-
New technology to detect common but difficult to detect explosives
MIT researchers synthesized a molecule based on zinc to allow the detection not only of RDX, but of RDX vapors, which are about 1,000 times more difficult to detect than TNT vapors
-
-
U.S. recommends commercial technologies for communication interoperability
While the debate on emergency communication interoperability continues, the U.S. Commerce Department recommends that the federal, state, and local public safety community consider using commercial technologies
-
-
Affordable, downloadable navigation applications are coming
If millions of phones were to be equipped with cameras and navigation applications and E911, we would have an army of millions of forward spotters
-
-
ATDC at 25: Looking Back with Satisfaction
Companies graduating from Georgia Tech’s science and technology incubator attract more than $1 billion in venture funding
-
-
TraceGuard files for additional patents relating to its detection technology
The company’s propietary Automated Trace Extraction (ATE) uses air jetting, pressurization, and at times even vibration and heating to enhance detection
-
-
Navy to use OPT's buoys in Deep Water
New Jersey-based bouy specialist makes stand-alone buoys which harness wave power to generate energy; the Navy wants to use them for its ocean-based, far-flung vessel tracking project
-
-
Superconductivity at room temperature a step closer
Transporting energy without any loss: Scientists have been dreaming about the possibility — and its benefits — for decades, and CNRS rsearchers have made an important breakthrough toward making this dream a reality
-
-
Siemens, Catalyst partner on communication interoperability
The two companies’ strategic collaboration aims to strengthen interoperable communications for first responders and the military
-
-
Secret weapon targeting system stolen from defense contractor
Burglars break into a Lockheed Martin facility in Orlando and steal the display and controls for an Apache helicopter weapons-targeting system
-
-
Marine Corps. contracts Israeli armor specialist for IED protection
IEDs now cause most of the U.S. casualties in Iraq; DHS officials say that it is only a matter of time before IEDs are used by terrorists on American soil; the search for a solution spans the globe
-
-
Growing deal-making activity in the alternative energy sector
With the battle over wind turbine maker Repower over, and the battle over Nordex may begin — both offering evidence for rich deal making in alternative energy
-
-
S&T Directorate announces new opportunities
Biometrics, interoperable communications, document validatiion, and blast mitigation top the agency’s wish list
-
-
Irdeto, SafeNet partner on mobile TV protection
There are two competing technologines aiming to protect mobile TV broadcasts — conditional access and DRM; now the leaders of each technology partner
-
-
Cyberlux demonstrates hybrid lighting technology
The company’s covert lighting technology is already used by the military and law enfrocement; now the company tests hybrid lighting technology which will help conserve energy
-
-
Mirkos, Isonics report good fiscal results
Two technology companies show good fiscal results in their latest quarterly reports
-
The long view
Using data analytics to target human smugglers
Human smuggling is big business. The financial cost can be as high as a few thousand dollars to cross the border from Mexico to the United States, while immigrants from China might pay tens of thousands for their cross-Pacific journey. Some estimates put illegal crossings at 350,000 per year—and that’s just coming over the U.S.-Mexican border. DHS S&T’s Igloo data analytics software program is currently in use by select units of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
New laser solution could slow spread of forest fires
Aggressive wildfires are rampaging through many countries this summer, bringing death and destruction in their wake. In California alone, firefighters are scrambling to control 18 separate blazes. Texas, Oregon, Florida, New Jersey, as well as Canada, Greece, India, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. are among other areas battling massive forest fires, a phenomenon experts expect will only increase due to climate change. Israeli company Fighting Treetop Fire is developing a system of removing combustible foliage with algorithm-controlled laser beams controlled via helicopter or truck.
Wanted: Smart ideas for grid modernization
A consortium of national labs and nonprofit organizations has announced a call for concepts to engage the smart grid community in demonstrating visionary interoperability capabilities on how facilities with distributed energy resources, or DERs, integrate and interact with the utility grid.
Strategies in U.S. climate litigation
The courts have played a central role in climate change policy, starting with a landmark Supreme Court case that led to the mandatory regulation of greenhouse gases in the United States. How do the courts address climate cases today? Who wins, who loses and what kinds of strategies make a difference in the courtroom? Pro-regulatory litigants more likely to win renewable energy and energy efficiency cases than those involving coal-fired power plants.
Blocking sunlight to cool Earth won't reduce crop damage from global warming
Injecting particles into the atmosphere to cool the planet and counter the warming effects of climate change would do nothing to offset the crop damage from rising global temperatures, according to a new analysis. “Shading the planet keeps things cooler, which helps crops grow better. But plants also need sunlight to grow, so blocking sunlight can affect growth. For agriculture, the unintended impacts of solar geoengineering are equal in magnitude to the benefits,” said the study’s lead author.
Planet at risk of heading towards “Hothouse Earth” state
An international team of scientists has published a study showing that keeping global warming to within 1.5-2°C may be more difficult than previously assessed, and that even if the carbon emission reductions called for in the Paris Agreement are met, there is a risk of Earth entering what the scientists call “Hothouse Earth” conditions. A “Hothouse Earth” climate will in the long term stabilize at a global average of 4-5°C higher than pre-industrial temperatures with sea level 10-60 m higher than today, the paper says.