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02.12
Tech News Digest
Compiled
By IEEE-USA Staff
The following is a roundup of
technology-related news and notable developments
with a focus on electrical engineering,
computing and information technology and allied
fields reported during January 2012. Items are
excerpted from news releases generated by
universities, government agencies and other
research institutions. Highlighted topics
include:
-
Congressionally-Mandated Report Examines the
Federal Role in U.S. Innovation and
Competitiveness
-
Comments Released on
Access to Federally Funded Scientific
Research and Data
-
DARPA Seeks New Power
Dynamic for Continuation of Moore’s Law
-
Research Paves Way for
Portable Power Systems
-
Power Generation is
Blowing in the Wind
-
10-second Dance of
Electrons is Step Toward Exotic New
Computers
-
Particle-free Silver
Ink Prints Small, High-Performance
Electronics
-
Theory Explains How
Graphene Could Improve Electronic Shelf Life
-
NIST Issues Cloud
Computing Guidelines for Managing Security
and Privacy
-
New Center Developing
Computational Bioresearch Tool
-
Iowa State Engineer
Wants to ‘Sculpt’ More Powerful Electric
Motors and Generators
-
'Open-source' Robotic
Surgery Platform Going to Top Medical
Research Labs
-
LED Lights Point
Shoppers in the Right Direction
-
Researchers Devise New
Means for Creating Elastic Conductors
-
NIST to Support Agency
Efforts to Implement Best Practices for
Standards Activities
1)
Congressionally-Mandated Report Examines the
Federal Role in U.S. Innovation and
Competitiveness
On 6 January 2012, the U.S.
Department of Commerce (DOC) issued a new report
highlighting key policy priorities to sustain
and promote American innovation and economic
competitiveness. The report, The
Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the
United States, examines the historic role of
federal investments in research, education and
infrastructure in driving the nation's economic
competitiveness, business expansion and job
creation, and argues for continued strong
support for those three areas as well as
manufacturing.
For more information, see:
http://www.nist.gov/director/competes-011012.cfm
2) Comments
Released on Access to Federally Funded
Scientific Research and Data
In late January, the President’s
Office of Science and Technology Policy released
over 450 public comments received in response to
two Requests for Information on “Pubilc Access
to Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publication Resulting
from Federally Funded Research” and on “Public
Access to Digital Data Resulting from Federally
Funded Scientific Research.” IEEE was among the
organizations who commented. Comments will be
reviewed by the Task Force on Public Access to
Scholarly Publications and the Interagency
Working Group on Digital Data, who have been
tasked by Congress to make recommendations for
an Administration policy on public access.
For more information, see:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/30/your-comments-access-federally-funded-scientific-research-results
3) DARPA
Seeks New Power Dynamic for Continuation of
Moore’s Law
In the past, computing systems
could rely on increasing computing performance
with each processor generation. Following
Moore’s Law, each generation brought with it
double the number of transistors. And according
to Dennard’s Scaling, clock speed could increase
40 percent each generation without increasing
power density. This allowed increased
performance without the penalty of increased
power. “That expected increase in processing
performance is at an end,” said DARPA
Director Regina E. Dugan. “Clock
speeds are being limited by power constraints.
Power efficiency has become the Achilles Heel of
increased computational capability.”
DARPA’s Power Efficiency
Revolution for Embedded Computing Technologies
(PERFECT) program seeks to improve power
efficiency for embedded computer systems,
providing more computing per watt of electrical
power. To increase awareness of this program and
attract potential researchers, DARPA has
scheduled a Proposers’ Day workshop 15 Feb. in
Arlington, Va.
For more information, see:
http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/01/26.aspx
4) Research
Paves Way for Portable Power Systems
Developments by hydrogen
researchers at the US Department of Energy's
Savannah River National Laboratory are paving
the way for the successful development of
portable power systems with capacities that far
exceed the best batteries available today.
SRNL's advances in the use of alane, a
lightweight material for storing hydrogen, may
be the key that unlocks the development of
portable fuel cell systems that meet the needs
for both military and commercial portable power
applications.
For more information, see:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/drnl-srp010912.php
5) Power
Generation is Blowing in the Wind
By looking at the stability of
the atmosphere, wind farm operators could gain
greater insight into the amount of power
generated at any given time. Power generated by
a wind turbine largely depends on the wind
speed. In a wind farm in which the turbines
experience the same wind speeds but different
shapes (such as turbulence) to the wind profile,
a turbine will produce different amounts of
power.
For more information, see:
https://www.llnl.gov/news/newsreleases/2012/Jan/NR-12-01-03.html
6) 10-second
Dance of Electrons is Step Toward Exotic New
Computers
An international team of
researchers including scientists at Princeton
University have achieved a 100-fold increase in
the ability to maintain control the spins of
electrons in a solid material, a key step in the
development of ultra-fast quantum computers.
For more information, see:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/pues-tdo011612.php
7)
Particle-free Silver Ink Prints Small,
High-Performance Electronics
University of Illinois materials
scientists have developed a new reactive silver
ink for printing high-performance electronics on
ubiquitous, low-cost materials such as flexible
plastic, paper or fabric substrates. The
reactive ink has several advantages over
particle-based inks: low processing temperature,
high conductivity, and the ability to print very
small features.
For more information, see:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uoia-psi011212.php
8) Theory
Explains How Graphene Could Improve Electronic
Shelf Life
By taking advantage of the
thermal conductivity of graphene, research by UT
Dallas engineers could lead to more efficient
cooling of electronics, producing quieter and
longer-lasting computers, and cellphones and
other devices.
For more information, see:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uota-teh010912.php
9) NIST
Issues Cloud Computing Guidelines for Managing
Security and Privacy
On 24 January, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
finalized its first set of guidelines for
managing security and privacy issues in cloud
computing. The Guidelines on Security and
Privacy in Public Cloud Computing (NIST Special
Publication 800-144) provide an overview of the
security and privacy challenges facing public
cloud computing. It also presents
recommendations that organizations should
consider when outsourcing data, applications and
infrastructure to a public cloud environment.
The document provides insights on threats,
technology risks and safeguards related to
public cloud environments to help organizations
make informed decisions about this use of this
technology.
For more information, see:
http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/cloud-012412.cfm
10) New
Center Developing Computational Bioresearch Tool
University of Chicago scientists
are working on a technique that might lead to a
new, dramatically simpler way to predict
molecular motion inside a cell. The team will
pursue that goal with an initial $1.5 million
Phase I grant from the National Science
Foundation to launch the new Center for
Multiscale Theory and Simulation..
For more information, see:
http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2012/01/27/new-center-developing-computational-bioresearch-tool
11) Iowa
State Engineer Wants to ‘Sculpt’ More Powerful
Electric Motors and Generators
Dionysios Aliprantis took up an
imaginary hammer and chisel and pounded away at
the air. "Think of the ancient Greeks and their
sculptures," said the Iowa State University
assistant professor of
electrical and computer engineering.
Now apply the idea of a sculptor precisely
chipping away at stone to the electric motors
that run our machines and generate our
electricity. Aliprantis is working to develop
computer modeling technology that will show
engineers how to chip away at the surfaces of
electric motors to create new designs and shapes
that can increase power generation. "The goal
is to get more power out of the same size
motor," he said. "Or, that could mean getting
the same power with a smaller motor."
Aliprantis is quick to say he's
not looking for a huge improvement in a motor's
performance. "I'm looking for a little bit of
increase, maybe 5 percent or 1 percent," he
said. "But multiply that number by the number of
hybrid cars, let's say, and you could get
savings in the billions of dollars. The
potential here could be huge."
For more information, see:
http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2012/jan/electricmotors
12)
'Open-source' Robotic Surgery Platform Going To
Top Medical Research Labs
Robotics experts at the
University of California, Santa Cruz and the
University of Washington have completed a set of
seven advanced robotic surgery systems for use
by major medical research laboratories
throughout the United States.
For more information, see:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uoc--rs011212.php
13) LED
Lights Point Shoppers in the Right Direction
Looking for an item in a large
department store or mall can be like searching
for a needle in a haystack, but that could
change thanks to a hybrid
location-identification system that uses radio
frequency transmitters and overhead LED lights,
suggested by a team of researchers from Penn
State and Hallym University in South Korea. The
team envisions large stores or malls with
overhead LED light fixtures, each assigned with
a location code. At the entrance, a computer
that is accessible via keyboard or even
telephone would contain a database of all the
items available. The system consists of the
location-tagged LEDs and combination photodiode
and Zigbee receiver merchandise tags. The
request for an item goes from the computer
through the many jumps of short radio frequency
receivers and transmitters placed throughout the
mall. The RF/photodiode tag on the merchandise
sought, reads its location from the overhead LED
and sends the information back through the
wireless network to the computer.
For more information, see:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/ps-llp012312.php
14)
Researchers Devise New Means for Creating
Elastic Conductors
Researchers from North Carolina
State University have developed a new method for
creating elastic conductors made of carbon
nanotubes, which will contribute to large-scale
production of the material for use in a new
generation of elastic electronic devices.
Potential applications include devices that can
be incorporated into clothing, implantable
medical devices, and sensors that can be
stretched over unmanned aerial vehicles.
For more information, see:
http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wmszhuconductors/
15) NIST to
Support Agency Efforts to Implement Best
Practices for Standards Activities
On Jan. 17, the White House
issued a memorandum recognizing the role of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
in helping agencies implement best practices for
standards development activities to address
national priorities. The memo clarifies how
federal agencies should work with the private
sector in standards development, and it stresses
the importance of public-private partnerships to
the U.S. standards system and promoting
innovation.
See White House memorandum at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2012/m-12-08.pdf
For more information, see:
http://www.nist.gov/director/standards-012412.cfm
Comments may be submitted to
todaysengineer@ieee.org.
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