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02.10

Tech News Digest

Compiled By IEEE-USA Staff

The following is a roundup of news and notable developments in electrical engineering and computer or information technology reported during Jan-early Feb. 2010.  Items are excerpted from news releases generated by universities, government agencies and other research institutions. Highlighted topics include:

1. NIST Releases Framework for Smart Grid Interoperability

2. NSF Releases 2010 Science and Engineering Indicators

3. DOE Loan Supports E-Car Manufacturing Facility

4. DARPA Advances Cyber Security Testing Initiative

5. Teacher “Math Anxiety” Translates to Female Students

6. Utah Researchers Explore How “Random” Lasers Work

7. Research Team Tests “Virtual” Supercomputer

8. U.S. Fusion Program Contracts For First ITER Component

9. Research Suggests Need for Targeting Variable PHEV Incentives

10. Computers Outperform Humans in Assessing Medical Radiology Images

11. New Research Funded

1. NIST Releases Framework for Smart Grid Interoperability

In conjunction with the IEEE’s Innovative Smart Technologies Conference (19-21 Jan.), NIST unveiled its proposed Framework for Smart Grid Interoperability,  which consists of initial list of standards, a preliminary cyber security strategy, and other elements of a framework to support transforming the nation’s aging electric power system into an interoperable Smart Grid.  For more information, see:   http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/smartgrid_011910.html

In related news, NIST also announced that John D. McDonald, general manager of marketing for GE Energy’s transmission and distribution business and an IEEE Fellow, will serve as chair of the governing board of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel.  For more information, see:   http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/smartgrid_011510.html

2. NSF Releases 2010 Science and Engineering Indicators

Released on 15 Jan., this annual report by the National Science Board suggests that the state of U.S. science and engineering is strong, but that U.S. dominance of world science and engineering has eroded significantly in recent years, primarily because of rapidly increasing capabilities among East Asian nations, particularly China.  The report collects data on primary, secondary and higher education, the S&E workforce, R&D trends, public attitudes toward S&T and key state indicators.  For more information, see: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind10/

3. DOE Loan Support E-Car Manufacturing Facility

On 21 Jan. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a  $465 million DOE loan to Tesla Motors, Inc. for construction of a manufacturing facility in southern California on the Model S electric sedan and a power-train manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California.  The Palo Alto facility will assemble electric vehicle battery packs, electric motors, and related electric vehicle control equipment, both for Tesla’s own electric vehicles and for sale to other automobile manufacturers.

For more information, see:   http://www.energy.gov/news2009/8538.htm

4. DARPA Advances Cyber Security Testing Initiative

On 8 Jan., the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced that it was offering contracts to Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Lockheed Martin to advance the second phase of its National Cyber Range (NCR) program, a revolutionary approach to assessing the readiness of the nation’s cyber security systems and networks.  In Phase I of the NCR program, DARPA oversaw the creation of initial conceptual designs, concepts of operation, and detailed engineering and system demonstration plans. In Phase II, the Agency and its contractors will build and evaluate prototype ranges and their corresponding technology.  The goal of the NCR program is to revolutionize the state of the art of the Nation’s cyber testing technology, and develop a computer systems test bed on which cyber scenarios can be evaluated simultaneously to provide a comprehensive, qualitative and quantitative assessment of the security of information and automated control systems that are under development.

For more information, see: http://www.darpa.mil/news/2009/NCRNewsRelease2010.pdf

5. Teacher “Math Anxiety” Translates to Female Students

According to University of Chicago researchers, female elementary school teachers who are anxious about math pass on to female students the stereotype that boys, not girls, are good at math, affecting their math performance.   More than 90 percent of elementary school teachers in the country are women and teachers are able to get their teaching certificates with very little mathematics preparation, according to the National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education. Other research shows that elementary education majors have the highest rate of mathematics anxiety of any college major.   To determine the impact of teachers' mathematics anxiety on students, the research team assessed teachers' anxiety about math. Then, at both the beginning and end of the school year, the research team also tested the students' level of mathematics achievement and the gender stereotypes the students held. 

For more information, see:   http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/uoc-esw012010.php

6. Utah Researchers Explore How “Random” Lasers Work

When University of Utah researchers discovered a new kind of laser that was generated by an electrically conducting plastic or polymer, no one could explain how it worked and some doubted it was real. Now, a decade later, the Utah researchers have found these "random lasers" occur because of natural, mirror-like cavities in the polymers, and they say such lasers may prove useful for diagnosing cancer.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/uou-hl012010.php

7. Research Team Tests “Virtual” Supercomputer

A research collaboration between Northwestern University, Sandia National Labs and the University of New Mexico has resulted in the largest-scale study ever done on what many consider an important part of the future of computing -- the virtualization of parallel supercomputing systems.  This research is expected to help make supercomputers more accessible, in effect removing them from the solitary confinement of their specialized operating systems.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/nu-rt012010.php  and http://www.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/supercomputer-flexibility-increased-by-virtualized-operating-system/

8. U.S. Fusion Program Contracts For First ITER Component

The US ITER Project Office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has awarded a basic ordering agreement for design and fabrication of the Tokamak Cooling Water System -- a major US contribution to the ITER Project -- to AREVA Federal Services LLC of Charlotte, N.C.  The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is an international project to design and build an experimental fusion reactor based on the "tokamak" concept.

For more information, see: http://www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/get_press_release.cfm?ReleaseNumber=mr20100119-00

9. Research Suggests Need for Targeting Variable PHEV Incentives

When it comes to pumping up the appeal of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), some regions are more ripe for the cars than others, and some consumers' buttons need more pushing than others – an important policy distinction when shaping plans for tax incentives, according to research by energy policy experts at the University of Michigan and the Rochester Institute of Technology.  Their research looked at factors such as relative environmental and energy return, driving frequency, air quality and income levels.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/uom-ast010610.php

10. Computers Outperform Humans in Assessing Medical Radiology Images

Researchers at Ohio State University have automated the measurement of a vital part of the knee in images with a computer program that performs much faster and just as reliably as humans who interpret the same images.

Having more precise information about wear and tear on this portion of the knee – a blend of fibrous tissue and cartilage called the meniscus – could lead to its use as a biomarker in predicting who is at risk for developing osteoarthritis, researchers say.

11. New Research Funded

Access to Supercomputers:  On 26 Jan., the U.S. Department of Energy announced that approximately 1.6 billion supercomputing processor hours have been awarded to 69 cutting-edge research projects through the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program.  The INCITE program provides powerful resources to enable scientists and engineers in fields such as climate science, alternative energy or materials to conduct cutting-edge research in just weeks or months rather than the years or decades needed previously. For more information, see:  http://www.energy.gov/news2009/8557.htm

R&D Lab Facilities: In early January, NIST announced grants totaling more than $123 million to 11 universities and a non-profit research organization to provide cost-shared support for the construction of new laboratory facilities to support research on a variety of projects including off-shore wind power, quantum physics and nanotechnology.  See: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/20100108_cgp_awards.htm

• Measurement Science: On 8 Jan., NIST announced a $34.12M in funding grants to 27 projects in 18 states through its Measurement Science and Engineering Research Grants Program.  The one-time stimulus grants will support measurements-related research on topics related to energy, environment, information technology, cybersecurity, biosciences and health care, manufacturing and the physical infrastructure.  For more information, see:  http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/measurementgrants2010.html

• Malware Detection:  Danfeng Yao, an assistant professor of computer science at Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, received a $530,000 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant to develop software that will differentiate human-user computer interaction from that of malware. NSF CAREER grants are given to creative junior faculty considered to become academic leaders of the future.  For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/vt-csr012510.php

• Power Grid Cyber Security:  Dartmouth researchers are participating in the national Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure for the Power Grid team that has been awarded a five-year $18.8 million grant from the US Department of Energy with contributions from the US Department of Homeland Security.  For more information, see: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2010/01/26.html

• Early Stage Solar Energy Technology:  On 20 Jan., DOE announced that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will invest up to $12 million in total funding - $10 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – in four companies to support the development of early stage solar energy technologies and help them advance to full commercial scale. The goal of this effort is to help further expand a clean energy economy and make solar energy more cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity.  For more information, see http://www.energy.gov/news2009/8533.htm

• Next Generation Lighting:  On 15 Jan., DOE announced $37M in funding grants to 17 projects focused on research, product development and manufacturing of igh-efficiency solid-state lighting projects using LEDs.  For more information, see: http://www.energy.gov/news2009/8527.htm

• IT Energy Efficiency:  On 6 Jan., DOE announced $47 million for 14 projects across the country to support the development of new technologies that can improve energy efficiency in the information technology (IT) and communication technology sectors.  For more information, see:  http://www.energy.gov/news2009/8491.htm

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.