Tag: manufacturing
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Challenge Seeks Regional Advanced Manufacturing Solutions
Six U.S. federal agencies, including National Science Foundation, are funding a new challenge that seeks ways of building a region’s manufacturing capabilities. In addition to NSF, the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge — the third of these competitions — is supported by Economic Development Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology in…
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Canadian Universities Get $22M for Automotive Research
The AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence, a Canadian auto industry research program, will get an infusion of $22 million to fund a series of new projects at Canadian universities for the next two years. The Canadian government will contribute $10 million to the fund, with manufacturers, parts makers, and materials suppliers proving the remainder.…
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Nanotech Fabrication Process Developed for Smaller Chips
Engineers at Stanford University and two Silicon Valley companies in California have devised a method of creating contact hole patterns for semiconductors that can reduce the size of logic and memory chips, while maintaining their fabrication accuracy. The findings of the team led by Stanford engineering professor H.-S. Philip Wong (pictured left) appear online in the…
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New Standards Released for Drug Impurity Limits, Methods
U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) in Rockville, Maryland has published two new standards governing elemental impurities in medications. USP says conformance to the standards will be required starting 1 May 2014. Elemental impurities include catalysts and environmental contaminants such as lead or mercury that may be present in drugs. According to USP, elemental impurities can occur…
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Japanese Robot to be Adapted for Work with Humans
Engineers at the Tecnalia Research and Innovation Centre in San Sebastián, Spain will further develop the intelligence of a Japanese humanoid robot to enable the device to work along side humans in European factories. The robot model, known as Hiro — short for Human Interactive Robot — is made by Kawada Industries in Tokyo. The…
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Bay Area Consortium to Fund Large-Scale Solar R&D
The Bay Area Photovoltaic Consortium (BAPVC) unveiled its first research grants aimed at making utility-scale solar power cost-competitive by the end of the decade. The new funds from the consortium — an industry-backed venture led by Stanford University and the University of California-Berkeley — total $7.5 million. The grants will support 18 projects at BAPVC…
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Semiconductor Venture Investment Jumps in April
Venture capital investments in semiconductor companies worldwide rose significantly in April 2012, compared both to March and April 2011. The Global Semiconductor Alliance in London compiles and publishes these statistics each month. The organization reports that semiconductor companies received $194.2 million in venture capital in April 2012, a 10-fold increase over March 2012, and more…
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Canadian Aircraft Industry Funding Materials Scientist
A group of aircraft companies in Canada, with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), are supporting the research of Suong Van Hoa at Concordia University on a new composite materials manufacturing technique. The funding, valued at $3.4 million, will support Hoa’s work for five years at the Montreal institution. Hoa (pictured…
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Energy Institute Unveils Prototype Alternative Battery
The CUNY Energy Institute, part of City University of New York, has built an operating prototype zinc anode battery system, as an alternative to traditional nickel-cadmium batteries. The institute plans to start a company to commercialize the technology later in the year. The battery project is led by engineering professor and institute director Sanjoy Banerjee…
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Challenge Seeks Solution for Tracking Electronic Waste
A challenge on InnoCentive seeks solutions for tracking shipments of used electronic components and subsystems and ensuring that they are disposed responsibly. The crowd-sourced contest will award prizes totaling $10,000 and has a deadline extended to 3 June 2012. The challenge is co-sponsored by IT services company EMC Corporation and the Environmental Defense Fund. Participants…