Credit: NSF We first told you about the NSF Innovation Corps initiative when it was unveiled by NSF director, Subra Suresh, in late July. The NSF has delivered on its promise to make the first round of awards by the close of FY 2011. The thrust of the initiative is to expedite the transition of…
Read MoreARPA-E announced $31.6 million in awards to develop new, rare-earth-free permanent magnet materials. Credit: ARPA-E Rare earth permanent magnets are key components in electric vehicle motors and in wind turbine electricity generators, and international concern over the economics of rare-earth raw materials has been well documented here and elsewhere. DOE is addressing the issue from…
Read MoreCredit: P. Wray; ACerS Last Monday the White House and National Science Foundation announced a new 10-year plan to increase workplace flexibilities to support American scientists and their families. One of the benefits discussed in this announcement is being able to delay or suspend grants for up to one year after a birth or adoption…
Read MoreThe national i6 Green initiative leverages resources of five federal agencies to advance clean technology commercialization, focusing on promoting Proof of Concept Centers methodologies. Credit: Economic Development Administration, Department of Commerce Last Friday was the last day of the Federal 2011 fiscal year, and award announcements were flying out of DC all afternoon. Several caught…
Read MoreDOE Recovery Act Funds status, 9/30/11. Credit: recovery.gov Two things out of the box: First, remember, permissum lector caveo (translation: What the hell does Peter know, anyway?). Second, the opinions expressed below are totally my own and should be blamed on no one else. Thus forewarned … Nature has what strikes me as a very disturbing article…
Read MoreEnergy secretary, Steven Chu, and ARPA-E director, Arun Majumdar. Majumdar recently announced the next Energy Innovation Summit will be Feb. 27-29, 2012. Credit: ARPA-E The lead story in today’s ARPA-E e-Newsletter is an announcement for the 2012 rendering of the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit. Among the keynote speakers is Bill Gates. Really? What does Gates…
Read MoreCustom-built oxide molecular beam epitaxy system at Yale. Credit: CRISP. The National Science Foundation has awarded a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center grant of $13 million to a Yale University-Southern Connecticut State University joint collaboration. The new MRSEC will double the capacity of the universities’ already established Center for Research on Interface Structures and…
Read MoreCalisolar’s Sunnyvale, Calif., offices. Credit: Calisolar, Wikipedia Back in July, we reported how State of Ohio and federal officials were left scratching their head when Calisolar, a company that has developed a lower-cost method of purifying cheap, low-grade silicon, suddenly pulled out of a deal that would have had the enterprise building a factory just north of…
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