Dubbed the “Oscars of Innovation” by the Chicago Tribune, the R&D 100 Awards, presented annually by R&D magazine, are a badge of distinction that identifies a product as one of the most creative and noteworthy inventions of the year. Researchers at Argonne National Lab, aided by two Illinois firms, have captured one of these 2008…
Read MoreA key passage from President Obama’s address For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the…
Read MoreA cool idea for solar-powered cold-storage is about to make refrigeration a lot more affordable, practical and environmentally friendly in off-the-grid and partially-electrified areas of the world. Birth of a ‘cool’ concept The system is an energy-efficient hybrid refrigerator that combines conventional compressor-created cold air with clean, quiet cooling generated by thermoelectric technology and photovoltaic solar…
Read MoreResearchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a micro-scale “flexible charge pump” that produces alternating current by utilizing the piezoelectric properties of cyclically stretched and released zinc oxide wires. “The flexible charge pump offers yet another option for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy,” says project leader Zhong-Lin Wang, director of GIT’s Center…
Read MoreEveryone else is doing their “tops” list for last year, so who are we to go against the herd? #5 – Aerogel – Solid smoke! — #4 – Nanotube Audio Speakers – what stretches, is nearly invisible and can be worn? — #3 – Chu, scientist and Nobel laureate, tapped for DOE head – Chu’s…
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Peter Johnson from the Brookhaven National lab explains the basics of high temperature superconductivity and why it can make a profound impact on energy usage and transmission. Yes – it ends somewhat abruptly.
Read MoreDec. 31 is the final day to save $100 on the registration fee for the 33rd International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites. The meeting is slated for Jan. 18-23, 2009, at the Hilton Daytona Beach Resort & Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, FL USA. This is one of the top ceramics meetings in…
Read MoreThree of Germany’s top materials scientists, Jürgen Rödel, Jürgen Eckert and Holger Braunschweig, have all been awarded that nation’s highest research prize. The Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft presents the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize annually to 10 (actually 11 in 2009!) outstanding scientists and academicians, with the aim that the laureates use the funds – worth up to…
Read MoreSome people think the road to tomorrow’s most practical alternative energy source will be embedded with piezoelectric crystals capable of converting the mechanical strain of on-road vehicles into electrical current or voltage. Haim Abramovich, an associate professor of aerospace engineering at Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, is one of these thinkers. Testing piezoelectrics in…
Read MoreRecently we noted that Steven Chu, a real scientist and experienced administrator, has been selected to run the Department of Energy. This week, we got a chance to talk with American Ceramic Society president John Kaniuk, who offered his opinion: “Steven Chu is an admirable choice to lead DOE. As the former director of the…
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