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10.11

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

1. FCC Whitepaper Outlines New Concept for Emergency Communications

2. DARPA To Hold Colloquium on Future Directions in Cyber Security.

3. NIST Publishes Risk Assessment Guidance for Federal Information Systems

4. U.S.-Europe Collaborating on Smart Grid Standards Development

5. NIST Releases Cloud Computing Standards Roadmap and Reference Architecture

6. Material Combining Magnetic and Superconducting Properties Opens New Possibilities in Electronics

7. Tuning Graphene's Electrical Properties

8. Berkeley Lab Announces Better lithium-ion Batteries On The Way

9. New Material Aids Fast-Charge of Lithium-Ion Batteries

10. New Power Management Approach Could Significantly Extend SmartPhone Battery Life

11. Installed Cost of Solar Photovoltaic Systems Declined Significantly in 2010-2011

12. Cyber-Physical Systems Help Home Energy Systems Adapt to the Grid

13. “Think Green” To Clean-Up Digital Waste on Computers

14. New Technique Developed to Assess Attacks on Wi-Fi Networks

15. Wireless Networks for Noninvasive Health Monitoring

16. Funding News

1. FCC Whitepaper Outlines New Concept for Emergency Communications

In a new whitepaper, the Federal Communications Commission has outlined a proposed “Deployable Aerial Communications Architecture” (DACA) with an aerial capability that is deployable within the first 12-18 hours after a catastrophic event in order to temporarily restore critical communications, including broadband, for a period of 72-96 hours. This capability would be useful in situations where the power grid may be inoperable for 5-7 days, depleting back-up power supplies and resulting in an almost complete failure of landline, cellular, land mobile radio, broadcast, and cable transmissions, as well as Wi-Fi and Internet services.   

For more information, see:  http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0922/DOC-309742A1.pdf

2. DARPA To Hold Colloquium on Future Directions in Cyber Security.

DARPA is inviting hackers, academics and professionals members of the cyber technical community to attend a Colloquium on Future Directions in Cyber Security, on 7 November 2011, in Arlington, Va.  Through frank discussion during the event, DARPA will seek input into specific technologies that may deliver an asymmetric advantage in cyberspace, as well as those that could secure embedded computing systems. Nationally recognized thought leaders in cyber will participate in discussions on innovative technologies and approaches to secure the Nation’s infrastructure and ensure the survival of the Department of Defense’s cyber capabilities in case of attack.

For more information, see: http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2011/2011/09/
12_DARPA_ENLISTS_CYBER_COMMUNITY_FOR_FRANK_DISCUSSION.aspx

3. NIST Publishes Risk Assessment Guidance for Federal Information Systems

Recently released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments (NIST Special Publication 800-30, Revision 1), provides an authoritative source of comprehensive risk assessment guidance for federal information systems, and is open for public comments through 4 November.  The guidance in the revised publication has been significantly expanded to include more information on a variety of risk factors essential to determining information security risk, such as threat sources and events, vulnerabilities and predisposing conditions, impact, and likelihood of threat occurrence. The publication describes a three-step process to help organizations prepare for risk assessments, successfully conduct risk assessments and keep assessment results up to date.

For  more information, see: http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/risk-092011.cfm

4. U.S.-Europe Collaborating on Smart Grid Standards Development

On 13 Sept., the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the European Union's (EU) Smart Grid Coordination Group (SG-CG) jointly announced their intention to work together on Smart Grid standards development, emphasizing common goals and areas of focus. Both NIST and the SG-CG have mandates to coordinate the development of a standards framework for Smart Grids, which can unlock innovation in the electrical sector. Among topics to be addressed are work methods, standardization deliverables, testing and certification and cybersecurity requirements and technologies.  The two organizations outlined areas for future collaboration in a joint white paper.

For more information, see:  http://www.nist.gov/smartgrid/grid-091311.cfm

5. NIST Releases Cloud Computing Standards Roadmap and Reference Architecture

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published two new documents on cloud computing: the first edition of a cloud computing standards roadmap and a cloud computing reference architecture and taxonomy. Together, the documents provide guidance to help understand cloud computing standards and categories of cloud services that can be used government-wide.  These documents will be incorporated into the NIST U.S. Government Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap, expected to be published in November, 2011.

For more information, see: http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/cloud-091311.cfm

6. Material Combining Magnetic and Superconducting Properties Opens New Possibilities in Electronics

Scientists have reached a crucial milestone that could lead to a new class of materials with useful electronic properties.  The team sandwiched two nonmagnetic insulators together and discovered a startling result: The layer where the two materials meet has both magnetic and superconducting regions—two properties that normally can't co-exist.   Technologists have long hoped to find a way to engineer magnetism in this class of materials, called complex oxides, as a first step in developing a potential new form of computing memory for storage and processing.

For more information, see:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/dnal-nms090211.php

7. Tuning Graphene's Electrical Properties

Graphene is ideally suited for creating components for semiconductor circuits and computers. Now, an accidental discovery in a physicist's laboratory at the University of California, Riverside, provides a unique route for tuning the electrical properties of graphene. The researchers found that stacking up three layers of graphene, like pancakes, significantly modifies the material's electrical properties. This simple and convenient "tuning knob" holds great promise for replacing silicon with graphene in the microchip industry.

For more information, see:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/uoc—hge092611.php

8. Berkeley Lab Announces Better lithium-ion Batteries On The Way

Lithium-ion batteries power everything from smart phones to electric cars, but especially when it comes to lowering the cost and extending the range of all-electric vehicles, they need to store a lot more energy. The critical component for energy storage is the anode, and scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a new anode material that can absorb eight times the lithium and has far greater energy capacity than today's designs.

For more information:  http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2011/09/23/better-li-ion-batteries/

9. New Material Aids Fast-Charge of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Batteries could get a boost from an Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovery that increases power, energy density and safety while dramatically reducing charge time.  A team led by Hansan Liu, Gilbert Brown and Parans Paranthaman of the Department of Energy lab's Chemical Sciences Division found that titanium dioxide creates a highly desirable material that increases surface area and features a fast charge-discharge capability for lithium ion batteries. Compared to conventional technologies, the differences in charge time and capacity are striking. "We can charge our battery to 50 percent of full capacity in six minutes while the traditional graphite-based lithium ion battery would be just 10 percent charged at the same current," Liu said.

For more information:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/drnl-onm090811.php

10. New Power Management Approach Could Significantly Extend SmartPhone Battery Life

A new "subconscious mode" for smartphones and other WiFi-enabled mobile devices could extend battery life by as much as 54 percent for users on the busiest networks. 

For more information, see: http://ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=8552

11. Installed Cost of Solar Photovoltaic Systems Declined Significantly in 2010-2011

The installed cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the United States fell substantially in 2010 and into the first half of 2011, according to the latest edition of an annual PV cost tracking report released by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).  The average installed cost of residential and commercial PV systems completed in 2010 fell by roughly 17 percent from the year before, and by an additional 11 percent within the first six months of 2011. These recent installed cost reductions are attributable, in part, to dramatic reductions in the price of PV modules.

For more information, see: http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2011/09/15/tracking-the-sun-iv/

12. Cyber-Physical Systems Help Home Energy Systems Adapt to the Grid

A team of eight researchers at Kansas State University is using renewable energy to generate an agile power distribution system, which deliver electricity to homes. These systems will become very complex in the future because of increased usage of consumer-owned rooftop solar panels, which have seen more consumer interest with support from government incentives. To react and adapt to changes within seconds the systems will have to operate as cyber-physical systems.  "We are looking at ways in which we can provide fast control to be able to maintain balance between loads and generation to keep the system stable," said Anil Pahwa, professor of electrical and computer engineering and the project's principal investigator.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/ksu-eps092611.php

13. “Think Green” To Clean-Up Digital Waste on Computers

A digital dumping ground lies inside most computers, a wasteland where old, rarely used and unneeded files pile up. Such data can deplete precious storage space, bog down the system's efficiency and sap its energy. Johns Hopkins computer scientists propose adapting a real-world approach to the cleanup effort.  To address the problem, Hasan and Burns devised a five-tier pyramid of options, inspired by real-world waste reduction tactics: reduce, reuse, recyle, recover and dispose.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/jhu-tcd090111.php

14. New Technique Developed to Assess Attacks on Wi-Fi Networks

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a way to measure how badly a Wi-Fi network would be disrupted by different types of attacks — a valuable tool for developing new security technologies.  "This information can be used to help us design more effective security systems, because it tells us which attacks — and which circumstances — are most harmful to Wi-Fi systems," says Dr. Wenye Wang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research.

For more information, see:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/ncsu-rfw091211.php

15. Wireless Networks for Noninvasive Health Monitoring

University of Utah engineers who built wireless networks that see through walls now are aiming the technology at a new goal: noninvasively measuring the breathing of surgery patients, adults with sleep apnea and babies at risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).  Because the technique uses off-the-shelf wireless transceivers similar to those used in home computer networks, "the cost of this system will be cheaper than existing methods of monitoring breathing," says Neal Patwari, senior author of a study of the new method and an assistant professor of electrical engineering.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/uou-cab091611.php

16. Funding News

The end of the Federal government’s fiscal year brings news of many newly funded initiatives, including:

• Post-Silicon Computing:  The University of Pittsburgh is the lead institution on a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) of the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) to bring a new kind of computer out of the lab and into the real world. The four-year grant, titled "Scalable Sensing, Storage, and Computation With a Rewritable Oxide Nanoelectronics Platform,” aims to transform the way computing is done.  See:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/uop-pc091611.php

• Advanced Digital Computing:  Virginia Commonwealth University has received two grants totaling $1.75 million from the National Science Foundation and the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative of the Semiconductor Research Corporation to create energy-efficient computing devices with even more processing power packed in a chip — potentially cutting out the need for battery-run computer circuits in the future.  See:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/vcu-vrg090111.php

• Materials Research: Leveraging NSF, state and other funds, the University of Utah is launching a six-year, $21.5 million effort to conduct basic research in plasmonics and spintronics aimed at developing new materials for uses ranging from faster computers and communications devices to better microscopes and solar cells.  See:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/uou-mf090811.php

• CO2 Capture Technology:  A Rice University research team is one of 16 chosen by the Department of Energy to develop innovative new technologies that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from power plants.  See: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/ru-rwg_1092011.php

• Sustainable Vehicles:  Clemson University's automotive engineering program has received a $1 million competitive award from the US Department of Energy to create a center for research and education in "sustainable vehicle systems."  See:  http://www.clemson.edu/media-relations/3835/federal-grant-creates-sustainable-vehicle-systems-center-at-cu-icar/

• Women Faculty in STEM Fields:  The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of California, Riverside a $599K grant to develop FORWARD (Faculty Organization foR Women’s Advancement, Recognition and Development), a program aimed at recruiting, retaining and developing the leadership skills of women faculty in the sciences, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, particularly women who are underrepresented minorities.  See: http://newsroom.ucr.edu/2727

• High School Computing Curriculum:  The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and San Diego State University (SDSU), have received $1 million in National Science Foundation (NSF) grants to jointly expand the computer sciences curriculum among San Diego's high schools, community colleges, and universities.  See:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/uoc—ssr091211.php

• Solar Energy: The Department of Energy awarded three loan guarantees for solar energy projects, totaling as much as  $4.7 billion, on the last day of the 2011 fiscal year. See: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2011/09/three-solar-projects-get-35b-in-doe-loan-guarantees/1

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.