Science and Enterprise

Tag: energy

  • Copper Nanofilm Can Replace Rare Earth in Digital Displays

    Research chemists at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina have developed a film made of copper nanowires that could replace expensive rare earths now used in digital displays. The discovery by Duke chemistry professor Ben Wiley and grad student Aaron Rathmell appears online in the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). Wiley has also started…

  • NSF Grant to Fund Research on Power Distribution

    A team of engineers and computer scientists at Kansas State University in Manhattan have received a $1.1 grant to research better ways of distributing solar power to homes and businesses. The grant, funded by National Science Foundation’s Cyber-Physical Systems program, aims to give utilities generating solar energy better tools for managing and distributing this power.…

  • Clemson University Creates Sustainable Vehicle Center

    Clemson University in Greenville, South Carolina has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for a research and education program in sustainable vehicle systems. The program will be part of Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research. The new program at Clemson aims to overcome barriers in the design and development of…

  • U.K. Grant Awarded to Develop Non-Rare Earth Electric Engine

    The Technology Strategy Board in the U.K. has awarded a grant to two companies and a university to develop an engine not dependent on rare earth metals for electric vehicles. The funding worth £518,000 ($US 821,000) to companies Sevcon and Cummins Generator Technologies, and Newcastle University is aimed at building a new type of engine…

  • Semiconductor Foundation, NSF Fund Nanoelectronics Research

    Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and National Science Foundation (NSF) are funding $20 million in grants on nanoelectronics research. Some 12 research teams at 24 participating U.S. universities will conduct research over a four-year period on a new switching mechanism using nanoscale electronics as a replacement for current transistors, the…

  • Microwave Technology Adapted to Cut Energy Waste

    Researchers at Oregon State University in Corvallis have adapted technology similar to the familiar microwave oven to improve methods for capturing wasted heat and turn it into electric power. A team led by materials scientist Mas Subramanian published its findings online in the journal Materials Research Bulletin (paid subscription required). Subramanian and colleagues used a…

  • Laser Technology Developed to Detect Improvised Explosives

    Scientists at Michigan State University in East Lansing have developed a laser that in lab tests has shown the potential to detect roadside bombs, a destructive weapon encountered by American and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The team led by MSU chemistry professor Marcos Dantus published its findings in the current issue of the…

  • Smartphone Advance Can Improve Efficiency, Extend Battery

    Researchers at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have devised a more efficient “idle mode” for smartphones and Wi-Fi devices that reduces power use and can extend battery life. Computer science and engineering professor Kang Shin and doctoral student Xinyu Zhang will present their discovery, still in proof-of-concept stage, next week at the ACM International…

  • Device Captures Vibrations to Power Wireless Sensors

    Engineers at MIT have designed a miniature device that harvests energy from low-frequency vibrations to power wireless sensors for industrial or environmental monitoring. Mechanical engineering professor Sang-Gook Kim and Arman Hajati, now at FujiFilm Dimatix in Santa Clara, California, published their findings last month in the  journal Applied Physics Letters (paid subscription required). While wireless…

  • Sandia Lab Contributes Nearly $1B to California Economy

    An analysis of economic output generated by Sandia National Laboratories shows the lab contributes nearly $1 billion to the California economy, particularly in and around its Livermore campus in the Bay Area. The report was prepared by the Center for Economic Development (CED) at California State University in Chico. The CED report defines economic output…