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03.10

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 February 2010.  Items are excerpted from news releases generated by universities, government agencies and other research institutions. Highlighted topics include:

1. Silicon Wire Arrays Used to Build Highly Absorbing, Flexible Solar Cells

2. Thermoelectric Technology Promises Electricity from Waste Heat

3. Gold-based Nanoscale System Converts Light into Electrical Current

4. New Magnetic Tuning Method Enhances Data Storage

5. Traction Drive Gives Hybrid Electric Vehicles Power to Spare

6. New Fiber Nanogenerators Could Lead to Electric Clothing

7. Millimeter-Scale Energy Harvesting Senor System Developed

8. Optical System Promises to Revolutionize Undersea Communications

9. Optimization Server Reaches Two Million Use Milestone

10. DOE Names Tech Transfer Coordinator

11. Public Comment Sought on Issues Related to Consumer-Smart Grid Interface

12. Public Comment Sought on Cyber Security of the Smart Grid

13. New Security Threat Against 'Smart Phone' Users Identified

14. Updated Prediction Theory Opens Door to Materials Innovation

15. New Research Funded

1. Silicon Wire Arrays Used to Build Highly Absorbing, Flexible Solar Cells

Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, California Institute of Technology researchers have created a new type of flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its photons into electrons. The solar cell does all this using only a fraction of the expensive semiconductor materials required by conventional solar cells.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/ciot-crc021610.php

2. Thermoelectric Technology Promises Electricity from Waste Heat

Phononic Devices, a pioneer in the field of heat-to-electric energy conversion, has licensed thermoelectric technology being developed by researchers at Oklahoma University that promises transformational advances with products that efficiently convert heat directly to useful electrical power.

For more information, see:  http://www.ou.edu/publicaffairs/archives/CleanEnergyTechnology.html

3. Gold-based Nanoscale System Converts Light into Electrical Current

Material scientists at the Nano/Bio Interface Center of the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated the transduction of optical radiation to electrical current in a molecular circuit. The system, an array of nano-sized molecules of gold, respond to electromagnetic waves by creating surface plasmons that induce and project electrical current across molecules, similar to that of photovoltaic solar cells.

The results may provide a technological approach for higher efficiency energy harvesting with a nano-sized circuit that can power itself, potentially through sunlight.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/uop-pms021210.php

4. New Magnetic Tuning Method Enhances Data Storage

Researchers in Chicago and London have developed a method for controlling the properties of magnets that could be used to improve the storage capacity of next-generation computer hard drives.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/uoc-nmt020710.php

5. Traction Drive Gives Hybrid Electric Vehicles Power to Spare

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed, fabricated and demonstrated a PHEV traction drive power electronics system that provides significant mobile power generation and vehicle-to-grid support capabilities. The new traction drive technology charges the battery, powers the vehicle and enables its mobile energy source capabilities, eliminating the need for a separate charging mechanism typically used in PHEVs.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/drnl-nos020410.php

6. New Fiber Nanogenerators Could Lead to Electric Clothing

In research that gives literal meaning to the term "power suit," UC Berkeley engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibers that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles. The technology could eventually lead to wearable "smart clothes" that can power hand-held electronics through ordinary body movements.

For more information, see: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2010/02/
12_electric_nanofibers.shtml

7. Millimeter-Scale Energy Harvesting Senor System Developed

A 9 cubic millimeter solar-powered sensor system developed at the University of Michigan is the smallest that can harvest energy from its surroundings to operate nearly perpetually.  System processor, solar cells, and battery are all contained in a tiny frame that which measures 2.5 by 3.5 by 1 millimeters, which is1,000 times smaller than comparable commercial counterparts. The system could enable new biomedical implants as well as home-, building- and bridge-monitoring devices. It could vastly improve the efficiency and cost of current environmental sensor networks designed to detect movement or track air and water quality.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/uom-mes020810.php

8. Optical System Promises to Revolutionize Undersea Communications

In a technological advance that its developers are likening to the cell phone and wireless Internet access, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists and engineers have devised an undersea optical communications system that — complemented by acoustics — enables a virtual revolution in high-speed undersea data collection and transmission.

For more information, see: http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7545&tid=282&cid=69687&ct=162

9. Optimization Server Reaches Two Million Use Milestone

Developed by DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University, NEOS, the Network-Enabled Optimization System recently reached the two million submissions to its optimization software.  NEOS has been used extensively by engineers, scientists, businesses and students to solve what can be tedious and time-consuming optimization programs for a variety of applications, including modeling electricity markets, predicting global protein folding and training artificial neural networks.

For more information, see: http://www.anl.gov/Media_Center/News/2010/news100217.html

10. Department of Energy Names Technology Transfer Coordinator

On 23Feb., the Energy Department announced that Dr. Karina Edmonds will join the Department of Energy as its new Technology Transfer Coordinator in April 2010.  Dr. Edmonds will be responsible for working with the Department's National Laboratories to accelerate the process of moving discoveries from the laboratory to the private sector, ensuring that America’s scientific leadership translates into new, high-paying jobs for America’s families. Dr. Edmonds is current Director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory Technology Transfer at the California Institute of Technology

For more information, see: http://www.energy.gov/news/8679.htm

11. Public Comment Sought on Issues Related to the Consumer-Smart Grid Interface

On Tuesday, 23 Feb., the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched a public forum to solicit views on questions and issues pertaining to the consumer interface to the nation’s evolving “smart” electric power grid.  In the Smart Grid, consumers are equipped with energy choices and tools for managing their energy usage, making them active participants in the power system.  The Executive Branch is considering ways to ensure that the consumer interface to the Smart Grid achieves the desired goal of providing all consumers with the information they need to control and optimize their energy use.  Using a blog format, OSTP and NIST hope to generate constructive discussion on a number of questions related to the customer interface to the Smart Grid.

For more information, see: http://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/OSTPConsumerInterfaceSmartGrid

 12. Public Comment Sought on Cyber Security of the Smart Grid

On 3 February, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued the second draft of its Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy and Requirements, which identifies more than 120 interfaces that will link diverse devices, systems and organizations engaged in two-way flows of electricity and information and classifies these connections according to the level of damage that could result from a security breach.  The 300-page second draft of the Smart Grid cyber security document is undergoing public review, with comments due by 2 April. After reviewing the comments received and completing ongoing analyses of requirements and relevant standards, the working group will finalize the Smart Grid cyber security strategy. NIST expects to issue a completed report by early summer.

For more information, see: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/smartgrid_020310.html

13. New Security Threat Against 'Smart Phone' Users Identified

Rutgers computer scientists have shown how a familiar type of personal computer security threat can now attack new generations of smart mobile phones, with the potential to cause more serious consequences. The researchers demonstrated how such a software attack could cause a smart phone to eavesdrop on a meeting, track its owner's travels, or rapidly drain its battery to render the phone useless.

For more information, see: http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releases/2010/02/rutgers-researchers-20100222

14. Updated Prediction Theory Opens Door to Materials Innovation

By reworking a theory first proposed by physicists in the 1920s, thePrinceton engineers have discovered a new way to predict important characteristics of a new material before it's been created. The new formula allows computers to model the properties of a material up to 100,000 times faster than previously possible and vastly expands the range of properties scientists can study.  By offering a panoramic view of how substances behave in the real world, the theory provides a tool for developing materials that can be used in designing new technologies, such as stronger, lighter metal allows for car frames or more energy efficient and faster electronic devices using nanowires.

For more information, see: http://www.princeton.edu/engineering/news/archive/?id=2582

15. New Research Funded

• Measurement Science and Engineering Fellowships:  On 19 Feb., the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that it is awarding a total of $20 million to the University of Maryland and the University of Colorado to develop and implement NIST measurement science and engineering fellowship programs.  For more information, see:  http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/grants_021910.html

• Legged Squad Support System:  DARPA has awarded $32M to Boston Dynamics of Waltham, MA to develop a Legged Squad Support Vehicle or autonomous walking platform that can carry military supplies through difficult terrain and in combat zones, lightening the load for Marines and soldiers in the field.  For more information, see:  http://www.darpa.mil/news/2009/LS3DARPA.pdf

• Mathematical Framework for Tracking Spread of Phenomenon:  Prof. Anil Vullikanti of Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering has won a US Department of Energy Early Career Award to formulate a mathematical framework that can track the spread of pandemics among populations and malware across wireless computer networks, as well as how a blackout occurring on one major power grid can cause a cascade of additional neighboring networks to fail.  For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/vt-rtt020410.php

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.