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DARPA-funded UCSD research yields world's most complex phased array
Tritons researchers develop world’s most complex phased array; the 16-element chip is just 3.2 by 2.6 square millimeters, can send at 30-50 GHz
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States battle rise in copper thefts
New threat to U.S. infrastructure: Wave of copper theft; DOE estimates that losses to businesses hover around $1 billion; states pass tougher laws to stem the tide
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Honduran authorities detect Cesium-137 in container at port
Puerto Cortes, Honduras, was declared a safe port by the United States more than a year ago — and the designation proved correct: Last Sunday radiation detectors at the port detected high doses of radiation in a container (it turned out to be medical stuff used in sterilization of equipment)
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TWIC inches forward, but legislators criticize missed deadlines
Employees at Wilmington, Delaware port were the first to enroll in TWIC last month; this month, employees in eleven additional ports will begin enrollment; still, program delays are met with a bipartisan chorus of criticism on the Hill
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Maryland State Police to gather critical infrastructure data from air
Johns Hopkins’s APL develops new technology which allows officers to monitor critical infrastructure facilities digitally from the air and quickly locate, inspect important structures during patrols
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Vulnerability of infrastructure control systems is growing
Control networks of infrastructure facilities are becoming increasingly standardized and linked to other centralized systems; as a result they can be more easily breached; consequences may be dire
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Winners announced in two new-approach building competitions
The Solar Decathlon and Lifecycle Building Challenge aim to promote energy independence and better environment through greater reliance on alternative energy and better building design and materials
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EPA insists terrorism should be considered in decision over Indian Point
EPA breaks with NRC, saying the impact of terrorism should be considered in relicensing decision of Indian Point nuclear power plants, located 30 miles north of New York City
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Mubarak says Egypt to build nuclear power stations
President Mubarak of Egypt announces plans for civilian nuclear program; Egypt’s oil and gas reserves stand at 15.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, enough for 34 years at current production rates
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U.S. faces water shortage crisis
Government projects at least 36 states will face shortages within five years; “The last century was the century of water engineering. The next century is going to have to be the century of water efficiency,” one experts says
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NRC seeks public comments on reactor oversight
As interest in nuclear power is revived, more application for building reactors come in — after a lull of more than two decades nearly; the NRC wants the public to comment on reactor oversight
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Worldwide Nuclear Power
For the last twenty years, nuclear power has provided about 16% of the world’s power needs; renewed interest in nuclear energy — energy
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Investigation into Italian mafia's trafficking of nuclear waste
Italian authorities are investigating charges that the Mafia was paid by the national nuclear research center to dispose of nuclear waste; informer says Mafia bought plutonium from the center and sold it to Iraq in the 1980s
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Satellite images show early stages of Syrian nuclear reactor
On 6 September Israel stealthily destroyed a target deep inside Syria; examination of satellite images taken of the site before it was destroyed leads independent experts to conclude that Syria might have been building a gas-graphite reactor of about 20 to 25 megawatts, similar to the reactor North Korea built at Yongbyon
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Innovative self-contained water recycling system for megacities
German researchers develop a self-contained water treatment system which purifies waste water and collects rain to help cities with inadequate water supplies
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The long view
Boosting Efforts to Predict Harmful Solar Weather Events
When big blasts of energy from the sun envelop the Earth, they can very strong: a 2015 event so weakened Earth’s protective magnetic field that it penetrated to the atmosphere, posing a threat to everything from circling space station astronauts to delicate electronics and communication systems.
Challenges to Tidal Flats Pose Risks to 41M Americans Living in Coastal Counties
About 29 percent of the United States’ population live in coastline counties – more than 41 million are in Atlantic counties. This high population density poses a critical challenge to sustainable developments in coastal areas.
Mitigating Flood Disasters
Engineers have proposed a flood control measure which recommends designing permeable pavements to specifically suit local rainfall and soil conditions and reduce flood impacts.
Developing Novel Hybrid Reef-Mimicking Structures
Despite previous efforts to implement storm mitigation solutions — including concrete breakwaters — damage due to storm surge and flooding continues to devastate coastal areas around the world. In response to these threats, DARPA has launched the Reefense program to develop self-healing, hybrid biological, and engineered reef-mimicking structures to protect civilian and DoD infrastructure, personnel by mitigating damage related to coastal flooding, erosion and storm surge.