R & D articles from May 2004

R & D archives from May 2004

Be prepared.(Editorial)(Editorial)
May 1, 2004... In a recent address to the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Forum on Science and Technology Policy, John Marburger, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, stated that over the past several years, total...

Advancing optical thermometers.(Lasers & Optics)
May 1, 2004... A group of researchers from the Univ. of California, in conjunction with Los Alamos National Laboratory, N.M., have synthesized a new fluorescent material, which if properly harnessed, could serve as a medium for optical thermometers. The work...

It's a go for Gravity B.(Bulletin)
May 1, 2004... Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts the occurrence of several phenomena. Of these, stellar aberrations and an expanding universe were proven with observations made by Edwin Hubble in the early 20th century. Additional predictions...

Universities benefit from govt. funding.(Analytical Instruments)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... In response to nearly 1,025 proposals, the U.S. Dept. of Defense has recently allocated $43.5 million towards equipment purchases for academic research. The federal monies have been awarded as part of the Defense University Research...

Conductive plastics.(Materials)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Flexibility is the key to why conducting polymers are so attractive for electronic device applications. Scientists have realized that their potential use in these applications could be greatly enhanced if they were soluble in liquids. To this...

Bay area hosts SEMICON West.(Upcoming Conferences & Events)(Calendar)
May 1, 2004... Fab managers, industry analysts, and electronic device manufacturers, will converge on the city of San Francisco, Calif., for the SEMICON West--Wafer Processing show, held on July 12 to 14. In addition to the more than 1,500 companies expected,...

List highlights top 10 new drugs.(Pharmaceutical)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Credit ratings service provider Standard & Poor's has outlined ten new pharmaceuticals whose commercial success would have significant implications on the pharmaceutical industry. With lost sales due to a greater influx of generic versions and...

New support for x-ray microscopy.(Microscopy)
May 1, 2004... A foreseeable reality within x-ray microscopy could be the attainment of 10-nm resolution, which is possible now that the National Institutes of Health and Dept. of Energy have directed a $2.5 million grant toward the creation of a new type of...

Teachers get examined.(Life Science)
May 1, 2004... Upon initial review, it may seem to be the plot of a well-hatched ploy of thousands of high-school students: Let scientists examine the brains of high school, life science teachers. In actuality, SRI International's Menlo Park, Calif., Center...

GE + Amersham = GE Healthcare.(Laboratory Equipment)
May 1, 2004... Months of negotiations have now ended with General Electric, Fairfield, Conn., completing its acquisition of life science giant, Amersham Biosciences. The merger will now see the rise of a new business division, GE Healthcare, which will he...

Nanotubes demonstrate potential in implants.(Micro/Nano Technology)
May 1, 2004... Nanotubes have been regularly employed to alter a material's physical properties due to their size and extraordinary ways of interacting on the molecular level. Building upon earlier work involving self-assembling nanotubes, a research team...

Market trends revealed.(Vacuum & Thin Films)
May 1, 2004... What will 2004 hold for the semiconductor industry? That question has been permeating through industry analysts and venture capital (VC) firms such as 3i, Menlo Park, Calif. In mid-April, the VC company outlined its predictions for the...

Mother nature approved.(Laboratory Design)
May 1, 2004... Stanford Univ., Calif., welcomed the newest addition to their landscape with the recent dedication of the Carnegie Institution's Global Ecology Dept. From its conception in 2002, organizers sought to construct a building that would use the...

Improved lithography.(Test & Measurement)
May 1, 2004... The National Institute of Standards and Technology are currently undertaking efforts to improve precision levels in microlithography. Using one of the five most sophisticated spectrometers in the world, NIST researchers have recently been able...

Search system takes shape.(Data Management & Analysis)
May 1, 2004... The size of industrial databases continues to increase along with the growing complexity and variety of products available. As a result, individuals trying to locate a particular part of a product in these massive databases are sometimes...

Protocol remedies network congestion.(Data Management & Analysis)
May 1, 2004... Large-scale scientific studies are constantly being conducted in computing labs around the world, requiring information to be gathered at a distant location before being transferred to facilities for analysis and visualization. The transfer of...

Ethernet market grows.(Data Management & Analysis)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 1, 2004... Ethernet market grows Global Shipments of Ethernet Infrastructure Networking Components (Dollar Volume in Millions) 2003 2006 Wireline Components 846 1528 Wireless Components 62 ...

Nanocomposite sales rise.(Data Management & Analysis)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] The global market for polymer nanocomposites is expected to increase at an 18.4% average annual growth rate (AAGR), from $90.8 million in 2003 to $211.1 million by 2008. Although thermoset and thermoplastic nanocomposite...

AKT targets 7G LCD equipment.(R&D Asia)
May 1, 2004... Applied Komatsu Technology (AKT), a 50-50 joint venture between its parent company Applied Materials, Santa Clara, Calif., and Komatsu Ltd, Tokyo, have signed a cooperative pact with Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to...

Japan tech transfer in Philly.(R&D Asia)
May 1, 2004... Japan Technology Group (JTG), an international broker of technology-based intellectual property (IP), has established its headquarters in the Philadelphia Science Center. JTG, the only Japanese-owned tech transfer firm in the U.S., expects its...

Asian 4G technology.(R&D Asia)
May 1, 2004... Japan, China, and South Korea have recently agreed to jointly develop protocols and standards for communications and other technologies for fourth generation mobile telephones (4G), according to a recent report in Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun...

Samsung joins IBM in R&D.(R&D Asia)
May 1, 2004... Samsung Electronics, Seoul, South Korea, has joined IBM in a strategic semiconductor technology partnership to develop 65-nm technologies, with follow-up process development for 45-nm technologies. Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing and...

Standards reach into Asia.(R&D Asia)
May 1, 2004... The Semiconductor Test Consortium (STC) recently announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the China Beijing Semiconductor Industry Assn. (CBSIA), to collaborate on activities aimed at promoting STC's charter and driving the...

Unifying science with contemporary design: Stanford University's new Clark Center is the culmination of innovative solutions and reworked definitions, leading this facility to become a living, design experiment.(R&D 2004 Lab of the Year: winner)
May 1, 2004... Harken back to the days of your alma mater and a distinct image of the campus grounds may arise. As you zoom in towards the buildings, odds are that some variation of a rectangular or square facade in a non-descript gray will pop up. While...

Caltech builds a holistic workplace: nothing was sacrificed when architects designed the Broad Center for the Biological Sciences at Caltech. Everything its residents need--labs, offices, animal facilities, cafe, and even a living room to decompress--is here, making this a truly holistic lab.(R&D 2004 Lab of the Year: high honors)
May 1, 2004... The Broad Center for the Biological Sciences, the first building to be developed on the north campus of California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, sets the pace for the institution's new north campus development and establishes a gateway to...

Cutting-edge design streamlines government facility: the FDA wanted the kind of environment that would foster idea sharing, bringing together administrative functions, field operations, and laboratory research into a visually stimulating setting--all on a government budget.(R&D 2004 Lab of the Year: high honors)
May 1, 2004... When the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to consolidate their 50-year-old Los Angeles laboratory and District Office in Irvine, they envisioned a facility that would match their culture of increased teamwork in association...

Reinventing the forensic lab: San Mateo County Sheriff's Forensic Laboratory and Coroner's Office replaces the traditional introverted forensic lab conventions with open, inviting, friendly features.(R&D 2004 Lab of the Year: special mention)
May 1, 2004... Initially built in the 1920s as a hospital, the original San Mateo County Sheriff's Forensic Laboratory and Coroner's Office, Calif., embodied the standard enclosed forensic lab conventions. Its small windows, endless corridors, and limited...

Well-conceived strategies rejuvenate research environment: renovations at the Dreyfus Chemistry Laboratories building at MIT transform the dark, small, outdated, and disconnected labs into light-filled, large, state-of-the-art research areas.(R&D 2004 Lab of the Year: renovated)
May 1, 2004... The Dreyfus Chemistry Laboratories building at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, dedicated in 1970, was the first of three major structures designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei. Built to accommodate most of the...

Flexible versus traditional: which is right for you? Openness, adaptability, mobility, and adjustability have become interchangeable words in the lexicon of today's modern flexible lab design--but at what cost?(R&D 2004 Lab of the Year)
May 1, 2004... This year's Lab of the Year, the James H. Clark Center at Stanford Univ., Calif. epitomizes the open, flexible paradigm that has become popular over the past several years for supporting researchers' desire for creativity and personal control...

Lessons from Lab of the Year: our annual awards competition provides some interesting tips on what makes a great laboratory and what limits them from being all they can be.(R&D 2004 Lab of the Year)
May 1, 2004... In late February, a judging panel of architects, engineers, researchers, equipment suppliers, and editors assembled to select this year's Laboratory of the Year winners. The panel's discussions to select the top labs touched on all aspects of...

Slight increases in 2004 lab cost study: a sluggish construction market and lower cost increases help stabilize laboratory construction costs over those of 2003.(R&D 2004 Lab of the Year)
May 1, 2004... The economic recovery and a continuing low rate of inflation have contributed to relatively small construction cost increases for new or renovated research laboratories, according to an annual study by HLW International LLP, New York City. This...

DAQ systems guide vehicle development: for several years, automotive companies have been enlisting the support of sophisticated in-vehicle data acquisition systems to measure vehicle performance. These tools have grown from stand-alone data loggers to include PC-based solutions--all in the hopes of streamlining development.(Keywords: software test * measurement automotive)
May 1, 2004... KEYWORDS * Software * Test & Measurement * Automotive The U.S. automotive industry continues to be a highly competitive market space, with the top US automakers--General Motors (GM), Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler--striving to meet...

Water testing and treatment reflect the times: increasing pollution and terrorist threats are generating a new line of detection and purification solutions to help protect U.S. water supplies.(Keywords: pollution water purification environmental chemistry)
May 1, 2004... KEYWORDS * Pollution * Water Purification * Environmental Chemistry The quality of drinking water is a problem for more than a third of the world's population, especially in South America, Africa, and parts of Asia, according to a study by...

Is the LED the light source of the future? LEDs may be the first real technological revolution in lighting in one hundred years, but can they provide enough optical power to be truly practical?(Keywords: lighting semiconductors photonics)
May 1, 2004... KEYWORDS * Lighting * Semiconductors * Photonics The lighting industry represents an extremely diverse application space, but can be thought of as having two broad classifications: informational, in which a light source is directly viewed...

Blackout due to non-compliance.(Regulatory Update)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Last year's massive blackout on August 14 plunged much of the northeastern U.S. and sections of Canada into darkness. In early April, Spencer Abraham, U.S. Secretary of Energy, and John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, released the...

DuPont assumes control of DDE.(Regulatory Update)
May 1, 2004... In early April, DuPont, Wilmington, Del., and The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., announced that they have entered into a series of agreements that will enable DuPont to direct DuPont Dow Elastomers LLC (DDE), a 50/50 joint venture between...

Free info to third world.(Regulatory Update)
May 1, 2004... The National Academies are working to ensure worldwide dissemination of scientific knowledge by giving more than 100 developing countries free and immediate online access to the Academies' reports and journal articles. Their goal is to help...

NIST identifies arson fuels.(Regulatory Update)
May 1, 2004... Arson investigators have a tough job identifying which ignitable chemical was used to set a fire. But, their jobs may be easier, thanks to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which released its first standard intended to aid...

JMP and VelQuest partner.(Regulatory Update )
May 1, 2004... JMP, Cary, N.C., a provider of statistical analysis software, and VelQuest Corp., Hopkinton, Mass., a supplier of Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 11 solutions, have partnered to create a Part 11 compliant environment for clients in the...

Nanolightning cools chips.(Academic: emerging technologies)(technologies that will allow for improving cooling systems for laptop computers)
May 1, 2004... Today's desktop computers use heat sinks linked to fans to cool the chips and remove the heated air. These fans, however, take up a considerable amount of energy and space, preventing them from being used in laptop computers. As a result,...

Interacting with molecules.(Academic: emerging technologies)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Researchers at Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md., have created a biosensor chip capable of transporting and isolating protein and DNA molecules. Consisting of minuscule electrodes embedded in a circular design, the chip allows scientists to...

Thermally stable fuel.(Academic: emerging technologies)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Thermally stable, bituminous coal-based fuel for next generation military aircraft is being developed by scientists at Penn State, University Park, Pa. Jet propulsion 900, or JP900, absorbs considerable amounts of heat and stays stable at...

Garlic oil repels birds. (Academic: emerging technologies.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... A collaborative study between the Univ. at Albany, N.Y., and the Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, Pa., has demonstrated garlic oil's ability to act as a non-toxic repellent for crop damaging birds, such as European starlings. When...

Prosthesis measures forces.(Industrial: emerging technologies)
May 1, 2004... The accurate mathematical modeling of a complex joint like a knee can be a daunting task. Despite significant progress in virtual visualizations, in vivo validation of such modeling has been absent. Yet direct measurements of knee forces could...

One-step polymer coats.(Industrial: emerging technologies)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The packaging industry has always used multi-step processes to generate steel covered with a thin polymer coat. However, with a new technique invented by Corus, London, UK, these two materials can now be shaped in one step. Polymer injection...

Low-cost semiconductors.(Industrial: emerging technologies)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Scientists at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, N.Y., have created a low-cost, straightforward process to produce high-performance semiconducting thin films. The method involves dissolving high charge mobility materials in a...

C[O.sub.2] selective sieving.(Industrial: emerging technologies)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) was successfully extracted from a mixture of methane and C[O.sub.2] using membranes that selectively sieve this gas. The extraction was achieved by researchers at NGK Insulators, Ltd., Nagoya, Japan, who used...

CARVER automatic presses.(Manufacturer's Showcase)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2004... CARVER's Auto "C" automatic hydraulic laboratory presses provide operating ease, speed, and convenience. The self-contained benchtop presses have au electrically operated hydraulic power unit, microprocessor-based control system, and...

MINITAB Release 14.(Manufacturer's Showcase)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2004... MINITAB Release 14 is a powerful statistical software package designed for quality professionals. Its visually engaging graphs and easy-to-use collection of methods--including Basic and Advanced Statistics, Regression and ANOVA, Reliability,...

Measurement seminars on CD.(Manufacturer's Showcase)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2004... Eleven of Keithley Instruments' most popular online seminars have been compiled on one CD, "Making Measurements with Confidence." These tutorials offer techniques for obtaining the most accurate and precise measurements possible. Each seminar...

New BioSafe bio/pharmaceutical cleanroom.(Manufacturer's Showcase)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2004... Terra Universal's BioSafe Modular Cleanroom is made of double-wall 304/316 stainless or powder-coated steel and features ultra-smooth interior walls with radius corners for easy sterilization. Anti-microbial panel coatings inhibit growth of...

High Tolerance Corner Cube Prisms.(Manufacturer's Showcase)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2004... Edmund Optics' new TECH SPEC High Tolerance Corner Cube Prisms are designed to return a beam upon itself, regardless of angle of incidence. The 1 arc second precision of these silver coated prisms make them ideal for metrology, gauging, an...

OMEGA pulse recording device.(Manufacturer's Showcase)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2004... OMEGA Engineering's OM-CP-PULSE101 is a low-cost recording device that senses a pulse input or contact closure from external sources such as transducers or pulse initiators and transforms them into engineering units. In addition, the unit...

Can you quickly create the plots you want?(Manufacturer's Showcase)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2004... Tecplot enables you to quickly graph and animate mass amounts of measured and simulation data. Dollar for dollar, Tecplot is the most versatile, efficient way to analyze and present your results. Visit www.tecplot.com/ exact and download our...

IEEE Member Digital Library.(Manufacturer's Showcase)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2004... The IEEE Member Digital Library brings IEEE Members exclusive, instant access to IEEE's periodicals and conference proceedings--the most essential information in technology today. One convenient subscription allows you to read, print and save...

Full-color all-in-focus microscopy.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... Photron USA, in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology (AIST), has developed the FocusScope, a microscopy camera system that significantly increases the depth of focus displayed. Through the innovative use...

CTNA launches new Web site.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... CeramTec North America (CTNA) has launched a new and improved Web site. Upgrades include a consistent overall image, ah online quote request feature, the availability of most literature in PDF format on the site at www2.ceramtec.com, and ease...

Photoionization monitor.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... Photovac, Inc., introduces its 2020PRO photoionization monitor. Compact, portable, and ergonomically designed, the 2020PRO provides users with onsite, rapid volatile organic compound detection in air, water, and soil. The unit is ideal for a...

High force power module for motion chassis.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... Bell-Everman, Inc., has released the ServoNut power module, a high force option for most motion chassis. ServoNut mates a high-performance NEMA 23 motor set directly on a zero-backlash precision ball screw to enable high accelerations of heavy...

High energy ball mill.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... The SPEX CertiPrep 8000M Mixer/Mill, a high-energy ball or shaker mill, improves upon the classic 8000 Mixer/Mill, and features a variable-range electronic timer, a safety interlock, and a wide choice of grinding and blending vials. The unit is...

6 or 8 pack stack furnace systems.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... Steed Technology's small batch furnace systems with 6 or 8 furnace tubes and gas systems contained in a single frame assembly features the smallest package with the most processes available for pilot line, R&D, and education applications. The...