The following is a roundup of news and notable developments in electrical engineering and computer or information technology during late August-September 2008. Items are excerpted from news releases generated by research universities and government agencies. Highlighted topics include:

1. NIST Seeks Suggestion for Future R&D Funding Areas

2. New NSF Engineering Research Center to Focus on “Internet for Energy”

3. New Cornell Institute To Focus on “Computational Sustainability”

4. NIST Outlines Standards For Implementation of IPv6 Internet Protocol

5. Carnegie Mellon System Thwarts Internet Eavesdropping

6. RTI Researchers Create Camera Lens Using Vibrating Water Droplets

7. Sign Language Over Cell Phones

8. Computer Software Estimates Age

9. Video Games Program Designed to Foster Science and IT Skills

10. UT-Austin To Help Prepare Educators to Teach High School Engineering

11. Tracking the Reasons Many Girls Avoid Science and Math

12. “Smart” Shock Absorbers for Quake-Prone Structures

13. Research Into Biodegradable Medical Devices Seeks to Reduce Multiple Surgeries

14. New Centers to Explore Environmental, Health and Safety Impacts of Nanomaterials

15. New Nanoscale Manufacturing Process Opens Door to Smaller, Faster Computers

16. CCNY To Research Use of Nanomaterials for Sensor and Energy System Applications

17. Remote Technology Tracks Energy Produced By Power Plants

18. Laser Solution Improves Efficiency of Coal-Fired Power Plants

19. New Technique for Hydrogen Production for Fuel Applications

1.  NIST Seeks Suggestions for Future R&D Funding Areas

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is soliciting suggestions on areas of critical national and societal needs that could be addressed by transformative new technologies. The suggestions will be considered for incorporation in future competitions for cost-shared R&D funding under the NIST Technology Innovation Program (TIP).

Established under the 2007 America COMPETES Act, TIP promotes innovation in the United States through high-risk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need. The merit-based competitive program can fund cost-shared R&D projects by single small-sized or medium-sized businesses or by joint ventures that also may include institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations and national laboratories.

NIST is requesting that interested parties submit “white papers” that describe an area of critical national need and the associated societal challenge and explain how those needs might be addressed through potential technological developments that fit the TIP profile of high-risk, high-reward R&D. The white papers, along with the input from NIST, TIP Advisory Board, other government agencies, the technical communities and other stakeholders, will be incorporated into the TIP competition planning process.

The deadline for submission of white papers to TIP is 1 Nov. 2008. Detailed instructions on how to prepare and submit white papers may be found in “A Guide for Preparing and Submitting White Papers on Areas of Critical National Need.” The guide and additional information is available at www.nist.gov/tip/call_for_white_papers.pdf

For more information, see: www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2008_0916.htm#whitepaper

2.  New NSF Engineering Research Center to Focus on “Internet for Energy”

The National Science Foundation has announced that North Carolina State University will lead a national research center that aims to revolutionize the nation's power grid and speed renewable electric-energy technologies into every home and business.

The NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems, to be headquartered on NC State's Centennial Campus, will partner with universities, industry and national laboratories in 28 states and nine countries. The center will be supported by an initial five-year, $18.5 million grant from NSF with an additional $10 million in institutional support and industry membership fees. More than 65 utility companies, electrical equipment manufacturers, alternative energy start-ups and other established and emerging firms have committed to joining this global partnership.

The new center will develop technology that transforms the nation's century-old, centralized power grid into an alternative-energy-friendly "smart grid" that can easily store and distribute energy produced from solar panels, wind farms, fuel cells and other energy sources. This "Internet for energy" will enable millions of users to generate their energy from renewable sources and sell excess energy to the power companies. Researchers envision consumers using this "plug-and-play" system anytime, from anywhere.

For more information, see: http://news.ncsu.edu/news/2008/09/103ndgerc.php

3.  New Cornell Institute To Focus on “Computational Sustainability”

Could a computer model help stabilize the tuna population? Can we compute how to transition to ethanol fuel without jeopardizing food production? Those and other questions will be tackled by computer scientists, applied mathematicians, economists, biologists and environmental scientists affiliated with Cornell University's new Institute for Computational Sustainability, being launched with a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation. This program is designed to pursue "far-reaching research agendas that promise significant advances in the computing frontier and great benefit to society."

According to Institute Director Carla Gomes, a professor of computing and information science at Cornell, “Our vision is that computing and information science can — and should — play a key role in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the way we manage and allocate our natural resources."

For more information, see: www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Sept08/compSustain.ws.html

4.  NIST Outlines Standards For Implementation of IPv6 Internet Protocol

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published version 1 of a standards profile to support government agencies as they implement Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). IPv6 is the next-generation communication standard that defines how all data (text, voice and video) will move across the future Internet. Still under development, IPv6 will solve a looming problem — the exhaustion of the pool of available “addresses” for Internet-connected devices under the current protocol, IPv4.

NIST developed the profile to help ensure that IPv6-enabled federal information systems are interoperable, secure and able to coexist with the current IPv4 systems. Called A Profile for IPv6 in the U.S. Government – Version 1.0, the profile recommends technical standards for common network devices, such as hosts, routers, firewalls and intrusion detection systems. It also outlines the compliance and testing programs that NIST will be establishing to ensure that IPv6-enabled federal information systems work securely with existing IPv4 systems.

NIST also posted a document entitled “USGv6 Version 1 Frequently Asked Questions” to answer commonly asked questions about the scope and purpose of the profile and how it relates to other profile and test efforts, including those of the Department of Defense and IPv6 Forum.

These publications are available at www.antd.nist.gov/usgv6/profile.html

5.  Carnegie Mellon System Thwarts Internet Eavesdropping

The growth of shared Wi-Fi and other wireless computer networks has increased the risk of eavesdropping on Internet communications, but researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science and College of Engineering have devised a low-cost system that can thwart these "Man-in-the-Middle" attacks.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/cmu-cms082508.php

6.  RTI Researchers Create Camera Lens Using Vibrating Water Droplets

New miniature image-capturing technology powered by water, sound and surface tension could lead to smarter and lighter cameras in everything from cell phones and automobiles to autonomous robots and miniature spy planes. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have designed and tested an adaptive liquid lens that captures 250 pictures per second and requires considerably less energy to operate than competing technologies.

For more information, see: http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2494

7.  Sign Language Over Cell Phones

A group at the University of Washington has developed software (MobileASL) that for the first time enables deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans to use sign language over a mobile phone. UW engineers got the phones working together this spring, and recently received a National Science Foundation grant for a 20-person field project that will begin next year in Seattle.

Low data transmission rates on U.S. cellular networks, combined with limited processing power on mobile devices, have so far prevented real-time video transmission with enough frames per second that it could be used to transmit sign language. Communication rates on United States cellular networks allow about one tenth of the data rates common in places such as Europe and Asia (sign language over cell phones is already possible in Sweden and Japan).

The current version of MobileASL uses a standard video compression tool to stay within the data transmission limit. Future versions will incorporate custom tools to get better quality. The team developed a scheme to transmit the person's face and hands in high resolution, and the background in lower resolution.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/uow-ys082108.php

8.  Computer Software Estimates Age

Like an age-guesser at a carnival, computer software being developed at the University of Illinois can fairly accurately estimate a person's age based on a scan of facial attributes.

"Age-estimation software is useful in applications where you don't need to specifically identify someone, such as a government employee, but would like to know their age," said Thomas S. Huang, the William L. Everitt Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the U. of I. For example, age-recognition algorithms could stop underage drinkers from entering bars, prevent minors from purchasing tobacco products from vending machines, and deny children access to adult Web sites, said Huang, who leads the Image Formation and Processing group at the university's Beckman Institute.

Developed using a reference database of 1600 faces, the software can estimate ages from 1 year to 93 years. The software's accuracy ranges from about 50 percent when estimating ages to within 5 years, to more than 80 percent when estimating ages to within 10 years. The accuracy can be improved by additional training on larger databases of faces, Huang said.

In addition to performing tasks such as security control and surveillance monitoring, age-estimation software also could be used for electronic customer relationship management. For example, combined with algorithms that identify a person's sex, age-estimation software could help target specific audiences for specific advertisements. For example, a store display might advertise a new automobile or boat as a man walks by, or new clothing or cosmetics as a woman walks by.

The research was reported in IEEE’s Transactions on Image Processing.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/uoia-sru092308.php

9.  Video Games Program Designed to Foster Science and IT Skills

NSF-funded researchers at North Carolina State University are harnessing the growing potential of video game software to foster science achievement and IT skills of North Carolina high school students while helping them fulfill a newly implemented graduation project requirement. Members of NC State's College of Education have teamed up with the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science and international gaming company Virtual Heroes Inc. to design and implement the GRADUATE (Games Requiring Advanced Developmental Understanding and Achievement in Technological Endeavors) program.

GRADUATE researchers will develop easy-to-use game creation tools that will assist students in completing North Carolina's new graduation project requirement. Beginning with the class of 2011, students who wish to graduate from a North Carolina public high school must complete a graduation project. Students selected to participate in the program will develop interactive video games that designed to motivate and enable their peers to learn about the aspects of STEM-related careers. Outstanding student-created games will remain in a repository for future teachers and students to use in teaching and learning science content.

For more information, see: http://news.ncsu.edu/news/2008/09/cbgraduategame.php

10.  UT-Austin To Help Prepare Educators to Teach High School Engineering

The University of Texas at Austin's Cockrell School of Engineering, College of Natural Sciences and College of Education have been awarded $12.5 million by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to prepare educators to teach engineering to Texas high-school students.

"With this grant, the NSF is building on the university's successful UTeach program to create a model for preparing high school engineering educators, that we call 'UTeachEngineering,'" says David Allen, the principal investigator for the newly developed program. "Texas is one of just a few states aggressively pursuing year-long high school engineering courses, and the effort here will help define how other states approach engineering education in high school."

For more information, see: www.utexas.edu/news/2008/09/23/uteach_engineering/

11.  Tracking the Reasons Many Girls Avoid Science and Math

New research by a team at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee indicates that the self-confidence instilled by parents and teachers is more important for young girls learning math and science than their initial interest. The three-year, NSF-funded study aimed to identify supports and barriers that steer girls and young women toward or away from science and math during their education.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/uow--ttr090508.php

12.  “Smart” Shock Absorbers for Quake-Prone Structures

Rice University structural engineering researchers are leading a new $1.6 million research program funded by the National Science Foundation to design a new generation of adaptive, "smart" shock absorbers for earthquake-prone buildings and bridges. Project leaders say the goal is to design intelligent structures that have the ability to sense what kind of seismic shock is arriving and react with the best possible strategy to minimize damage.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/ru-sa090908.php

13.  Research into Biodegradable Medical Devices Seeks to Reduce Multiple Surgeries

University of Pittsburgh researchers will help lead dozens of engineers and doctors from universities and industries around the world for a five-year, $18.5 million NSF-funded project announced Sept. 4 to develop implantable devices made from biodegradable metals. The devices will be designed to adapt to physical changes in a patient's body and dissolve once they have healed, reducing the follow-up surgeries and potential complications of major orthopedic, craniofacial, and cardiovascular procedures and sparing millions of patients worldwide added pain and medical expenses.

The project will focus primarily on producing three technologies: biodegradable and self-adapting devices and smart constructs for craniofacial and orthopedic reconstructive procedures, similarly behaving cardiovascular devices such as stents, and miniaturized sensing systems that monitor and control the safety and effectiveness of biodegradable metals inside the body (a technology that could lead to responsive biosensors that help doctors determine when and where diseases occur in the body).

For more information, see: www.news.pitt.edu/m/FMPro?-db=ma&-lay=a&-format=d.html&id=3418&-Find

14.  New Centers to Explore Environmental, Health and Safety Impacts of Nanomaterials

To ensure nanotechnology is developed in a responsible manner, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and EPA jave awarded $38 million to establish two Centers for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINs). The new centers located at UCLA and Duke University will conduct research on the possible environmental, health and safety impacts of nanomaterials, using very different approaches than previous studies. Each center will work as a network, connected to multiple research organizations, industry and government agencies, and will emphasize interdisciplinary research and education.

The UCLA CEIN, to be housed at the California NanoSystems Institute on the UCLA campus, will develop a predictive scientific model to study the environmental and health effects of different types of nanomaterials and human health faster than can be done by traditional animal toxicity testing. At Duke University's CEIN, researchers plan to study the potential environmental and biological effects on a wide range of nanomaterials — from natural to man-made, using a novel outdoor laboratory approach.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/uepa-nab091808.php

15.  New Nanoscale Manufacturing Process Opens Door to Smaller, Faster Computers

Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have designed a new nanotechnology that will ultimately help make computers smaller, faster, and more efficient. Called, block co-polymer lithography, the technique enables the creation of square, nanoscale, chemical patterns that may be used in manufacturer of integrated circuit chips as early as 2011. Five leading manufacturers, including Intel and IBM, helped fund the research at UCSB, along with the National Science Foundation and other funders. The university has already applied for patents on the new methods developed here, and it will retain ownership.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/uoc--nnp092508.php

16.  CCNY To Research Use of Nanomaterials for Sensor and Energy System Applications

The City College of New York (CCNY) has received a $5 million research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a new, interdisciplinary research center that will investigate new applications for nanostructures and nanomaterials in sensors and energy systems. Known as CENSES (Center for Exploitation of Nanostructures in Sensors and Energy Systems), the center will also investigate emerging technologies and novel characterization techniques for nanostructures and nanomaterials.

For more information, see: http://csauth.ccny.cuny.edu/advancement/pr/CCNY-RECEIVES-5-MILLION-NSF-GRANT-TO-ESTABLISH-NEW-CENTER-FOR-NANOSTRUCTURE-SENSOR-AND-ENERGY-APPLICATIONS.cfm

17.  Remote Technology Tracks Energy Produced By Power Plants

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $1.4M to the Rochester Institute of Technology to develop technology that will aid in the remote observation of power plants to gauge the actual amount of energy produced. The studies will focus on power plants that cool their condensers by extracting water from cooling lakes that have frozen and another more conventional method using fans in locations where a body of water is not readily accessible. Carl Salvaggio, associate professor in RIT's Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, and two of his graduate students are solving these complex puzzles for the DOE's Savannah River National Laboratory.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/riot-rts091008.php

18.  Laser Solution Improves Efficiency of Coal-Fired Power Plants

Lehigh's Energy Research Center and the Energy Research Co. (ERCo) of Staten Island, N.Y., have partnered with DOE funding support to develop an optical technology that would allow power plant operators to make rapid adjustments to prevent boiler slagging and fouling problems.

Slagging occurs when coal ash accumulates, at high temperatures, outside the tubes that carry steam inside a power plant boiler. Slagging reduces heat transfer from the flue gas to the steam tubes and decreases a plant's efficiency. According to a report by the Electric Power Research Institute, slagging and associated problems cost coal-fired power plants $2.4 billion each year.

The ERC and ERCo have applied a technique called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, or LIBS, to provide instant analysis of the elemental composition of the coal being burned and correlation of the fusion temperature of the coal ash, which is affected by the ratio of the elemental ingredients. From these data, a software package containing artificial neural network models estimates ash fusion temperature and predicts coal slagging potential.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/lu-eda090908.php

19.  New Technique for Hydrogen Production for Fuel Applications

A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory earlier this month reached a major milestone with the successful production of hydrogen through High-Temperature Electrolysis (HTE) at a rate of 5.6 cubic meters per hour. HTE uses an electric current through water to separate it into hydrogen and oxygen. Combined with a clean power source such as a next-generation nuclear plant, HTE could produce hydrogen at 45 to 55 percent efficiency.

There are several potential applications of hydrogen from high-temperature electrolysis, all of which are closer to being actualized now that HTE has proven itself capable of producing hydrogen at such an advanced level. Hydrogen is commonly used to help produce liquid fuels. INL Laboratory Fellow Steve Herring, who heads the HTE project, said it could also prove helpful in upgrading fuel from the Athabasca Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada, because producing gasoline and diesel fuel from such heavy oil deposits requires extensive amounts of hydrogen and steam.

For more information, see: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/dnl-inl091808.php

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