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Cloud Computing Testbeds Receive NSF Funding
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced two $10 million projects to create cloud computing testbeds--called "Chameleon" and "CloudLab"--that will enable academic researchers to develop and experiment with cloud architectures and pursue architecturally-enabled applications of cloud
Energy Department Awards $18 Million for Geothermal
The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced up to $18 million in support for 32 projects that it says will advance geothermal energy development in the U.S. The projects target research and development in three areas: advancing subsurface analysis and engineering techniques for enhanced
Envisioning European Semiconductor Supremacy
The European Commission announced an effort last year to secure a solid share of semiconductor manufacturing for the European Union by 2020. Entitled EU 10|100|20, the initiative is being overseen by the European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council.
Flexible Conductors for Commercial Use
Modern materials that are light, flexible and highly conductive have great technological potential, whether as artificial skin or electronic paper. Making such concepts affordable enough for general use remains a challenge. But a new way of working with copper nanowires and a poly vinyl alcohol
Gas Meter Conversion Ramps Up as British Gas Taps Elster
Elster recently said that it had been selected by British Gas as the primary provider of gas metering for its higher energy-consuming business customers. The agreement will see Elster provide up to 100,000 communicating commercial and industrial (C&I) smart meters over the next three years as
Heat Measurement Market to Top $1 billion by 2018
A recent report from the IHS Smart Utilities Infrastructure Research Group forecasts that the heat measurement market will exceed $1 billion in 2018. Key drivers fueling this growth will be increasing demand from Russia, Turkey and China, along with expected legislation derived from the European
IEEE 802.3bj Amendment
IEEE 802.3bj “Standard for Ethernet Amendment 2: Physical Layer Specifications and Management Parameters for 100 Gb/s Operation Over Backplanes and Copper Cables.”
Mastering Manufacturing Cells
Few companies can meet all their design and production process needs in-house, no matter how successful they may be.
Rare Earth Opportunities
Rare earth elements such as neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), gadolinium (Gd), dysprosium (Dy), europium (Eu), erbium (Er), yttrium (Y) and praseodymium (Pr) are important raw materials in a variety of electronics products, such as batteries, phosphors, drives, lighting, display, photovoltaic films and
Recycled Rubber Finds Use in Lithium-ion Batteries
Recycled tires could see new life in lithium-ion batteries that provide power to plug-in electric vehicles and store energy produced by wind and solar, say researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. By modifying the microstructural characteristics of carbon
Smart Water Meter Market Growth in Latin America
One of the largest installations of communicating water meters in Latin America to date is now set to occur in Uruguay. The national water utility, Obras Sanitarias del Estado (OSE), recently awarded a contract to smart water meter supplier ARAD for 45,000 communicating positive displacement water
Solar-Powered Desalination for Off-Grid Villages
Around the world, there is more salty groundwater than fresh, drinkable groundwater. For example, 60% of India is underlain by salty water, and much of that area is not served by an electric grid that could run conventional reverse-osmosis desalination plants. Analysis by MIT researchers shows that
SpaceX Innovates as It Aims for Mars
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, is a space transport services company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk. Among its goals, the company hopes to reduce space transportation costs and eventually enable man to become an interplanetary species.
Ultra-thin Semiconductor Opens Door for Product Innovation
Scientists have developed what they believe is the thinnest-possible semiconductor, a new class of nanoscale materials made in sheets three atoms thick. The University of Washington researchers demonstrated that two of these single-layer semiconductor materials can be connected in an atomically
ASTM B831: Test Method for Shear Testing of Thin Aluminum Alloy Products
ASTM B831 is amended to include a new appendix that was created to describe a novel shear test sample geometry and incorporation of digital image correlation for shear strain measurement.
ASTM WK40615: Practice for Mixing and Comparing Performance of Concrete Materials Using Mini-Mix Mortar Mixtures
Concrete technologists need to have a well-defined, useful and efficient means to detect and possibly address concrete material incompatibility issues. This need will be addressed in a proposed new ASTM International standard, ASTM WK40615, Practice for Mixing and Comparing Performance of Concrete
Innovation Drives Autonomous Vehicle Development
They may not realize it, but drivers of many of the latest passenger cars are experiencing features that, with only some software additions, can provide autonomous driving, at least in select circumstances.
LSD 28-2014 Minimizing the Potential of Base Arcing Between Certain Wattage HID Lamps
NEMA LSD 28 educates end users of high wattage HID lamps about lamp-bases and lampholders and recommends best practices for selection and maintenance. Related Resources: IHS Standards Store
LSD 64-2014 Lighting Controls Terminology
NEMA LSD 64 defines terminology related to controls for lighting systems for non-residential and residential applications. The goal of LSD 64 is for NEMA definitions to ultimately be used as the definitive reference for codes, standards, and legislation. This will eliminate the creation of new
Researchers Use 3D Printers to Create Custom Medical Implants
A team of researchers at Louisiana Tech University has developed a method for using what they say is affordable, consumer-grade 3D printers and materials to fabricate custom medical implants that can contain antibacterial and chemotherapeutic compounds for targeted drug delivery. The team,