Ceramic Tech Today

K.R. Sridhar’s ideas on oxygen production for Mars mission

By / February 21, 2010

In case you missed it, in his 60 Minutes interview on Bloom Energy’s solid oxide fuel cells, company founder K.R. Sridhar recounts how he first got into the field by…

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60 Minutes to air look at ‘Bloom Box’ fuel cells

By / February 20, 2010

Via a note from Kristen Brosnan, I learned that Lesley Stahl and her 60 Minutes crew at CBS are doing a big story tomorrow (Feb. 21) on Bloom Energy and the…

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NREL battery testing labs get a boost

By / February 18, 2010

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is looking to help the battery industry with a simple goal — to mass produce better batteries domestically while addressing safety, affordability, life and…

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Caltech group demonstrates efficient 3D solar array

By / February 18, 2010

The idea of using fibers, wires or some other protruding structures to provide a three-dimensional surface for enhancing the energy-capturing capabilities of photovoltaic units seems to be catching on. The…

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Penn group shows plasmons converting light to current

By / February 18, 2010

Last fall we wrote about Penn’s Nano/Bio Center getting a $11.7 million NSF grant. According to a new release from the university, some of the work is paying off in…

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Video of the week: Smart materials and ‘bioinspiration’

By / February 17, 2010

[flash https://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/wp-content/video/blottman_bioinspiration_ema.flv mode=1 f={image=/ceramictechtoday/wp-content/video/blottman_bioinspiration_ema.jpg}] As mentioned in a January post, mechanical engineer John Blottman gave one of the keynote presentations at ACerS’ recent Electronic Materials and Applications conference held in…

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DOE to aid construction of two 1100 MW reactors in Georgia

By / February 17, 2010

The Obama administration and the DOE backed up its recent talk about supporting nuclear energy by today announcing its intention to guarantee $8.33 billion in loans for the construction two…

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New sensor exploits weakness of nano devices

By / February 16, 2010

According to a press release, Oak Ridge National Lab, via its Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences Division, is developing a chemical and biological sensor with unprecedented sensitivity. The device consists…

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U.S. mineral production declines 20% in 2009

By / February 16, 2010

From the perspective of the U.S.’s strategic interests, this does not bode well. The USGS today reported that the value of unprocessed non-fuel minerals dropped about $14 billion to $57…

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Friday federal funding facts: $2 billion finally spent by DOE

By / February 12, 2010

It took about 3 months for DOE to get the first $1 billion into circulation in the economy and about 2.5 months for the second $2 billion (still less than…

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