The 2010 Global R&D Forecast, created by Battelle analysts and the editors of R&D Magazine, predicts overall global R&D will increase 4.0% in 2010 to $1,156.5 billion from $1,112.5 billion spent in 2009. This increase will mostly be driven by continued spending by China and India, who will drive a 7.5% increase in Asian R&D.
American R&D spending is expected to increase 3.2% to $452.8 billion, while EC spending will only increase 0.5% to $268.5 billion in 2010.
Download the report:
http://www.rdmag.com/uploadedFiles/RD/Featured_Articles/2009/12/GFF2010_ads_small.pdf
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tech Pioneers Who Will Change Your Life
Tech Pioneers Who Will Change Your Life
K.R. Sridhar, Bloom Energy
The Sunnyvale, Calif., start-up says it has developed a fuel-cell system that produces energy that's cleaner and more efficient than oil, gas or coal and more reliable than wind or solar power. "This technology is fundamentally going to change the world," gushes K.R. Sridhar, co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy. "It's going to have a disruptive impact on the way energy is produced."Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1948486_1948485_1948479,00.html#ixzz0b25Q1sSw
K.R. Sridhar, Bloom Energy
The Sunnyvale, Calif., start-up says it has developed a fuel-cell system that produces energy that's cleaner and more efficient than oil, gas or coal and more reliable than wind or solar power. "This technology is fundamentally going to change the world," gushes K.R. Sridhar, co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy. "It's going to have a disruptive impact on the way energy is produced."Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1948486_1948485_1948479,00.html#ixzz0b25Q1sSw
Monday, November 30, 2009
The water-powered clock: the most eco-friendly timepiece ever?
It doesn't need batteries, solar panels or winding, it just needs water. The Water Powered Clock sounds like something out of mythology, but it's real and it's turning H2O into energy somewhere near you.
SOURCE
All you have to do to keep the clock ticking is change the water every six months. It uses "the latest electrochemical technology" to power the digital display with water and there are no emissions or waste. Shaped like cans, the clocks are available in four colours.
It's not an alarm - water obviously isn't that powerful yet, but it does look quite cute and displays the time on the digital panel at that front. Pair it up with Efergy's showtime water-use monitor as a green present for the eco-warrier in your life.
Even better, get GreenStamp's water-powered clock making kit and let your green friend experiment with what liquids make the clock run. A good one for kids.SOURCE
Monday, November 23, 2009
New hydrogen-storage method discovered
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found for the first time that high pressure can be used to make a unique hydrogen-storage material. The discovery paves the way for an entirely new way to approach the hydrogen-storage problem. The researchers found that the normally unreactive, noble gas xenon combines with molecular hydrogen (H2) under pressure to form a previously unknown solid with unusual bonding chemistry. The experiments are the first time these elements have been combined to form a stable compound. The discovery debuts a new family of materials, which could boost new hydrogen technologies. The paper is published in the November 22, 2009, advanced online publication of Nature Chemistry. Read more...
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ci-nhm112009.php
Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found for the first time that high pressure can be used to make a unique hydrogen-storage material. The discovery paves the way for an entirely new way to approach the hydrogen-storage problem. The researchers found that the normally unreactive, noble gas xenon combines with molecular hydrogen (H2) under pressure to form a previously unknown solid with unusual bonding chemistry. The experiments are the first time these elements have been combined to form a stable compound. The discovery debuts a new family of materials, which could boost new hydrogen technologies. The paper is published in the November 22, 2009, advanced online publication of Nature Chemistry. Read more...
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ci-nhm112009.php
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030
A recent article - "A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030" authored by Jacabson and Deluchhi, published in the recent issue (November 2009) of Scientific American will be a useful resource for the researchers who do research in the area of energy.
Also visit here to explore more.
Also visit here to explore more.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Interview of Venkataraman Ramkrishnan by Amit Roy of The Telegraph, Calcutta.
No real reason why it can't be done in India
- Venki on his forthcoming visit, why he loves Cambridge and how crucial luck is.
Amit Roy
Cambridge, Oct. 17: Venkataraman Ramakrishnan, seems happy and settled in Cambridge, where autumn has set in and where the Nobel laureate can admire ancient trees with leaves turning to russet and mauve and gold as he cycles to work every day.
But over the past four decades, he has led an itinerant existence. Fame has come at a price.
Read more...
Courtesy: The Telegraph
- Venki on his forthcoming visit, why he loves Cambridge and how crucial luck is.
Amit Roy
Cambridge, Oct. 17: Venkataraman Ramakrishnan, seems happy and settled in Cambridge, where autumn has set in and where the Nobel laureate can admire ancient trees with leaves turning to russet and mauve and gold as he cycles to work every day.
But over the past four decades, he has led an itinerant existence. Fame has come at a price.
Read more...
Courtesy: The Telegraph
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Low-cost electrodes for fuel cells
AFC Energy, the developer of low-cost alkaline fuel cells, has successfully completed trials of its non-platinum-based electrodes for fuel cells. Read more...
Source: The Engineer Online
Source: The Engineer Online
Monday, September 7, 2009
Breakthrough in Battery Technology in the offing
Scientists in advanced materials and electrochemistry have produced electric storage batteries what could be the single most important breakthrough for clean, alternative energy.
It's a new generation of deep-storage battery that's small enough, and safe enough, to sit in your basement and power you home.
Read More...
Source: Daily Herald
It's a new generation of deep-storage battery that's small enough, and safe enough, to sit in your basement and power you home.
Read More...
Source: Daily Herald
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Nanotechnology: Lithium-Ion Batteries Have Better Performance With New Electrode Material
Nanotechnology: Lithium-Ion Batteries Have Better Performance With New Electrode Material
Need to store electricity more efficiently? Put it behind bars.
That's essentially the finding of a team of Rice University researchers who have created hybrid carbon nanotube metal oxide arrays as electrode material that may improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries.
With battery technology high on the list of priorities in a world demanding electric cars and gadgets that last longer between charges, such innovations are key to the future. Electrochemical capacitors and fuel cells would also benefit, the researchers said.
The team from Pulickel Ajayan's research group published a paper this week describing the proof-of-concept research in which nanotubes are grown to look – and act – like the coaxial conducting lines used in cables. The coax tubes consist of a manganese oxide shell and a highly conductive nanotube core. REA MORE...
Source: ScienceDaily
Need to store electricity more efficiently? Put it behind bars.
That's essentially the finding of a team of Rice University researchers who have created hybrid carbon nanotube metal oxide arrays as electrode material that may improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries.
With battery technology high on the list of priorities in a world demanding electric cars and gadgets that last longer between charges, such innovations are key to the future. Electrochemical capacitors and fuel cells would also benefit, the researchers said.
The team from Pulickel Ajayan's research group published a paper this week describing the proof-of-concept research in which nanotubes are grown to look – and act – like the coaxial conducting lines used in cables. The coax tubes consist of a manganese oxide shell and a highly conductive nanotube core. REA MORE...
Source: ScienceDaily
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Methanol fuel cells the latest in portable power
Methanol fuel cells the latest in portable power
by Mark Rutherford
February 22, 2009 6:00 AM PST
A German company has introduced a "wearable" fuel cell that usesdirect methanol fuel cell technology, doing away with the weightymechanical components usually associated with generation of electricalpower.
Based on an award-winning unipolar stack technology design, the Jenny600S delivers 25 watts of power for up to 20 hours at a time,according to the company Smart Fuel Cell (SFC).
SFC fuel cells took top honors in the U.S. Department of Defense'sWearable Power Competition last October against stiff competition froma host of big-name competitors. But it's not the only game: companieslike UtraCell and Jadoo Power also offer a range of portable fuel celloptions to military customers.
The Jenny uses replaceable liquid methanol fuel cartridges and can beworn by soldiers in a vest, where it instantly kicks in from standbymode to automatically recharge batteries when needed. It workssilently in both vertical and horizontal positions, according to SFC.It can also be left in a hands-off mode to automatically power upequipment in the field. The company estimates that the unit couldreduce the weight of the batteries that soldiers must carry on certainmissions by up to 70 percent.
And the SFC system uses nonpressurized methanol, which has been giventhe seal of approval in tests by Army Research Lab and Natick SoldierCenter, according to SFC. Low pressure gives it a leg up, in terms ofsafety over pressurized gases like hydrogen, propane, or butane.
It's not available to civilians yet, but look for systems like this toshake out in the near future. Mark Rutherford is a West Coast-based freelance writer. He is amember of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Emailhim at markr@milapp.com
Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13639_3-10169022-42.html
by Mark Rutherford
February 22, 2009 6:00 AM PST
A German company has introduced a "wearable" fuel cell that usesdirect methanol fuel cell technology, doing away with the weightymechanical components usually associated with generation of electricalpower.
Based on an award-winning unipolar stack technology design, the Jenny600S delivers 25 watts of power for up to 20 hours at a time,according to the company Smart Fuel Cell (SFC).
SFC fuel cells took top honors in the U.S. Department of Defense'sWearable Power Competition last October against stiff competition froma host of big-name competitors. But it's not the only game: companieslike UtraCell and Jadoo Power also offer a range of portable fuel celloptions to military customers.
The Jenny uses replaceable liquid methanol fuel cartridges and can beworn by soldiers in a vest, where it instantly kicks in from standbymode to automatically recharge batteries when needed. It workssilently in both vertical and horizontal positions, according to SFC.It can also be left in a hands-off mode to automatically power upequipment in the field. The company estimates that the unit couldreduce the weight of the batteries that soldiers must carry on certainmissions by up to 70 percent.
And the SFC system uses nonpressurized methanol, which has been giventhe seal of approval in tests by Army Research Lab and Natick SoldierCenter, according to SFC. Low pressure gives it a leg up, in terms ofsafety over pressurized gases like hydrogen, propane, or butane.
It's not available to civilians yet, but look for systems like this toshake out in the near future. Mark Rutherford is a West Coast-based freelance writer. He is amember of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Emailhim at markr@milapp.com
Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13639_3-10169022-42.html
Thursday, February 19, 2009
New freely accessible nanotechnology and nanoscience publications archive
New freely accessible nanotechnology and nanoscience publications archive
Research at the nanoscale has the potential to solve many fundamental scientific problems and lead to new developments in different disciplines and application areas such as medicine, electronics, energy, and the environment. Successful outcomes to such research will have a measurable impact on the future well-being of our global society; however this can only be achieved through improving access to information and opportunities for international collaboration. The ICPCNanoNet project is one such initiative in this framework. Funded by the EU under FP7 for four years from June 2008, it provides:
an electronic archive of nanoscience publications that is freely accessible to researchers around the globe;
an electronic database of nanoscience organizations and networks in ICPC;
links to nanoscience researchers and stakeholders across the globe;
annual reports on nanoscience developments in eight ICPC regions: Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), Latin America, Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC), Western Balkan Countries (WBC);
online networking tools (forums, workshops);
annual workshops, one in each of EU, China, India, and Russia, which will also be webcast to facilitate greater access.
The project brings together partners from the EU, China, India and Russia and aims to provide wider access to published nanoscience and nanotechnology research and opportunities for collaboration between scientists in the EU and International Cooperation Partner Countries. This will be achieved through the creation of an open access electronic archive of nanoscience publications and tools to facilitate networking between scientists in different world regions.
The project builds on previous initiatives including Nanoforum (www.nanoforum.org) which provides information on nanoscience and technology in the EU; EuroIndiaNet (http://www2.spi.pt/euroindianet/) which promoted stronger collaboration between EU and Indian nanoscientists and technologists, and NanoforumEULA (www.mesaplus.utwente.nl/nanoforumeula/) which promotes stronger collaboration between EU and Latin American nanoscientists and technologists.
ICPCNanoNet is coordinated by the Institute of Nanotechnology (UK) and includes Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (Portugal), St Petersburg Electrotechnical University (Russia), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (India), Chinese Society of Micro-Nano Technology (China), MERIT, Universiteit Maastricht (Netherlands), and Malsch TechnoValuation (Netherlands).
To register your interest in ICPCNanoNet please contact the project coordinator:
Dr Mark Morrison
Institute of Nanotechnology
mark.morrison@nano.org.uk
Tel. +44 (0)141 303 8444.
or register on the project websites: www.ICPC-nanonet.org (main project website) and www.nanoarchive.org (electronic archive).
Source: ICPCNanoNet
Research at the nanoscale has the potential to solve many fundamental scientific problems and lead to new developments in different disciplines and application areas such as medicine, electronics, energy, and the environment. Successful outcomes to such research will have a measurable impact on the future well-being of our global society; however this can only be achieved through improving access to information and opportunities for international collaboration. The ICPCNanoNet project is one such initiative in this framework. Funded by the EU under FP7 for four years from June 2008, it provides:
an electronic archive of nanoscience publications that is freely accessible to researchers around the globe;
an electronic database of nanoscience organizations and networks in ICPC;
links to nanoscience researchers and stakeholders across the globe;
annual reports on nanoscience developments in eight ICPC regions: Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), Latin America, Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC), Western Balkan Countries (WBC);
online networking tools (forums, workshops);
annual workshops, one in each of EU, China, India, and Russia, which will also be webcast to facilitate greater access.
The project brings together partners from the EU, China, India and Russia and aims to provide wider access to published nanoscience and nanotechnology research and opportunities for collaboration between scientists in the EU and International Cooperation Partner Countries. This will be achieved through the creation of an open access electronic archive of nanoscience publications and tools to facilitate networking between scientists in different world regions.
The project builds on previous initiatives including Nanoforum (www.nanoforum.org) which provides information on nanoscience and technology in the EU; EuroIndiaNet (http://www2.spi.pt/euroindianet/) which promoted stronger collaboration between EU and Indian nanoscientists and technologists, and NanoforumEULA (www.mesaplus.utwente.nl/nanoforumeula/) which promotes stronger collaboration between EU and Latin American nanoscientists and technologists.
ICPCNanoNet is coordinated by the Institute of Nanotechnology (UK) and includes Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (Portugal), St Petersburg Electrotechnical University (Russia), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (India), Chinese Society of Micro-Nano Technology (China), MERIT, Universiteit Maastricht (Netherlands), and Malsch TechnoValuation (Netherlands).
To register your interest in ICPCNanoNet please contact the project coordinator:
Dr Mark Morrison
Institute of Nanotechnology
mark.morrison@nano.org.uk
Tel. +44 (0)141 303 8444.
or register on the project websites: www.ICPC-nanonet.org (main project website) and www.nanoarchive.org (electronic archive).
Source: ICPCNanoNet
Sunday, February 1, 2009
New catalyst paves the path for ethanol-powered fuel cells
(Nanowerk News) A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, has developed a new catalyst that could make ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The highly efficient catalyst performs two crucial, and previously unreachable steps needed to oxidize ethanol and produce clean energy in fuel cell reactions. Their results are published online in the January 25, 2009 edition of Nature Materials.
Like batteries that never die, hydrogen fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into water and, as part of the process, produce electricity. However, efficient production, storage, and transport of hydrogen for fuel cell use is not easily achieved. As an alternative, researchers are studying the incorporation of hydrogen-rich compounds, for example, the use of liquid ethanol in a system called a direct ethanol fuel cell. READ MORE...
Like batteries that never die, hydrogen fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into water and, as part of the process, produce electricity. However, efficient production, storage, and transport of hydrogen for fuel cell use is not easily achieved. As an alternative, researchers are studying the incorporation of hydrogen-rich compounds, for example, the use of liquid ethanol in a system called a direct ethanol fuel cell. READ MORE...
World's highest drug levels entering India stream
Jan. 26, 2009By Margie Mason, AP Medical Writer Patancheru, India (AP)—When researchers analyzed vials of treated wastewater taken from a plant where about 90 Indian drug factories dump their residues, they were shocked. Enough of a single, powerful antibiotic was being spewed into one stream each day to treat every person in a city of 90,000.
And it wasn't just ciprofloxacin being detected. The supposedly cleaned water was a floating medicine cabinet—a soup of 21 different active pharmaceutical ingredients, used in generics for treatment of hypertension, heart disease, chronic liver ailments, depression, gonorrhea, ulcers and other ailments. Half of the drugs measured at the highest levels of pharmaceuticals ever detected in the environment, researchers say. READ MORE...
AP National Writer Martha Mendoza contributed to this report from California.
SOURCE: The Associated Press.
And it wasn't just ciprofloxacin being detected. The supposedly cleaned water was a floating medicine cabinet—a soup of 21 different active pharmaceutical ingredients, used in generics for treatment of hypertension, heart disease, chronic liver ailments, depression, gonorrhea, ulcers and other ailments. Half of the drugs measured at the highest levels of pharmaceuticals ever detected in the environment, researchers say. READ MORE...
AP National Writer Martha Mendoza contributed to this report from California.
SOURCE: The Associated Press.
UN declares 2011 as International Year of Chemistry
UN declares 2011 as International Year of Chemistry
New York, Paris, 30 December 2008 - The 63rd General Assembly of the United
Nations has adopted a resolution proclaiming 2011 as International Year of Chemistry,
placing UNESCO and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
at the helm of the event.
Ethiopia submitted the U.N. resolution calling for the Year, which will celebrate
the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humanity. The
Year will also draw attention to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development 2005-2014. National and international activities carried out during 2011
will emphasize the importance of chemistry in sustaining natural resources.
Chemistry is fundamental to our understanding of the world and the cosmos.
Moreover, molecular transformations are central to the production of food, medicines,
fuel, and countless manufactured and extracted products. Through the Year, the world
will celebrate the art and science of chemistry, and its essential contributions to
knowledge, to environmental protection and to economic development.
“The International Year of Chemistry will give a global boost to chemical science
in which our life and our future are grounded. We hope to increase the public
appreciation and understanding of chemistry, increase young people’s interest in science,
and generate enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry,” declared the President of
the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), Professor Jung-Il Jin. READ MORE...
Source: IUPAC/UNESCO release, 30 Dec 2008
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