Tag: physical sciences
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Algorithms Devised to Aid Inspections of Mines on Ship Hulls
Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have written algorithms that help underwater robots inspect the hulls of ships for mines as small as an iPod. The findings of mechanical engineering professor Franz Hover and Ph.D. candidate Brendan Englot will appear in a future issue of International Journal of Robotics Research. The algorithms help guide a…
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Scientists Produce Ultralight Carbon Nanotube Material
Researchers at Kiel University and Hamburg University of Technology in Germany have developed a network of porous carbon nanotubes that they say is the lightest material in the world. The research team, which includes a colleague from the Leibniz Institute of Surface Modification in Leipzig, published its findings online in the journal Advanced Materials. The…
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University, Company Boost LC Projector Energy Efficiency
Engineers at North Carolina State University and ImagineOptix Corporation, both in Raleigh, have created a technology to convert unpolarized light into polarized light, making liquid crystal (LC) projectors — the kind often used in classrooms and conferences — almost twice as energy efficient. Their research appeared last week in the journal Applied Optics (paid subscription…
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Report: Business Research Funding Decline Impacts Innovation
A new report from the National Science Board, the governing body of the National Science Foundation, says declines in business R&D investment over the past decade, particularly during the recession of 2008-2009, are taking a toll on American innovation. The report, Research & Development, Innovation, and the Science and Engineering Workforce, also notes that reductions…
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Grant to Fund New Drought-Resistant Biofuel Grasses
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis has received a $12.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a more drought-resistant type of grass that can be processed into biofuels. The five-year award will be shared by collaborators at Carnegie Institution for Science, University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, University of…
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Israeli Consortium to Study Mediterranean Resources
A consortium of universities and research institutes, headed by University of Haifa, will establish the Israel Center for Mediterranean Sea Research. A committee of Israel’s Council for Higher Education adopted the recommendation of Israel Academy of Sciences to establish the center, whose work will include research of Israel’s off-shore economic potential. In addition to University…
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Nanoscale Drug Delivery Process Helps Cancer Treatment
Researchers from Yale University’s medical and engineering faculties in New Haven have devised a new technique for delivering cancer treatments that also boosts a response by the immune system. The findings of the research, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, and led by Yale University biomedical engineering professor Tarek Fahmy (pictured right) are found…
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Challenge Seeks Algorithm to Predict ALS Progression
A new challenge competition seeks mathematical tools to predict the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease based on the patient’s current disease status. The competition, handled through the open innovation company InnoCentive, has a prize of $25,000 and a deadline of 15 October 2012. ALS, which affects 5 out of every…
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National Lab Seeks Commercial Partner for Diagnostics Tool
Sandia National Lab in Livermore, California is seeking a partner to commercialize its desktop medical diagnostics technology that the lab says is faster, less expensive, and more versatile than current diagnostics tools. The SpinDx, as it is known (pictured left), can tell in minutes a patient’s white blood cell count, analyze important protein markers, and…
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Air Force Grant to Fund Research on Nanomaterials Shaping
Funding from the U.S. Air Force is supporting multi-disciplinary research on the ability of nanomaterials to change their shape in response to external stimuli, such as heat and light. The $2.9 million grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research will support a project that touches on chemistry, biology, computer science, and engineering, led…