Tag: physical sciences
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Aqueous Solution Tested to Reduce Carbon Nanotube Toxicity
Engineers at University of Florida in Gainesville are investigating ways of reducing the toxicity of carbon nanotubes, a promising technology with applications in semiconductors, energy storage, and displays. The latest findings of environmental engineer Jean-Claude Bonzongo, chemical engineer Kirk Ziegler, and their Florida colleagues appear in the March 2012 issue of the journal Nanotoxicology (paid…
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Camera Captures Photos of Objects Beyond Line of Sight
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, and Rice University have devised a system that can produce recognizable 3-D images of objects outside of a camera’s line of sight. Their findings are described in this week’s issue of the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). The interdisciplinary team of engineers, mathematician, and chemist, led by…
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Grant to Fund Electric Power Market Optimization Research
Iowa State University in Ames says three of its engineering faculty will receive $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to study new ways of scheduling and pricing electric power. ISU is the lead institution in a $3 million project involving Sandia National Laboratories, University of California at Davis, power grid systems company Alstom…
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Clinical Trial to Test Electronic Tinnitus Treatment
A clinical trial in the U.K. will test a miniature electronic device that aims to reset neurological patterns causing tinnitus, a debilitating hearing disorder. The Acoustic CR Neuroodulation device to be tested was developed by Adaptive Neuromodulation GmbH in Cologne, Germany. Tinnitus is a condition characterized by a constant sound pattern in the ears, like…
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U.S. Patent Awarded for Airborne Pathogen Diagnostic Device
PositiveID Corporation in Delray Beach, Florida says it has received a patent on a key element of its technology to test for airborne bacteria and viruses and deliver results within 30 minutes. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded patent no. 8,133,451 for the technology on 13 March 2012 and assigned it to Microfluidics Systems,…
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Air Pollutants Found Near Hydraulic Fracturing Gas Wells
Research conducted at the University of Colorado School of Public Health in Denver indicates the natural gas drilling practice known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking may be causing the release of toxic chemicals in the air near drilling sites. The findings of Lisa McKenzie, a Colorado public health research associate, and colleagues have been accepted…
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Start-Up Licenses Univ. of Colorado 3-D Imaging Technology
University of Colorado in Boulder has licensed an advanced imaging technology developed in its engineering labs to a start-up company founded by the technology’s inventor. Double Helix LLC, also of Boulder and founded by engineering professor Rafael Piestun, has negotiated an exclusive license to commercialize the technology from the university’s technology transfer office. Piestun developed…
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Pennsylvania Awards Five University Commercialization Grants
Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development approved $3.15 million for five grants to support research and development in nanotechnology and advanced materials. The grants were made through the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority’s University Research Commercialization Program that aims to build stronger synergies between university-based research and technology transfer. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners…
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Graphene Electrodes Developed for Supercapacitors
Researchers at University of California in Los Angeles have developed electrodes for supercapacitors, energy storage devices that charge and discharge faster than batteries, using a one-atom-thick layer of carbon called graphene. Their findings appear in his week’s issue of the journal Science (paid subscription required). In addition to faster charging and discharging, supercapacitors store substantially…
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Solar Developer, Lab Build Power Transport Technology
New Energy Technologies Inc. in Columbia, Maryland and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado have collected and transported electricity with a conductive wiring system built for the company’s product that generates solar power through window glass. NREL is a division of the U.S. Department of Energy. The company’s main product is a type of…