• GWU earthquake simulator helps engineering prepare for the real thing

    George Washington University laboratory’s “shake table” — a $1 million, 10-by-10-foot metal structure that moves in six directions — replicates earthquakes and allows engineering students to test construction materials to see how they hold up under tremors of varying strength

  • New Orleans levee committee uneasy with Corps of Engineers modeling

    The Army Corps of Engineers uses complex computer models for hazard analysis calculations on which billions of dollars worth of repairs and improvements to the federal hurricane levee system are being based; the members of the regional levee commission want their own expert to scrutinize these computer models

  • Day of using nuclear fusion to generate power from sea water nears

    New X-ray imaging capability developed at Sandia National Laboratory may help remove a major impediment in the worldwide, multi-decade, multibillion dollar effort to harness nuclear fusion to generate electrical power from sea water

  • Research to help reduce coastal flooding

    According to the Environment Agency’s Flooding in England Report, one in six homes in the United Kingdom are at risk from flooding, and 2.4 million properties are vulnerable to coastal/river floods; coastal areas could be saved from the misery of flooding thanks to new research from the University of Plymouth

  • U.S. military looking for sturdier, more survivable UAVs

    The U.S. military is looking for sturdier, more survivable UAVs; the military regards the airspace over Pakistan and Afghanistan as “permissive environment” — and it wants UAVs to be able to do their work in what it describes as “contested airspace”

  • Oil will run dry before substitutes roll out: study

    At the current pace of research and development, global oil will run out ninety years before replacement technologies; the authors of the new study say the findings are a warning that current renewable-fuel targets are not ambitious enough to prevent harm to society, economic development and natural ecosystems

  • Two nuclear reactors shut down Sunday because of problems

    Two nuclear reactors — Indian Point nuclear power plant, about twenty-five miles north of New York City, and Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vermont — had to be shut down Sunday; Indian Points was shut down because a transformer caught fire, and Vermont Yankee was shut down because radioactive water began leaking from one of its pipes

  • Mini UAVs for infrastructure facilities protection

    Those in charge of critical infrastructure protection are showing increasing interest in using mini UAVs as a tool that will positively identify and “incriminate” threats before deadly force is used to stop them; the requirement is for a mini UAV that can be launched seconds after a threat is initially detected and that has the capability to loiter over the area where the threat was first detected by one of the ground sensors

  • Study to assess use of wave turbines along U.S. coastline

    A Scottish company will deploy its wave-power technology along the Oregon coast for a feasibility study of wave power; the state of Oregon has given the company a grant to measure and record the frequency, intensity and height of waves as they approach the Oregon shoreline

  • Cyber attack could paralyze air traffic

    This summer we saw the release of the world’s first cyber superweapon, which was said to be targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities as well as infrastructure systems in China; the Stuxnet worm could break into computers that control machinery at the heart of industry, allowing an attacker to assume control of critical systems like pumps, motors, alarms and valves; a similar cyber weapon could allow an attacker to take down air-control systems

  • UAVs to be used by divorce lawyers?

    UAVs will soon be used for missions away from the battlefield: tracking celebrities, unfaithful lovers, wildlife, “If the Israelis can use them to find terrorists, certainly a husband is going to be able to track a wife who goes out at 11 o’clock at night and follow her,” said New York divorce lawyer Raoul Felder

  • U.K.'s government unveils £200 billion National Infrastructure Plan

    David Cameron announces infrastructure plan to rebuild the economy a week after sweeping government cuts; the plan calls for a government commitment of over £40 billion directed to infrastructure projects, including a Green Investment Bank that provides up to £1 billion toward a commercial scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects; £30 billion for transportation, including a high speed rail network, maintenance, and investment in local roads and rail and funding towards the Network Rail

  • Crumbling water infrastructure needs investment boost

    Water pipes and treatment systems in the United States are in a sorry state, but nearly two-thirds of voters and just over half of businesses would be willing to pay more for their water to ensure its quality and availability; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that at the current rate of investment, the funding gap for water infrastructure could grow to as much as $224 billion by 2022

  • Australia's AG rules out SCADA security regulations

    Best practice and risk management frameworks not enough, say Aussie SCADA security managers; a scathing 56-page report from the Victoria Auditor General stated that most critical infrastructure operators did not have fully compliant risk management frameworks; still, Australia’s Federal Attorney-General’s Department has ruled out regulation of security standards for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems for critical infrastructure, despite a mounting threat landscape