Science and Enterprise

Tag: computer science

  • Online Simulator Optimizes Solar Cell Materials Efficiency

    An online tool offered by MIT helps companies and researchers determine the tradeoffs in manufacturing strategies for solar cells based on planned materials and processing steps. The simulator, which takes about a minute to run, can provide a preview of the efficiency of resulting solar cells in converting sunlight to electricity, a process previously determined…

  • Semiconductor Sales Gain in 2011, Decline in 4th Quarter

    The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in Washington, D.C. says worldwide semiconductor sales for 2011 reached a record $299.5 billion, an annual increase of 0.4 percent from $298.3 billion recorded in 2010. But sales for semiconductors at the end of 2011 dropped off compared to the same period in the previous year. In the last quarter…

  • Manchester to Host U.K. Graphene Research Institute

    The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in the U.K. confirmed today that University of Manchester will host the U.K.’s national graphene institute, a facility for graphene research and commercialization activities planned for use by both scientists and businesses. University of Manchester is the home of Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, who…

  • Risk-Based Air Passenger Screening Could Improve Security

    A University of Illinois computer scientist has developed algorithms to assess the relative risk of air passengers that can improve the effectiveness of pre-flight security checks. The work of Sheldon Jacobson in Urbana, Illinois, with Springfield researcher Adrian Lee, appears in the December 2011 issue of the journal Transportation Science (paid subscription required). Jacobson —…

  • Venture Investment for European Companies Drops in 2011

    Venture capital declined 14 percent and number of deals dropped 19 percent for European companies in 2011 compared to 2010, with €4.4 billion ($US 5.8 billion) going into 1,012 deals. Industries based on scientific discoveries were among those suffering double-digit percentage declines from the previous year. Dow Jones VentureSource that compiled the data says it…

  • VC Company, Harvard Start Seed-Stage Fund

    The Experiment Fund, a joint venture of Harvard University’s engineering school and venture capital company New Enterprise Associates (NEA), opened today in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The fund plans to support technology-based student start-ups in Cambridge and companies begun elsewhere by former students. The venture expects to support companies working in information technologies, health care, and energy.…

  • Columbia Joins Coulter Biomedical Engineering Partnership

    Columbia University in New York and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation in Miami will establish the Columbia-Coulter Translational Research Partnership, part of a network of biomedical engineering and translational research institutions in the U.S. The program is expected devote $5 million in funding over five years, with two-thirds of the funds from the Coulter Foundation,…

  • $250K Challenge Seeks Post-Hospital Care Ideas

    Janssen Healthcare Innovation, a unit of pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson in San Diego, is offering a challenge with a total of $250,000 in awards for technology solutions to improve the care for patients discharged from the hospital. The Janssen Connected Care Challenge was announced today by Kimberly Park, a Janssen Healthcare Innovation partner, at the…

  • NSF Supporting Research to Reduce Fertilizer Use in Maize

    Researchers at three universities, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service have received a $1.3 million grant from National Science Foundation for research on reducing the amount of fertilizer to grow maize. The three-year project is led by the ARS’s Ivan Baxter, who also serves on the Danforth Center’s faculty in…

  • Grant to Fund New Program Logic for Flight Data Integration

    A grant from the U.S. Air Force to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York will fund development of computer logic to help create safer and more efficient flight technology. The $100,00 grant was awarded to computer scientist Carlos Varela of Rensselaer’s Data Science Research Center, who is also a licensed pilot (pictured right). Varela’s…