Science and Enterprise

Tag: physical sciences

  • More Planning Needed for Water Use in Biofuel Crops

    An overlooked factor in planning for prairie grasses as biofuel feedstocks is their use of water, according to a new study by researchers in the U.S. and Germany. Their findings appear this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). Engineers Praveen Kumar and Phong Le at University of…

  • Nanotech-Enhanced Graphene Can Propel Optical Communications

    Physicists and engineers from the universities of Manchester and Cambridge in the U.K. have devised a method for improving graphene devices as photodetectors in future high-speed optical communications. Their findings appear in the 30 August issue of the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). Graphene is a two-dimensional layer of carbon atoms arranged in a…

  • Engineers Build Compact, Inexpensive Microscope

    Researchers at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have built a compact, light-weight microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses. The device is described in a paper published today in the journal Biomedical Optics Express, and a company has been formed to take it to market. The team developing the microscope is led by…

  • Satellite Measures Show Ozone Reducing Soybean Yields

    Researchers from NASA, Department of Agriculture, and several universities have used satellite measurements to show that ozone levels above 50 parts per billion along the ground could reduce soybean yields by about 10 percent. Their findings were published recently in the journal Atmospheric Environment (paid subscription required). The five-year study surveyed widespread ozone damage to…

  • University of Utah Spins-Off 23 Companies in 2010-2011

    The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, named the top institution for creating start-up companies, says the school spun-off 23 new companies in its 2010-2011 fiscal year, most of which are based on scientific or engineering discoveries. The new figures were released in the annual report of the university’s Technology Venture Development office. In…

  • Small Business Grant Funds University Biodiesel Start-Up

    NextCAT Inc., a Wayne State University start-up company in Detroit, has received a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) of nearly $500,000. The company commercializes catalysts for the production of biodiesel developed at the National Biofuels Energy Laboratory at Wayne State. NextCAT plans to bring to market…

  • Bacterial Process Converts Recycled Newspapers to Biofuel

    Biologists at Tulane University in New Orleans have found a bacterial strain that produces bio-based butanol directly from cellulose in plants and plant byproducts, including old newspapers. The strain of bacteria, called TU-103, is being tested in the lab of Tulane molecular biologist David Mullin, and a patent is pending on the process. Mullin’s lab…

  • Lab to Advise Battery Company on Technology Management

    Dow Kokam in Midland, Michigan and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee are collaborating on enhancements to the company’s capabilities to develop and commercialize advanced lithium ion batteries. Dow Kokam is a joint venture of Dow Chemical Company, TK Advanced Battery LLC, and Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, founded in 2009 that develops advanced batteries for…

  • Laundry Vents Emit Hazardous Fumes from Scented Products [Updated]

    Researchers at University of Washington in Seattle and Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio have found the air vented from machines using scented liquid laundry detergents and dryer sheets contains hazardous chemicals. Their findings appear online in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health (paid subscription required). A team led by UW engineering professor Anne…

  • Human Energy Harvesting Technology Developed, Commercialized

    Engineers at University of Wisconsin in Madison have created a technology that harvests and converts energy from normal human activities like walking into electrical power for portable electronic devices. The work of Tom Krupenkin and J. Ashley Taylor appears in a paper in the journal Nature Communications, and is the basis of a company formed…