Science and Enterprise

Tag: university

  • 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…

  • Grants to Fund Brain-Hand Neural Connections Research

    Grants from the National Science Foundation will fund research into sensory and cognitive connections between the brain and the hands that can lead to new prosthetic devices and treatments. The NSF funds totaling $640,000 will support research by Arizona State University biomedical engineering professor Marco Santello and Columbia University kinesiology professor Andrew Gordon. Santello’s research…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • European Autism Research Consortium Launched

    An international coalition of pharmaceutical companies, universities, and advocacy organizations aims to discover new drugs to battle autism spectrum disorder, a collection of conditions affecting social interaction and communication. The project known as European Autism Interventions: A Multicentre Study for Developing New Medications (EU-AIMS) is considered the largest single grant for autism research in the…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…