APPLICATIONS: Integrating MEMS and Fiber Optic Sensors.

Standard MEMS, Inc. (3 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; Tel: 781/270-0900, Fax: 781/270-5015) said it has acquired Blue Road Research, Inc. (Fairview, OR), the leading design company of fiber optic sensors for industrial, telecommunications, and military applications. The company is developing new fiber optic products in collaboration with Boeing, Schlumberger, and various agencies of the U.S. government, including NASA, the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, the Department of Energy, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

"We are particularly interested in the fiber optic sensors that Blue Road has developed to monitor the structural health of bridges, building, tunnels, and aircraft," says Nicholas E. Ortyl, president and CEO of Standard MEMS. "We can foresee that these sensors will provide a new standard of safety in civil engineering, particularly in earthquake-prone areas. We have also begun the expansion of the Blue Road facilities in order to accommodate the commercialization of several products."

Eric Udd, founder, president, and CEO of Blue Road, will continue to manage the research and development of all of the company's fiber optic products and assume additional responsibility for all corporate and government development projects following an important design contract from the U.S. Navy. Udd comments, "Fiber optic devices and MEMS, which are fabricated on a micron- or nanometer-scale, will integrate very well to create a whole new class of products in the coming years. ...