Business

Solyndra: Wasn’t ready for prime time? [updated]

By / September 16, 2011

It still seems like the Solyndra thing is going to stay messy and politicized. From Bloomberg: Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee released the findings of a seven-month…

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New rules of engagement for universities leveraging IP assets?

By / September 13, 2011

BioPontis Alliance’s business model. Credit: BioPontis Alliance. I don’t know how generic the situation is (but I suspect it’s similar in materials fields), but a story in Nature Biotechnology—”New models…

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Ceramics and glass business news of the week

By / September 12, 2011

Here’s what we are hearing: DOE finalizes $150 million loan guarantee to 1366 Technologies to drive down manufacturing costs and make American solar more competitive Materials characterization company Malvern offering…

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The Solyndra plot thickens with FBI investigation, CEO asked to testify

By / September 9, 2011

Solydra headquarters. Credit: Solyndra. Hmmm … FBI raids suggest PV company Solyndra had more problems than bad bets on silicon prices and superior installation systems. No one seems to be…

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By / September 9, 2011

Investigators at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have created strange optical effects, including corkscrew-like vortex beams, by reflecting light off a flat, nanostructured surface. Credit: Nanfang Yu, SEAS.…

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Update on America Invents patent reform legislation: Senate reconciles

By Eileen De Guire / September 9, 2011

Credit: Wikipedia. Following up on our Aug. 18 post, “Patent reform working its way through Congress and 8,000,000th patent issued,” the Senate passed the America Invents patent reform legislation yesterday…

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Enormous rare earths crisis brewing: China shutting down 3 major dysprosium mines

By / September 8, 2011

SEM image of Dysprosium hydroxyfluoride fibers. Credit: PPNL. A few days ago, Xinhua News agency reported that three rare earth mining districts near Ganzhou city have been order to halt…

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MS&T’11 plenary session features NSF director, Nobel Prize winner

By Eileen De Guire / September 7, 2011

Here’s a plug for a great event coming up in just about a month. The  Materials, Science and Technology 2011 Conference & Exhibition will host an outstanding plenary session, “Grasping…

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Ceramics and glass business news of the week

By / September 7, 2011

MV Products Multi-Trap. Credit MV Products. Here’s what we are hearing: Asylum Research and Atomic Force DE appoint Rafaël Barbattini for AFM support Français OSRAM celebrates milestone in manufacturing of…

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Solyndra’s downfall likely to reverberate in courts, DOE, but indicative of high competition

By / September 7, 2011

This was the bad news (at least for investors) from Fremont, Calif., last week: Solyndra LLC, the American manufacturer of innovative cylindrical solar systems for commercial rooftops today announced that…

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