Science and Enterprise

Category: New products

  • Grant to Fund Research on Ice-Resistant Coatings

    University of Illinois at Chicago engineering professor Constantine Megaridis recently received a $320,000 National Science Foundation grant to investigate coatings that can resist the build up of ice. Megaridis’s research is expected to continue his previous research on coatings that are both superhydrophobic — have the ability to repel water — and self-cleaning. At UIC,…

  • Hybrid Construction Vehicles in Development Cut Fuel Use

    Engineers at Aalto University in Finland are developing hybrid combustion/electric versions of heavy off-road work vehicles that can cut the amount of fuel they consume by half. This new technology, says the university, captures energy, which up to now has been lost by the machinery when working, and uses it instead of fuel. The engineering…

  • Programming Protocol Cuts Computer Energy Use

    Researchers at University of Washington in Seattle have created a software programming protocol called EnerJ that reduces energy consumption in simulations by up to 50 percent. The computer scientists and engineers will present their research next week in San Jose, California at the Programming Language Design and Implementation annual meeting. The team led by UW…

  • Diagnostics Company Gets State Grant for Blood Platelet Test

    Immunetics Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts, received a Small Business Matching Grant (SBMG) to commercialize its BacTx test for detecting bacterial contamination in blood platelets. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center made the $500,000 award. Platelets enable clotting, and patients suffering from trauma, surgical procedures, cancer, or chemotherapy must receive platelet transfusions to survive. The company says…

  • Engineers Build Compact Diagnostic Biosensor

    Engineers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee have developed a small silicon-based sensor for medical diagnostics and detecting toxins. Their findings appear in current issue of the journal Optics Express. The sensor was originally designed to detect particular DNA sequences, which can be helpful in identifying if a person is predisposed to disorders or conditions…

  • Researchers Testing Red Wine Compound to Treat Concussions

    Trauma specialists at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas are testing a component in red wine and grapes that could help reduce the short- and long-term effects of concussions. In the study, the researchers are enlisting the help of professional boxers and trainers. The research involves resveratrol, a compound found in grapes and…

  • Process Devised for Custom-Made Composite Materials

    Materials scientists and engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge have developed a process for generating composite materials with customized mechanical properties. The team published its findings last month in the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). The research, funded by the U.S. Army, started looking into materials that could serve as armor for…

  • Study Explains How Tinted Lenses Offer Relief from Migraines

    Researchers at Michigan State University in East Lansing have discovered the process that enables precision-tinted lenses to relieve migraine sufferers of their headaches. Radiologist Jie Huang and colleagues from MSU and other institutions published their findings in the online issue of the journal Cephalalgia (free for a limited period of time). Scientists studying migraines have…

  • Hydrogen for Energy Generated from Ethanol, Sunlight

    A team of researchers from Scotland, New Zealand, and Spain have developed a simpler and less expensive technology to generate hydrogen for energy. Their findings appear online in the journal Nature Chemistry (paid subscription required). In this process, a solid photocatalyst is placed in a container with ethanol and exposed to ultraviolet light, part of…

  • Computer Engineers Boost Multi-Core Chip Performance

    Engineering researchers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh developed two techniques to help maximize performance of multi-core computer chips by allowing them to retrieve data more efficiently. Professor Yan Solihin of NC State’s engineering department and former doctoral student Fang Liu will present their results next month at the International Conference on Measurement and…