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06.11

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 May 2011. Items are excerpted from news releases generated by universities, government agencies and other research institutions. Highlighted topics include

1. White House Outlines National Cybersecurity Proposal

2. FCC Report Finds 20 Million Americans Lack Access to Broadband

3. New Energy Education Initiative to Promote Energy Awareness and Efficiency

4. Research Space at Academic Institutions Increased Between FY 2007 and FY 2009

5. DARPA Releases Request for Information for the 100 Year Starship Study

6. NIST Focuses on Building Security into the Very Beginning of the Computer System

7. NIST Seeks Comments on Draft Guide to Cloud Computing

8. NIST 'Nanowire' Measurements Could Improve Computer Memory

9. Researchers Develop Hardware Encryption for New Computer Memory Technology

10. Discovery Opens the Door to Electricity from Microbes

11. Activated Graphene Makes Superior Supercapacitors for Energy Storage

12. Graphene Optical Modulators Could Lead to Ultrafast Communications

13. Nanoflowers May Help Return Eyesight

14. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance with no Magnets

15. Electronic Life on the Nano-Edge

16. Study Explores Behavior of Latest High-temp Superconductors

1. White House Outlines National Cybersecurity Proposal

In May, the White House forwarded its outline for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation to Congress. Components of the proposal are focused on promoting personal cybersecurity, protecting the nation’s critical infrastructures, and safeguarding the government’s own networks and computers.

For more information, see: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/12/administration-unveils-its-cybersecurity-legislative-proposal

2. FCC Report Finds 20 Million Americans Lack Access to Broadband

The latest Broadband Progress Report to Congress from the Federal Communications Commission reveals that approximately 26 million Americans, mostly in rural communities located in every region of the country, lack access to broadband. The report also finds that approximately one-third of Americans do not subscribe to broadband, even when it's available.

For more information, see: http://www.fcc.gov/document/new-report-more-20-million-americans-denied-access-jobs-economic-opportunity-within-broadba

3. New Energy Education Initiative to Promote Energy Awareness and Efficiency

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu joined with U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Dr. Francis Eberle, Executive Director of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), today to announce the launch of a new energy education initiative: America's Home Energy Education Challenge. This initiative is working to educate America's youth about the benefits of energy efficiency, motivate students to play an active role in how their families use energy, and help families across the country save money. The program will encourage students, teachers, and families to learn more about energy consumption and efficiency and become more aware of how homes, schools, and utilities are interconnected within the community, while inspiring students to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

For more information, see: http://www.energy.gov/news/10343.htm

4. Research Space at Academic Institutions Increased Between FY 2007 and FY 2009

According to the National Science Foundation's biennial Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities, the amount of science and engineering (S&E) research space at research-performing colleges and universities expanded 4 percent between FY 2007 and FY 2009, from 188 million to 196 million net assignable square feet (NASF). This percentage increase is almost three times the amount of growth found between FY 2005 and FY 2007 and follows two consecutive survey cycles with slowing growth.

For more information, see: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf11312/

5. DARPA Releases Request for Information for the 100 Year Starship Study

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has released a request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas and information to support its 100 Year Starship Study™ program. The 100 Year Starship Study is a project seeded by DARPA to develop a viable and sustainable model for persistent, long-term, private-sector investment into the myriad of disciplines needed to make interstellar space travel practicable and feasible.

For more information, see: http://www.darpa.mil/

6. NIST Focuses on Building Security into the Very Beginning of the Computer System

A new publication from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides guidelines to secure the earliest stages of the computer boot process. Commonly known as the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), this fundamental system firmware — computer code built into hardware — initializes the hardware when you switch on the computer before starting the operating system. BIOS security is a new area of focus for NIST computer security scientists.

For more information, see: http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/20110428_bios.cfm

7. NIST Seeks Comments on Draft Guide to Cloud Computing

The cloud computing research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is requesting public comments on a draft of its most complete guide to cloud computing to date. NIST Cloud Computing Synopsis and Recommendations (Special Publication 800-146) explains cloud computing technology in plain terms and provides practical information for information technology decision-makers interested in moving into the cloud. Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources — for example networks, servers, storage, applications and services — that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

For more information, see: http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/20110512_cloud_guide.cfm

8. NIST 'Nanowire' Measurements Could Improve Computer Memory

A recent study at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may have revealed the optimal characteristics for a new type of computer memory now under development. The work, performed in collaboration with researchers from George Mason University (GMU), aims to optimize nanowire-based charge-trapping memory devices, potentially illuminating the path to creating portable computers and cell phones that can operate for days between charging sessions.

For more information, see: http://www.nist.gov/pml/semiconductor/nanowire-052411.cfm

9. Researchers Develop Hardware Encryption for New Computer Memory Technology

Security concerns are one of the key obstacles to the adoption of new non-volatile main memory (NVMM) technology in next-generation computers, which would improve computer start times and boost memory capacity. NVMM devices retains all user data in main memory even years after the computer is turned off, and data cannot be encrypted normally because encryption software itself operates in main memory. But now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new encryption hardware for use with NVMM to protect personal information and other data.

For more information, see: http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wmssolihinnvmm/

10. Discovery Opens the Door to Electricity from Microbes

Using bacteria to generate energy is a significant step closer following a breakthrough discovery by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA), who demonstrated the exact molecular structure of the proteins which enable bacterial cells to transfer electrical charge. The discovery means scientists can now start developing ways to 'tether' bacteria directly to electrodes — creating efficient microbial fuel cells or 'bio-batteries'. The advance could also hasten the development of microbe-based agents that can clean up oil or uranium pollution, and fuel cells powered by human or animal waste.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/uoea-dot051911.php

11. Activated Graphene Makes Superior Supercapacitors for Energy Storage

Scientists at Brookhaven Lab have helped to uncover the nanoscale structure of a novel form of carbon, contributing to an explanation of why this new material acts like a super-absorbent sponge when it comes to soaking up electric charge. The material, created at The University of Texas - Austin, can be incorporated into "supercapacitor" energy-storage devices with remarkably high storage capacity, super fast energy release, quick recharge time, and a lifetime of at least 10,000 charge/discharge cycles.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/dnl-agm051111.php

12. Graphene Optical Modulators Could lead to Ultrafast Communications

UC Berkeley researchers have shown that graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of crystallized carbon, can be tuned electrically to modify the amount of photons absorbed. This ability to switch light on and off is the fundamental characteristic of a network modulator, opening the door to optical computing in handheld electronics.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/uoc--gom050411.php

13. Nanoflowers May Help Return Eyesight

A University of Oregon researcher is on a quest to help people who've lost their sight by designing nano-sized flowers whose fractal shapes on implants will engage with neurons to carry light to the optic nerve. The nanoflowers are seeded from nano-sized particles of metals that grow, or self assemble, in a natural process — diffusion limited aggregation.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/uoo-fcf050511.php

14. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance with no Magnets

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful tool for chemical analysis and, in the form of magnetic resonance imaging, a valuable technique for medical diagnosis. But its applications have been limited by the need for big, expensive, superconducting magnets producing strong magnetic fields. Now scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and their colleagues have demonstrated NMR in a zero magnetic field without using any magnets at all.

For more information, see: http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2011/05/17/nmr-no-magnets/

15. Electronic Life on the Nano-Edge

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, and their colleagues have used new techniques to confirm the existence of long-predicted edge states in graphene nanoribbons, opening new prospects for characterizing and controlling the electronic, spintronic, magnetic, and optical properties of nanoscale devices.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/dbnl-elo050511.php

16. Study Explores Behavior of Latest High-temp Superconductors

A Rice University-led team of physicists is exploring how the magnetic properties of electrons in two dissimilar families of iron-based high-temperature superconductors could give rise to superconductivity. Reporting in the journal Physical Review Letters, the researchers examine similar behaviors in two families of materials called "pnictides," including a new variety created late last year in China that has sparked renewed interest in the mysterious phenomenon of high-temperature superconductivity.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/ru-she050311.php

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.