Search

The article focuses on the efforts of designers in improving the quality of tires in the U.S. The Aquatred tire from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. offers a 60 000-mile treadlife warranty. To design the tire's channel and v-shaped grooves, Goodyear engineers relied on customized 3-D software from Alias Research Inc. Another tire company, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., offers the Turanza tire, which features an 80 000 mile treadwear warranty. By using computer-aided design and finite element analysis, Bridgestone engineers improved the tire's tread pattern, casing shape and composition to create durable tire. INSET: 'Talking' tire saves money, lives.

Focuses on the development of architecture for flexible mini-factories at the Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Aims of the architecture; Reduction in production times; Use of intelligent robots.

Reports on the development of silicon micromotors for driving external gears by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Predictions of ease in producing the micromotors; Levels of polycrystalline silicon used in the micromotor; Contact information.

Features the work of engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Moore Tool Co. on creating precision optics without expensive hand-polishing. Polishing of precision optics while the part is still on the machine; Spherical polyurethane polishing wheel; Innovative potential of the polisher.

Reports that machine vision is expanding into new applications. Earlier use of the technology; Machine vision as a powerful automation tool for electronic, aerospace, medical and automotive original equipment manufacturers; Design of a PC-based machine-vision system by Cognex Corp.; Checkpoint software; Advantages of the Checkpoint system.

Reports that technical schools in the United States are incorporating real-world job experience and business training into traditional engineering curricula. Hands-on design for students; Earning of a Master's degree through seminar-style courses; Trends in engineering education.

Features Cognex Corp. and its development of machine vision systems. Company background; Comment by Robert Shillman, company president and founder; Sales growth; Features of machine vision; Development of machine vision to greyscale processing; Expansion of the application of machine vision; Client companies; Selection requirements for engineers.

Reports on solar/electric power generation in California. Promising projects; Electric automobiles; Photovoltaic charging systems; Solar Two commercial solar thermal power plants. INSET: What this means to you..

This article focuses on overseas trade related to electronics in the U.S. When the Cencorp Division of Dover Electronics entered the Japanese market, they knew they would have to adapt their products. But what began as a seemingly simple reversal of direction in printed circuit board automation equipment turned into a larger project. Afterward, the change was reflected in profits for the Longmont company. Cencorp's example is part of a growing number of companies entering global trade. Of the many thousands of U.S. firms that could participate in overseas trade, only 2,000 American firms created 80% of all 1990 exports. INSETS: Where to go for help;WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU.

Focuses on the business performance of Harley-Davidson Motor Co. in the U.S. Analysis on the revenue growth of the firm; Increase on the demand of the Sportster motorcycle; Level of competitive advantage.

Reports that physicist, John Schroeder and psychologist, Gillray Kandel at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, developed a system which proved that lithium can delay the formation of cataracts. System to establish baselines related to age; What Schroeder and Kandel estimate.

Reports on the announcement made by engineers at 3M, Saint Paul, Minnesota, that they will apply a $27.4 million contract to demonstrate basic lithium polymer batteries (LPBs) at the modular level. Design of battery; What the firm estimates; Funding from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC); Goal of 3M.

Focuses on the 1996 Environmental Vehicles Conference at which bipolar and advanced lead acid batteries were toted as the preferred energy source of environmentally friendly vehicles. Comments from key persons; Advantages of using bipolar batteries.

Focuses on a manufacturing process developed at the University of Illinois at Champaign to make computer chips last longer. Manufacturing theory; Comments from Joe Lyding, an engineer on the project; Effects on price.

Focuses on a research treatment for rheumatoid arthritis called Boron Neutron Capture Synovectomy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. How the treatment works; Listing of other institutions involved in the research.

Reports that the `R&D' periodical is accepting entries for its 1996 R&D 100 Awards program through March 18, 1996. Honors for the most technologically significant products, processes, and software introduced to the market during 1995 at a banquet in Philadelphia on October 14, 1996; Search for judges.

Reports on the alternative ways for viewing the sharper images of human arterial problems through the Magnetic Resonance Imaging, developed by a team of engineers at Stanford University. Mathematical treatment of the image data through `diminished variance algorithm'; Radio waves used by the selective inversion recovery (SIR) technique.

Reports on the use of a laser and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) by engineers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, to build miniscule mechanical and optical parts that may be used in surgical tools or the nozzle arrays of high-resolution printers. View of the micro-mechanical parts only through the electron microscope; Detail of the process.

Reports on the development of a material tougher than the fiber-reinforced composites by researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology, that could replace metals in aircraft structural components, heat exchangers, particulate fibers and other applications requiring high-temperature.

Reports on the creation of a mechanical minesweeper called the Spiral Tube All-Terrain Robot designed to handle mud, water or dry terrain and transport sensors to detect mines, hazardous wastes or other toxins from the Lawrence National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California collaborating with inventor Bill Wattenburg.

Reports on the light device developed by Van Toi Vo of Tufts University which helps determine whether patients are prone to develop eye diseases or test the effects of caffeine or nicotine in the brain.

Reports on the findings by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology showing that lubricants in complex mechanical systems such as computer disk drives may actually do harm. Features of the research; Use of molecular dynamics simulations; Contact information.

Reports on Los Alamos National Laboratory's research to measure the movement of shock waves through explosive material to prevent unwanted detonation. Explosive-modeling computer codes; Solution to problem regarding shape distortion and heat distribution of a physical compression wave that may produce detonation; Contact information.

Reports on the development of technology that allows biomedical engineers to go `hands-on' inside a cell. Work of Scot Kuo of Johns Hopkins University; Use of a laser light as optical tweezers; Magnified image of microscope action on a video monitor screen; Contact information.

Reports on the development of a process for cleaning coal that improves its quality and recovers 10% more of the energy-producing mineral than current methods. Funding by the Illinois Clean Coal Institute (ICCI) for Southern Illinois University's research; Combination of three technologies in a single integrated process to separate pyritic sulfur and other impurities from raw coal; Contact information.

Reports on how an atom in motion can be observed to watch how corrosion occurs. Work of Brian Swartzentruber of Sandia National Laboratories; Programming of a scanning tunneling microscope's (STM) sensor; Use of lateral electronic feedback from a surface's atomic topography; Contact information.

Reports on Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers' report in `Nature' magazine that `optical refrigeration' may provide reliable cooling for electronics in outer space and ultra-fast computer circuits. Demonstration how light can be tuned to absorb energy and decrease temperature; Creation of the `Los Alamos Solid-State Optical Refrigerator' or LASSOR; Contact information.

Reports on the development of a technology for converting galvanized steel scrap from stamping-plant waste into clean scrap for steelmaking. Initiative of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Metal Recovery Industries Inc.; Further development to de-zinc steel scrap from obsolete cars; Process of dissolving zinc coating from galvanized steel surfaces; Contact information.

Focuses on the development of an electronically-controlled mechanical seal by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Involvement of the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio in developing the new sealing technology; Inclusion of a closed-loop control system; Contact information.

Reports on the use of composite materials and fiber-optic sensors in developing a new obstetric forcep. Partnership between the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and Collins Clininc in Slidell, Louisiana to test the equipment; Goals equipment design and evaluation; Contact information.

Reports that a new metallic membrane developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory that surpasses the capabilities of other hydrogen filters by a factor of five, according to the engineers of the Materials Science and Technology Division. Membrane using thin-film techniques; Filters hybrid structure; Possible applications; New filter's properties and economic potential.

Discusses a technology using application of a direct-current electric field in removing ink from paper fibers for recycling. Patented technology from Georgia Institute of Technology; Process.

Features Oak Ridge National Laboratory's development of a method of imaging heat-induced damage in epoxy-resin composites to prevent aircraft damages. Common aircraft damages; Composite Damage Imager (CDI); Fiber-reinforced plastics and other polymer matrix composites.

Features the collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and University of California, San Francisco in applying medical sensor technology to save the lives of newborn children and reduce medical costs using biosensor and telemetry technology. Fetus monitoring; Fetal Treatment Center's (FTC) works; NASA's Ames Research Center; NASA's Ames Research Center.

Reports that a miniature cooling device under development at Stirling Technology Corp., Richland, WA and Pacific Northwest Laboratory reduces the size and power requirements of sensors used in environmental, medical diagnostic, and telecommunications equipment. Possible replacement for other cooling systems; Extension of sensor life; Research grants.

Reports on a new information-storage technique which permits storage of 180 times more information than CD-ROMs. Development by engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory; Use of focused ion beam to inscribe information; Contact information.

Reports that engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge have developed data compression software that promises to provide high-quality image and video data over ordinary telephone lines. Faster downloading time from the Internet; Use of `wavelet theory'; Contact information.

Reports on Stanford University's Linear Accelerator Center and Hewlett-Packard Co. engineers' development of ultra-sensitive detector that measures integrated circuits contaminants. Development of an X-ray detection system; Contact information.

Reports on Albuquerque, N.M.-based Sandia National Laboratories engineers' development of aerogels production technique. Aerogels as alternative insulators to fiberglass; Description of the process; Application of the method; Contact information.

Reports on Los Alamos National Laboratory engineers' development of a portable method for detecting explosives. Laboratory's filing of a patent application for the method; Application of the method; Contact information.

Reports on Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory engineering student's development of tiny robots capable of searching small targets and communicating simple communications. Funding of the project; Measurement of the robots.

Reports on Johns Hopkins University researchers' development of a computerized system using magnetic resonance imaging which measures cardiac motion and detect current or potential heart defects. Description of the technique; Potential applications of the system; Contact information.

Reports that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory engineers has developed a new portable cooling system using helium as coolant. Technology of the system; Use of microprocessors to measure the vibration; Description of the method.

Reports that engineers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) are using microwave energy to explore aerospacecraft propulsion. Use of focused microwave beams to create shockwaves ahead of the vehicle; Concept vehicle's achievement of Mach 10 in RPI's hypersonic shock tunnel.

Reports on the holding of Firestone Industrial Products Co.'s Innovators Design Contest. Search for designs that use Airstroke actuators or Airmount isolators creatively in practical applications; Prizes; Deadline for submission of entries.

Reports that the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico has received a grant from the National Institute of Justice to develop a weapon that can be fired only by people it recognizes. Possible use of an enabling code programmed into a ring worn by the owner; Evaluation of 14 existing technologies.

Reports on the development of a software package for automated `reading' of handwritten material that could help streamline the general system of check processing, by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers. Savings in postal costs through sending of electronic images of scanned checks; Fast and accurate reading of bank checks and other documents; Testing of software by banks.

Reports on the construction of the United States' first all-composite small satellite, designed by Los Alamos National Laboratory. Building of satellite through Los Alamos-industry collaboration; Advantage offered by structure in terms of performance; Use of graphite epoxy.

Reports that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is testing a prototype zinc-air battery on an electric bus in Santa Barbara, Calif. in efforts to develop an advanced battery for electric vehicles.

Reports that specialists at Emory University's Eye Center in Atlanta, Ga., are using a laser-based system to measure the effects of eye disease. Heidelberg Engineering Co. as developer of the scanning laser ophthalmoscope; How it works.