-
Purdue researchers turn cell phones into radiation detectors
Boilermaker scientists equip cell phones with radiation sensors able to detect even light residues of radioactive material; many cell phones already contain global positioning locators, so the detector-equipped network of phones would serve as a national radiation tracking system
-
-
Renault/Nissan to turn Israel into electric car haven
Car makers, with the help of $1 billion investment from Project Better Place, will wire Israel with 500,000 charging points and 150 battery-swap stations where motorists can exchange their depleted batteries for recharged ones within about five minutes
-
-
Plasma propulsion drives tiny drones
The military, law enforcement, and industry turn to ever-smaller surveillance and inspection devices — some the size of insects; trouble is, these miniature drones have a tendency to break down because of the many moving parts required to make them fly; OSU researchers find a solution: Plasma micro thruster
-
-
Animation shows how cities will cope with devastating earthquakes
How do we know what damage will be sustained by a city located in an earthquake-prone region? Purdue University researchers have an ambitious idea: Create a mini satellite city to cope with the aftermath of such a catastrophe; Boilermakers have created a 3D fly-through animation showing what the city would look like
-
-
Idaho geothermal power plant goes online
U.S. Geothermal launches first geothermal power plant in Idaho; plant uses innovative binary cycle technology in which the geothermal fluid is pumped through a heat exchanger to vaporize isopentane, an organic compound that vaporizes at lower temperatures than water
-
-
New consortium to develop tiny sensors to boost energy production
The University of Texas at Austin announces the Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC), a multimillion-dollar research consortium dedicated to the development of micro and nanotechnology applications to increase oil and gas production
-
-
Swiss move on quantum cryptography
Ensuring effective data security is the next challenge for global data networks; quantum cryptography offers such effective security; the Swiss national election in October 2007 provided first real-life test of the technology, and Swiss now move to implement it in security-sensitive sectors of the economy
-
-
Pac-Man-like molecule chews up uranium contamination
Uranium leaches into groundwater from natural deposits of its ore, depleted uranium munitions, nuclear facilities, and the detritus of uranium mining; removing uranium from groundwater is very difficult: Not only does uranium bind very strongly to oxygen — it is also soluble, making dissolved uranium virtually impossible to remove; British scientists find an innovative solution
-
-
Hand-held near-infrared chemical detector developed
Welsh company ZiNIR develops a hand-held near-infrared detector which can identify the chemical content of a substance within a few seconds on a “point, click, read” basis; company sees big opportunity in U.S. security market
-
-
First commercial wave farm operates in Portugal
Scottish company Pelamis has been operating the world’s first commercial wave energy farm, located off the coast line of Portugal, for a year now
-
-
First U.S. hydrokinetic wave energy license granted
Federal regulator grants Canadian company Finavera conditional five-year license to build and operate wave energy farm off the shore of Washington State; wave energy buoy farm is first in the U.S.
-
-
Thales to develop autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)
Thales, in collaboration with seven partners, will develop a fully autonomous underwater vehicle dedicated to maritime surveillance and security; specifications call for high levels of energy and decision-making autonomy
-
-
Wireless sensors to monitor bridges' health
There are about 597,000 bridges exceeding 20 feet in length on public roads in the United States; more than 50,000 of them were found to be deficient in load-bearing ratings; wireless sensors embedded in the bridge’s concrete will monitor structure’s health
-
-
NIST issues nanotechnology, biomedical standards
NIST issues its first reference standards for nanoscale particles targeted for the biomedical research community — literally “gold standards” for labs studying the biological effects of nanoparticles
-
-
Information technology to create more efficient power grid
Creating a smarter grid through information technology could save $80 billion over 20 years nationally by offsetting costs of building new electric infrastructure; 300 Pacific Northwest volunteers take part in smart-appliance trial
-
The long view
Technology Can Detect Fake News in Videos
Social media represent a major channel for the spreading of fake news and disinformation. This situation has been made worse with recent advances in photo and video editing and artificial intelligence tools, which make it easy to tamper with audiovisual files, for example with so-called deepfakes, which combine and superimpose images, audio and video clips to create montages that look like real footage.
Solution to Encrypted Messages Being Hacked Before Sending or After Receipt
Message applications must do more to keep user data safe from undetected malware or over-the-shoulder eavesdropping that bypasses encryption before a message has been sent. Researchers have created a new end-to-end encryption mechanism that protects users’ communications at a far higher level than currently experienced on popular applications.
Strengthening U.S. Government’s Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogen Framework, Dual Use Research
Group of scientists, public health experts, policy researchers propose strengthening of U.S. government’s policies regarding enhanced potential pandemic pathogen framework and dual use research of concern.
Warning System for Dangerous Heavy Rain and Flash Floods
In recent years, there have been repeated flash floods in Germany, some with devastating effects, which have been triggered by localized heavy rainfall. New project aims to provide prototypical warnings at different spatial scales, from the whole of Germany to individual federal states and down to the municipal level.
Build-a-Satellite Program Could Fast Track National Security Space Missions
Satellites equipped with remote sensing technology execute many critical national security missions, from detecting explosions to tracking sea ice, but until now it could take a team years to move from a concept to a deployable space system. High-performance computing enables custom satellite design and analysis in weeks.
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.
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.
Hurricane-Resilient Wind Turbines -- Inspired by Palm Trees
Today’s offshore wind turbines can tower more than 490 feet above ground, their spinning blades churning out up to 8 megawatts (MW) each—about enough to power 4,000 homes in the U.S. But with their increasing size comes challenges. To make those turbines more hurricane-resilient, scientists are taking a cue from nature.
Hack Post-Quantum Cryptography Now So That Bad Actors Don’t Do It Later
In February, the cryptography community was stunned when a researcher claimed that an algorithm that might become a cornerstone of the next generation of internet encryption can be cracked mathematically using a single laptop. Edward Parker and Michael Vermeer write that this finding may have averted a massive cybersecurity vulnerability, but it also raises concerns that new encryption methods for securing internet traffic contain other flaws that have not yet been detected.
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.
Hurricane-Resilient Wind Turbines -- Inspired by Palm Trees
Today’s offshore wind turbines can tower more than 490 feet above ground, their spinning blades churning out up to 8 megawatts (MW) each—about enough to power 4,000 homes in the U.S. But with their increasing size comes challenges. To make those turbines more hurricane-resilient, scientists are taking a cue from nature.
Hack Post-Quantum Cryptography Now So That Bad Actors Don’t Do It Later
In February, the cryptography community was stunned when a researcher claimed that an algorithm that might become a cornerstone of the next generation of internet encryption can be cracked mathematically using a single laptop. Edward Parker and Michael Vermeer write that this finding may have averted a massive cybersecurity vulnerability, but it also raises concerns that new encryption methods for securing internet traffic contain other flaws that have not yet been detected.