R & D articles from July 2002

R & D archives from July 2002

Warming up to change. (Editorial).(R&D Magazine's redesign compared to global warming)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
July 1, 2002... Our world is one of change. One change affecting R&D Magazine is very obvious--the new look of this month's issue. Another change is not quite so readily visible--that of global warming. The change in our publication this month is more than...

3-D technology makes surgeries see-through. (Microscopy).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Siemens Corporate Research Inc., Princeton, N.J., is currently testing a prototype that will allow surgeons to virtually see inside of patients. The prototype, called augmented reality image guidance or "in situ visualization," creates this...

Deal may turn fortunes for two companies' Euro-markets. (Analytical Instruments).(Rheometric Scientific Inc. and Shimadzu Corp. distribution deal)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Rheometric Scientific Inc. and Shimadzu Corp. recently made a deal to help their respectively lagging revenues. In the deal, Rheometric, based in Piscataway, N.J., agreed to be Shimadzu's exclusive marketer and distributor of all of the Kyoto,...

New incubator to be finished by year-end. (Laboratory Design).(Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... A new $8 million technology incubator is set to be open by November 2002 at the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The 4,000 [m.sup.2] incubator, designed by Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum Inc., St. Louis, has labs to host between 25...

Biometrics use growing. (Bulletin).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Eye scanning, voiceprint recognition, and thermal imaging, once considered only far-fetched technology in sci-fi flicks, are becoming part of today's reality. A recent survey conducted by Cutter Consortium, Arlington, Mass., shows that 6% of...

Biolab and bioindustry solutions. (Upcoming Conferences & Events).
July 1, 2002... BioAnalytica, a new trade show that will take place April 1-4, 2003, in Munich, Germany, will be the first comprehensive event to highlight biolab and bioindustry solutions. To accommodate the rapidly growing industry of biotechnology,...

`Science in a box' brings hands-on experiments to astronauts. (Laboratory Equipment).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The ongoing worldwide trend is to "think outside the box," but for scientists working in the international space station, inside the box is the safer bet. In an Earth-based laboratory, liquids stay in beakers or test tubes. But in the...

Rewiring the Army's soldiers. (Lasers & Optics).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... A program underway at the US Army Soldier Systems Center, Natick, Mass., is wiring clothing for soldiers, essentially bringing star wars technologies into the very fabric of their lives. The processes embed lightweight fiber optics and wire...

Plastics that can heal themselves. (Materials).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Researchers at the Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, have developed a polymeric composite material that can heal itself. More specifically, this material has the ability to autonomically heal cracks. This self-healing, epoxy matrix composite...

Speedy deciphering in bioinformatics. (Life Science).(computer server benchmarking)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Squeezing 144 days of run time into 41 hours and 46 minutes, researchers have completed benchmark testing of a DeCypher accelerated Sun Fire machine. At the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), Adam Godzik has designed tests to compare a...

Longer and more commercial nanotubes. (Micro/Nano Technology).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., have devised a simplified method for making long, continuous, hair-like strands of carbon nanotubes. As long as 20 cm--much longer than conventional nanotubes--the strands may...

European companies capitalize on US edge by shifting markets. (Pharmaceutical).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... In the past decade, a complete re-arrangement has occurred in the international pharmaceutical market. A leader at the open of the 1990s, Europe has now seen the US market surge into the lead in drug research investment. For example, in 2000,...

Circuit testing developed minus contacts. (Test & Measurement).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Scientists in the magnetic technology division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, Colo., have recently developed a new way to probe microwave fields near digital integrated circuits. Currently, probes must...

Nanotube transistors beat their silicon counterparts. (Vacuum/Thin Film).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Researchers at IBM Corp.'s Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, N.Y., have announced that they have developed a transistor technology that could allow production of smaller, faster, and lower-power computer chips than currently...

FFRDCs combine R&D expertise. (Special Report).(Federally Funded Research and Development Centers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Federally Funded R&D Centers (FFRDCs) are unique organizations that assist the US government with scientific research and analysis, systems development, and systems acquisition. FFRDCs bring together the expertise and outlook of government,...

Software library creates curves. (Data Management & Analysis).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Whether you deal with medical, robotic, or industrial applications, converting point-to-point motion data into a continuous trajectory may be easier with Pathfinder contouring software library. The Pathfinder, a source code library from...

WiFi hotspots get hotter. (Data Management & Analysis).(wireless Internet service)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Thousands of Starbucks anticipate joining the emerging market for remote public wireless broadband access by 2006. McDonald's restaurants in Japan also expect to join the WiFi wave. These additions show that a market once associated only with...

Spectroscopy info management solved. (Data Management & Analysis).(laboratory information management system software)
July 1, 2002... Now that the need for high sampling efficiency has been met in spectroscopic instrument and software design, the inevitable consequence is the production of an incredible volume of information. Raw sample data, qualitative and quantitative...

Handheld PCs save time in field surveys. (Data Management & Analysis).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Researchers collecting survey data in the field can save time and headaches by using handheld PCs rather than traditional paper and pencil. The selection of handheld software, however, is still quite small compared to conventional PCs. For many...

DAQ system provides objective pain measurement. (Data Management & Analysis).(data acquisition system)
July 1, 2002... A data acquisition (DAQ) system that has demonstrated the ability to provide objective measurements of different types of pain is facilitating basic research that may lead to more effective methods of pain relief. The DAQ system is used to...

Surface study meets its match--the microscope. (Microscopy Semiconductor Defect Detector).
July 1, 2002... Microscopy is pressed to contend with smaller elements, in parallel with semiconductor fabrication. Technologies that measure electrical currents, resolve images in high-vacuum conditions, and map surface atomic structure are critical to the...

From the lab to the production line: coordinate measuring machines have been moving out of the research laboratory and onto the shop floor. With this transition comes design and software modifications that are still in the works. (Metrology Computers Sensors Manufacturing).
July 1, 2002... More manufacturers are looking to coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) as alternative inspection tools for their parts. They can be used to measure everything from engines and airplane wings to toys and molds for chocolate candies. "It's...

Microarray madness: unique uses for an old technology: microarrays and biochips are generally associated with drug discovery. Many other uses for similar arrays are taking off--to the delight of researchers around the world. (Microarray Biochip Expression).
July 1, 2002... A microarray is generally defined as having oligonucleotides, DNA, proteins, peptides, or other small molecules organized in a grid on a glass or plastic slide, silicon chip, fiber optic array, or filter membrane. While this definition holds...

Genomic LIMS support biotech development; the increased number of samples in genomic laboratories enhances the value laboratory information management systems bring in tracking and managing materials. (LIMS Biotech Bioinformatics).(laboratory information management systems)
July 1, 2002... Suppliers of laboratory information management systems (LIMS) have gone through a number of traumas over the past decade as the work they spent in developing their software-based laboratory materials and experimentation tracking systems often...

Data mining researchers search for new tools; searching for simple relationships in large databases is no longer good enough with today's constantly changing, increasingly complex, massive distributed data sources. (Data Mining Database Models).
July 1, 2002... The recent onslaught of genomic data from completion of the initial draft of the human genome project (HGP) brings to light the need for reliable data mining tools to create meaningful knowledge out of all the different data sets available and...

CARB initiates backpedaling. (Regulatory Update).(California Air Resources Board withdrawing its Clean Air Plan)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... When the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Sacramento, Calif., announced that it was withdrawing its Clean Air Plan and canceling a series of workshops this spring, there was general concern that the draft--some 700 pages, may have come...

Power deregulation equals some benefits to industry. (Regulatory Update).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The deregulation of the US power industry was designed to provide a chance for new entrants to make contributions in general. However, only 24 of the 48 contiguous states have attempted deregulation, and much of it is only partial, according to...

Strengthening science at the EPA. (Regulatory Update).(Strengthening Science at the Environmental Protection Agency Act)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Strengthening Science at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Act--H.R. 64--would establish a Deputy Administrator for Science and Technology for the EPA. The legislation is based on the National Research Council's June 2000 report...

More funding for the NSF. (Regulatory Update).(National Science Foundation)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The House Science Committee recently approved several bills, among them one that would authorize a 15% increase for the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget for each of the next three years, thus putting the agency on track to double its...

Another vote for the fuel cell. (Regulatory Update).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Declaring the fuel cell "an idea whose time has come," in an address to members of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) recently, Chris Clark, CEO of Johnson Matthey, London, called on legislators to grapple with the issue. "The importance of...

Chemical sensors that illuminate. (Academic Emerging Technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... In a collaborative effort, researchers at the Dept. of Energy's Ames (Iowa) Laboratory, and the Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, have developed a novel technology that has the potential to monitor oxygen, inorganic and organic compounds, even...

The spin on spintronics. (Academic Emerging Technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Developments in the field of spintronics, which exploits the spin and charge of electrons, could allow data storage and processing to occur on the same material. A team of researchers, led by physicists at the Univ. of Buffalo (N.Y.),...

Shape-shifting proteins. (Academic Emerging Technologies).(lasers used to change shape of proteins)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Researchers at Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, Ind., have been using lasers to change the shape of proteins and other molecules. Studying a particular molecule with three distinct conformations, the team of researchers led by Timothy Zwier...

Life on a chip. (Academic Emerging Technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... With technology available to rapidly sequence genomes, analyzing cellular and genetic interactions is the next step. Toward this goal, researchers at the Microscale Life Sciences Center at the Univ. of Washington, Seattle, is developing...

DNA sequencing may combat food pathogens. (Industrial Emerging Technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... After innovations created to protect the US against such bio-terrorism threats as anthrax, scientists at Lawrence Livermore (Calif.) National Laboratory (LLNL) believe that the same advances could be used to detect food-borne agents like...

Efficient light bulbs. (Industrial Emerging Technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... At the Dept. of Energy's Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, N.M., researchers have found a way to make tungsten-filament bulbs burn more efficiently. The bulbs have been fitted with an internal-photonic lattice that raises efficiency from...

Virtual reality reaches books. (Industrial Emerging Technologies).(virtual and augmented reality combined to make virtual pop-up children's book)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Human Interface Technology lab at the Univ. of Washington, Seattle, is combining virtual and augmented reality to make a virtual pop-up children's book. Viewed through a head-mounted display (HMD), markers on the book allow image-processing...

Gem ID could help end wars. (Industrial Emerging Technologies).(methods for identifying "conflict diamonds")(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., recently discussed methods for identifying "conflict diamonds," which are sold by guerillas in war-torn countries to fund arms purchases. Peter Heaney, a Penn State Univ. geoscientist, is using...

Virtual images for real security. (Industrial Emerging Technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... You'll walk between two upright panels, and as you pause, micro- and millimeter waves will frisk you for everything from plastic guns to carbon fiber knives. You'll continue through the portal, and within seconds, the D3P (Dual Panel Planar...

New weapons solutions. (Industrial Emerging Technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... With concerns rising over "dirty nukes"--bombs laced with radioactive material--researchers from Lawrence Livermore (Calif.) National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley (Calif.) National Laboratory have produced the Cryo3 portable radiation...

Chemical ID system. (Industrial Emerging Technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the International Union of Pure Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) have developed the IUPAC chemical identifier system (IChl), to ease chemical identification for scientists worldwide. The system is...

Fixed content software. (Industrial Emerging Technologies).(fixed-content data storage)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2002... As an estimated 50% of the world's new data is fixed content, EMC Corp. has released EMC Centera, a software-driven, online storage structure for long-lasting files such as electronic documents or digital x-rays. This software should help...

Mini-motor sets small standard. (Eureka Emerging technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Though small in size, when mass production begins this summer on new piezoelectric motors, the ramifications will be magnificent and far ranging. De-signed by Elliptec AG, Dortmund, Germany, an independent start-up company affiliated with...

Virtual keyboard. (Eureka Emerging technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Maybe scientists at Jerusalem-based VKB Ltd. had comfort in mind with their latest development, as it seems the most ergonomically correct keyboard to date could be the new "Virtual Keyboard," with nothing but an image of a keyboard projected...

High-tech crystal ball. (Eureka Emerging technologies).(3-D visualization)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Actuality Systems, Burlington, Mass., says the images in the "Perspecta Spatial 3-D Visualization Platform," a 500 mm transparent globe, are about 250 mm in diameter and use digital light processor technology to project an image containing 100...

DNA has entropy. (Eureka Emerging technologies).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Researchers at Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y., are now able to explain the reaction of DNA molecules when squeezed into a tight space. They recently discovered that DNA molecules possess entropic recoil force, meaning they tend to move into a more...

Inside lab-on-a-chip technology. (Back to basics: micro/nano).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Most observers classify lab-on-chip (LOC) devices as microfluidic devices that sample, mix, incubate, and detect nanoliter volumes of reagents within microfabricated channels. The ability to perform wet chemistry with such tiny fluid volumes...

Selecting the right laboratory hood system. (Back to basics: laboratory).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... A laboratory fume hood is a ventilated enclosure where researchers can work safely with harmful or toxic fumes or vapors. The airflow into the hood is achieved by an exhaust blower that pulls air from the room plus contaminants away from the...

Helium ionization detector. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... The pulsed discharge helium ionization detector (PDHID) can be used in gas chromatographic systems and field-portable devices for on-site analysis. It requires only helium for operation, and there is no radioactive source. The PDHID is...

Analysis of low moisture samples. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... Combining microwave and thermal contact heating, the SMART Therma-Dri System analyzes sample moisture. Products containing free and bound water such as cereals, snack foods, instant drink powders, and gypsum can be tested in minutes....

Absolute molar mass detector. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... With a 30 mW gallium arsenide laser operating at 690 nm, the DAWN EOS detects absolute molecular weight and size determinations of polymers and biopolymers. Signals from the 18-angle light scattering detector are comparable with those from an...

Heating and stirring dri-bath. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... STEM RS1000, RS2500, RS5000 Reacto Stations heating and stirring dri-baths feature stir magnets that ensure maximum coupling between the stir bar and the motor. Adjustable stirring speed ranges from 400 to 2,000 rpm and temperature ranges up to...

Digital video and motion analysis. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... A flexible, modular system, the MotionScope Analyst series acquires and synchronizes up to four channels of high-speed digital video. For high-speed research, design engineering, and product testing in corporate and academic settings, Analyst...

Carbon nanotubes. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... The EasyTube nanofurnace produces single or multiwall nanotubes through the process of catalyzed chemical vapor deposition, and is compatible with MEMS. The nanofurnace includes software that enables users to write/store their own "recipes" or...

Surface area analyzer. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... The TriStar 3000 can analyze simultaneously three samples that are similar or different in characteristics. It measures surface areas down to 0.01 [m.sup.2]/g in as few as 20 minutes. The instrument allows manual or measured entry of operating...

Water quality monitor. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... To monitor water quality, the model U-20XD series uses a 44-mm sensor probe and can measure 10 or 13 parameters simultaneously. It can be used for measuring quality of waste-water effluent, factory discharge, rivers, lakes, marshes, and ocean...

Environmental walk-in rooms. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... These environmental walk-in rooms and stability chambers can reproduce and closely monitor any environment with a precise combination of humidity, temperature, and light. Microprocessor-based controls have accuracies to [+ or -] 0.15[degrees]C....

Measuring system for drug production monitoring. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... The CORONA measuring system makes it possible to non-invasively monitor the drying and blending of active substances on-line during the production process. The system's photodiode array detector--which is equipped with an OMK measuring...

Nonlinear analysis program. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... Nonlinear design analysis in an easy-to-use Windows format is now available with the COSMOS/Nonlinear program. With this program, designers using 3-D CAD packages have an integrated tool to simulate results that behave more like the actual...

Microbeam XRF metrology tools. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... The MicronX product line utilizes energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence--a non-contact, non-destructive technique that suits the thin film measurement needs of the semiconductor, microelectronics, opto-telecommunications, and data storage...

Microprocessor shaking water baths. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... The digital SW22 and SW23 shaking water baths have a temperature range from 20 to 90[degrees]C. They contain built-in circulation pumps, built-in timers, and RS232 interfaces. The combination of up to 2,000 W of heating power and PID control...

Dual vacuum control. (New Products).
July 1, 2002... The PC620 chemistry vacuum systems enable users to perform two separate applications from the same pump. Features include tWO CVC[2.sup.II] controllers, two solenoid valves, and a corrosion-resistant integral oil-free diaphragm pump that...