annual Photonics West Conference & Exhibition on Jan. 21-26 at the San Jose Convention Center, Calif. The event will also feature four international symposia in Biomedical...

New nanobiology initiative sets sail.(LIFE SCIENCE)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Life science software provider, Accelrys, San Diego, Calif., has formally launched a new initiative targeting the burgeoning nanobiology arena. The goal of the initiative will be to accelerate the development of computational modeling and...

MBT and Perkins+Will unite.(LAB DESIGN)
December 1, 2005... International architecture, design and planning firm Perkins+Will, Chicago, Ill., has acquired San Francisco-based MBT Architecture. Established in 1954, MBT Architecture has spearheaded the creation/design of several prestigious research...

Telecom-friendly laser.(LASERS)
December 1, 2005... The telecommunications industry can get a huge boost with the development of Paster and more efficient solid-state lasers for existing optical networks. To that end, researchers from Stanford Univ., Calif., have developed a new type of...

Revamping vivariums.(LAB EQUIPMENT)
December 1, 2005... Unveiled at this year's American Association for Laboratory Animal Science meeting in St. Louis, Mo., Innovive, LLC, La Jolla, Calif., has released what it claims is the industry's first fully disposable, dual HEPA-filtered rodent cage....

OSU receives Titan tool.(MICROSCOPY)(Ohio State University installs world's highest-resolution, commercially-available scanning/transmission electron)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Center for Accelerated Maturation of Materials (CAMM) at Ohio State Univ. (OSU), Columbus, has become the first North American site to install and begin using FEI's, Hillsboro, Ore., Titan 80-300 S/TEM, the world's highest-resolution,...

Great Wall gets re-measured.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... In late-November. Chinese officials announced that they will re-measure the length of the Great Wall. with the help of aeronautic remote sensing technology, Built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), "the current measure of the Great Wall,...

Cleaning up anthrax.(VACUUM/THIN FILMS)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Investigations into anthrax decontamination by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M., have revealed that common anthrax sampling methods need improvement. The team, led by researcher Gary Brown, spent a year looking...

Glaxo eyes India for research hub.(PHARMACEUTICAL)
December 1, 2005... The economic lure of India has persuaded GlaxoSmithKline, PLC, Middlesex, UK, to establish the first Indian-cancer trials network. The program will call for Glaxo to contribute three years of funding to establish clinical research centers...

U.S. passports get tagged.(BULLETIN)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Officials at the U.S. State Department have recently announced plans to integrate radio frequency identification (RFID) chips into all U.S. passports. The program, which will begin its pilot phase this month, will require all passports issued...

Stepping up steel mill efficiency.(MATERIALS)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... An agreement recently forged between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL),Tenn., and Duraloy Technologies, Scottsdale, Pa., aims to improve the efficiency and operation of the nation's steel mills. The agreement licenses Duraloy to manufacture...

PNNL joins the BioSimGrid.(Data Management & Analysis)(Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Biological Simulation Grid (BioSimGrid) Consortium of Great Britain is a distributed database for bio-molecular simulations. Its goal is to make the results of large-scale computer simulations more accessible to the biological community. To...

U.S. leads global supercomputing.(Data Management & Analysis)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The latest list of the 500 fastest supercomputers was announced at the SC05 Supercomputing Conference in Seattle, Wash., in November. The U.S. remained atop the list, with 305 machines. In fact, 34 of the top 35 supercomputers came from U.S....

Fiber optic sensors.(Data Management & Analysis)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Total worldwide revenues for fiber optic sensors are projected to increase from $288.1 million in 2004 to $304.3 million in 2006. In 2005, extrinsic sensor revenues are estimated at $214.8 million. This market segment is forecast to increase at...

DSP demand forecast.(Data Management & Analysis)(Digital signal processors)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Digital signal processors (DSPs), with worldwide unit shipments estimated at 1.5 billion units in 2004, will grow to approximately 2.8 billion units by the end of 2009. DSPs are present in all market segments, such as communications, computer...

R&D investors look to Asia.(research and development attracts foreign direct investment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... China is expected to become the most attractive R&D location in the world in a few years, according to an analysis of the latest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index by management consulting firm, A.T. Kearney, Plano, Texas. ...

Microsoft commits to India.(R&D ASIA)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... While in India for a Microsoft global leaders forum recently, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced that Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft would invest $1.7 billion in India in the next four years. The investment is expected to drive efforts in...

Ericsson R&D center in India.(R&D ASIA)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Global telecommunications equipment manufacturer Ericsson, Stockholm, Sweden, has announced that it will establish an R&D center in Chennai, India, and a manufacturing plant in Gurgaon, India. The Chennai R&D Center will focus on cutting...

ECI R&D center in India, too.(R&D ASIA)(ECI Telecom)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... ECI Telecom, Petach Tikva, Israel, has announced that it has opened an R&D center in Mumbai, India, joining its existing R&D facilities in the U.S., Israel, and China. The new R&D site will focus on ECI's broadband access solutions to...

China leads in GM research.(R&D ASIA)(genetically modified)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... China has taken the lead in the research of genetically modified (GM) plants, according to Shen Guifang, executive director of the China Hightech Industrialization Association. "We've invested more than $100 million/year for the past four...

R&D's hot technologies for 2006: the readers and editors of R&D Magazine choose the technologies that they expect to see fast growth, large investments, and increasing applications in the coming year.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2005... For the second consecutive year, the editors of R&D Magazine performed a survey of our readers in, late, November 2005, asking what technologies they expect to be "hot" in 2006. This year's survey results, looking at more than 70 different...

There's a multicore in your future: multicore computer processing is an evolution whose time has come, with a tsunami of new products on the horizon. And oh yes, even "many-core" products.
December 1, 2005... The computer microprocessor evolution that we grew up with was that of traditional speed improvements mostly through regular increases in the microprocessor's clock frequency. But continuing increases in clock frequencies combined with...

RFID goes more mainstream: 2006 may prove to be a banner year for RFID.(radio frequency identification)
December 1, 2005... As a technology, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are nothing new. Many of the components incorporated into these devices can he traced as far back as the 1930s, and the military's use of long-range, radio transponders in Identify...

Investing in stem cell research: stem cell research is being enabled by the creation of national stem cell banks and global collaboration.
December 1, 2005... Many countries have recently declared initiatives on stem cell research and its funding. Of course, recent events such as the resignation of stem cell pioneer, Hwang Woo-Suk, from his position as director of the World Stem Cell Hub has cast a...

Carbon nanofibers get new respect: carbon nanofibers may just beat their celebrity brethren in economically viable applications.
December 1, 2005... Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) differ in structure from carbon nanotubes (CNTs)--being composed of stacks of cup or cone-shaped graphene sheets. While their mechanical and electrical properties tend more toward the ordinary than nanotubes, they do...

IP strategies for fuel cells: any business hoping to make a dent in fuel cells, must build a strong IP portfolio.(intellectual property)
December 1, 2005... Government activism in hydrogen fuel cells has sparked a hydrogen revolution. The Hydrogen Future Act of 1996 jump-started hydrogen fuel cells with extensive public funding, and now the Bush Administration's Energy Policy Act of 2005 will...

Independent R&D CEOs see expanding opportunities: executives from the top four IRDOs weigh in on the current and future track of independent R&D organizations in the U.S.(IRDO CEO REVIEW)(Interview)
December 1, 2005... Independent research and development organizations (IRDOs) have become a valued resource to government and industrial R&D organizations alike. Their expertise in product development, unique technological capabilities and facilities, and broad...

Advanced software success story.(Southwest Research Institute)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The complex problems for which industrial or government clients seek help from independent research and development organizations frequently require a multidisciplinary approach. The research organization's response may come not only from...

Southwest Research Institute[R] (SwRI[R]).(Corporate Profile)
December 1, 2005... SwRI[R] is an independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization devoted to technology development and transfer. The Institute also funds internal research projects and organizes multiclient...

Cures from the deep.(Midwest Research Institute)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Bioprospecting is a new approach to the ancient tradition of seeking the healing powers of chemicals found in plants and animals to treat human disease. MRI's research takes this hunt from the depths of Antarctica's waters to the laboratory....

Midwest Research Institute: momentum continues 60 years later.(Corporate Profile)(Advertisement)
December 1, 2005... At Midwest Research Institute, research and services, capabilities and momentum, have never been greater. Established by civic leaders in 1944, MRI continues to be one of the foremost not-for-profit scientific research institutes in the...

Battelle.(Battelle Healthcare Products' services)
December 1, 2005... Battelle is a global leader in technology development, laboratory management and technology commercialization. With the national labs it manages or co-manages. Battelle oversees 19,000 staff and conducts $2.9 billion in R&D at more than 100...

No alternative to landfills? 'Rubbish!' says Battelle.
December 1, 2005... Battelle is helping transform spent coffee grounds, dirty diapers and last week's leftovers into landscape timbers, park benches and fertile farmland while reducing America's dependency on landfills. Led by researcher Satya Chauhan,...

Eye on forensic microscopy: forensic microscopy borrows tools and techniques from many different disciplines in order to examine criminal evidence and, ultimately, help solve crimes.
December 1, 2005... The popularity of television shows like CSI and the prime time reporting of court cases have catapulted forensic microscopy into the public spotlight. "Much of what is seen on CSI and other related TV shows looks real and the writers and...

Returning a chamber to full: confronting a high gas load from a new or newly cleaned vacuum chamber can be daunting, but there are some simple techniques for bringing it into normal condition.
December 1, 2005... Although there's a plethora of data that allows a vacuum practitioner to model a vacuum system's expected performance in terms of pumpdown, ultimate vacuum, and total outgassing rate, there's still a point where practical anarchy exists. Since...

ISO tackles nanotech standards.(Regulatory Update)(International Organization for Standardization)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The new International Organization for Standardization technical committee ISO/TC 229, established to develop international standards for nanotechnologies, recently held its inaugural meeting in London where it spelled out its goals. The...

Experts unite on biometrics.(Regulatory Update)
December 1, 2005... The International Biometric Advisory Council (IBAC)--made up of representatives from the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, IBM, White Plains, N.Y., and international security organizations--are banding together to tackle the serious standards...

NIH transforms research.(Regulatory Update)(National Institutes of Health)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... In an effort to develop new treatments and deliver them faster to patients, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Md., has announced a new program to stimulate change in clinical and translational research in the U.S. Up to...

Policies govern 3G.(Regulatory Update)(the next generation in cell phone technology)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... In-Stat, Scottsdale, Ariz., forecasts that there will be 610 million subscribers to high-speed wireless cell phones in China by 2009. The percentage of those using 3G (the next generation in cell phone technology) may be as high as 58%. ...

China seeks better air quality.(Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES), Beijing, China, and industry giant, BASF, Florham Park, N.J., have joined together to test vehicle fuels and additives. So far, about $700,000 has been invested to create a new...

Harnessing "slow light".(International Business Machines Corp.'s )
December 1, 2005... Optical communications have the potential to lead to vast improvements in the performance of computers and other electronic systems. To that end, researchers at IBM, Yorktown Heights, N.Y., have created a tiny device that could represent a big...

Chemical barcode.(Emerging Technologies)(CSIRO and DataDot Technology develop chemical barcode )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... A new technology is leading the way in the secure authentication and identification of commercial and bulk products. Developed by CSIRO, Victoria, Australia, and DataDot Technology, New South Wales, Australia, DataTraceDNA incorporates unique...

Purifying cells.(Emerging Technologies)
December 1, 2005... A new system that can sort cells at high speeds with greater than 95% purity has been introduced by Innovative Micro Technology (IMT), Santa Barbara, Calif. The Rare Cell Purification System (RCPS) is based on microelectromechanical systems...

Speeding drug development.(Emerging Technologies)
December 1, 2005... An instrument that enables the testing of device and drug combinations within 60 sec has been launched by VariDose Ltd., Loughborough, UK. The optical instrument, VariDose, speeds up the measurement of drug inhaler performance. VariDose...

Cracking the motor neuron code.(Howard Hughes Medical Institute's research)
December 1, 2005... Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Chevy Chase, Md., have deciphered a key part of the regulatory code that governs how motor neurons in the spinal cord connect to specific target muscles in the limbs. Understanding...

Lighting up "dark" spins.(emerging technologies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... A new path toward room temperature quantum information processing has been opened up by researchers from the Univ. of California, Santa Barbara. The team discovered a new channel for transferring information to neighboring electron spins in...

Understanding regeneration.(Emerging Technologies)(Forsyth Institute)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Researchers at the Forsyth Institute, Boston, Mass., have discovered how the planaria worm's cells communicate to correctly repair and regenerate tissue. The researchers closed down the gap junctions (microscopic tunnels directly linking...

Switching genes on and off.(Emerging Technologies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... A molecular structure that helps keep genes properly turned on or off has been discovered by researchers at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah. They found that certain genes contain a special type of nucleosome shown to be...

Carver offers new Monarch hydraulic lab presses.(MANUFACTURERS' SHOWCASE)
December 1, 2005... CARVER, Inc. introduces Monarch presses with integral hydraulic systems and high technology options, all equipped with expanded metal safety guards for operator and bystander protection. Available in 30-, 50-, 75- and 100-ton clamp capacities...

Custom-grown single crystals.(MANUFACTURERS' SHOWCASE)
December 1, 2005... Goodfellow offers single crystals of more than 30 metals and alloys, normally grown to order using a range of techniques. Crystals can be supplied with specific or random orientations and in a variety of shapes and sizes. Goodfellow can also...

Graphic overlays & membrane keypads.(MANUFACTURERS' SHOWCASE)
December 1, 2005... Amazing design options are possible with NFi's unique full color applied graphic products. Discover special features to enhance the function and appearance of your products with our sample packet of LED/LCD Windows, Serial Numbers, UL/CSA...

Solid-state pressure transducers.(MANUFACTURERS' SHOWCASE)(Advertisement)
December 1, 2005... Rugged, solid-state pressure transducers with amplified outputs--PX209/PX219 series. Designed to withstand vibration and shock, OMEGA's PX209 (cable style) and PX219 (connector style) transducers deliver consistent accuracy in small, stainless...

Edmund Optics fixed power beam expanders.(MANUFACTURERS' SHOWCASE)
December 1, 2005... Edmund's family of beam expanders offers high performance optical designs packaged in a precise opto-mechanical platform. Two full rotations of the focus knurl provide smooth movement for the optics in order to vary the output from collimated...

Reliability CD.(MANUFACTURERS' SHOWCASE)
December 1, 2005... Keithley's Understanding Measurements--Reliability CD presents three informative seminars on reliability testing of semiconductor devices. The CD also includes a useful glossary, hotlinks to important papers on reliability testing, and related...

Pre-manufactured catalog peptides from APC.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 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...

Automatic kinematic viscosity within minutes!(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... The Grabner MINIVIS 445 automatic, portable Micro-Viscometer determines viscosity of all kinds of fuels, oils and other liquids in the lab or field. Excellent correlation to standard ASTM D445 capillary viscometers. Fully automated, fast,...

Free 2006 NI measurement and automation catalog.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... Featuring new product information, comparison charts, key specifications, and information on: * NI LabVIEW 8 distributed intelligence * PCI express M series * PXI flexible-resolution digitizer * USB data acquisition modules...

FREE catalog of over 45,000 industrial components.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 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....

AC power distribution & control systems.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 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,...

UltraVolt HV Rack[R].(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... UltraVolt's HV Rack[R] is configurable with up to 4 independent channels ranging from 0 to 62V through 0 to 40kV between 4 and 250 watts. The HV Rack[R] also offers constant-voltage-regulation/constant-current--regulation auto-crossover and...

Film thickness/birefringence.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... The Model 2010/M prism coupler measures thickness ([+ or -]1%) and index ([+ or -].0002) in x, y, and z directions without matching fluids for rigid or flexible films (max. index 3.35). Index at wavelengths from 405 to 1550 nm and dn/dT up to...

40th anniversary catalog released!(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... A&N Corporation's catalog includes: 15 high- and ultra-high vacuum product sections: expanded product descriptions and specifications; full-color product photos: detailed 3-D product illustrations: BONUS GUIDES: "10 Things You Need to Know...

Waterwise steam distillers.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... Since 1977, Waterwise distillers have proven to be valuable tools for laboratories worldwide. Electric, non-electric; portable, countertop, free-standing; manual, automatic fill units produce up to 16 gallons of purified, steam distilled water...

Electric heaters, controls & sensors.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... Tempco's 864 page catalog offers electric heaters, temperature sensors, TEC temperature controls, turnkey process heating systems and related accessory items. New products include Gemini[R] Twin Bore Quartz Tube Heaters, Cool TO-THE Touch[TM]...

New 2006 newport resource.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... Our 2006 Resource is a comprehensive catalog that contains added tutorials, application notes and over 5,000 new products including Spectra-Physics Lasers and Oriel Light Sources, opto-mechanical components, optics, positioning hardware,...

Controllers and monitors.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... You can't monitor containment, but you can verify operation by directly controlling laboratory hood face velocity. Ensure the safety of staff in your lab with TSI's proven SureFlow[TM] VAV controllers and EverWatch[R] monitors. TSI has trained...

Heat, mix, pump, pour.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... DRUM-MATES supplies liquid processing equipment for product design & improvement. We offer a wide range of equipment for innovating or enhancing new or existing product or system designs for processing liquids of all kinds. Drum & tote/tank...

Leak-free connections!(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... Brochure describes new Loctite coated seals. These seals fit all standard flared fittings, 37[degrees] or 45[degrees] degree, insuring a robust leak-tree connection. Seals are available for your hydraulic and pneumatic applications from Eaton...

New humidity transmitter from Vaisala.(Product/Literature Showcase)
December 1, 2005... The Vaisala HUMICAP[R] Humidity/Temperature Transmitter Series HMT330 is optimized for HVAC and demanding industrial applications. Six models cover 0-100%RH, a wide temperature range -70 to +180[degrees]C (365[degrees]F), pressure 0 to 100 bar...