By Gregory M. Lamb 09.29.08
The world of alternative-powered vehicles is booming. Gas prices north of $4 this summer have gotten the attention not only of consumers, but businesses as well. From hybrid diesel-electric delivery trucks to electric-assisted cargo tricycles, natural gas and hydrogen fuel-cell power plants to the minuscule Smart Car, new ways to get people and cargo where they need to go efficiently are springing up.The fourth annual AltWheels Fleet Day held Sept. 28 in Framingham, Mass., just west of Boston, put 45 alternative-powered vehicles on display, making it the largest alternative vehicle showcase on the East Coast. The 300 participants were triple the number of just a year ago, says event found Alison Sander. They included Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota, Isuzu, and a host of aftermarket and specialized manufacturers. Listening to their pitches were corporate fleet managers, who are looking to save money on transportation costs as well as green-up their image.Staples, the office supply giant, hosted the event at its headquarters. Staples has two hybrid delivery trucks built by Isuzu and souped up with electric motors from Enova that its testing right now. Smith Electric Vehicles, based in Britain, showed off a large delivery truck that's all electric and boasts an estimated cost-per-mile of 11.5 cents. It powers up overnight (4 1/2 to 6 hours) off the electric grid. Made for use on urban streets, it has a range of 130-150 miles per charge and a top speed of 50 m.p.h. Smith plans to begin selling the lithium-ion battery-powered vehicles in the US beginning next year.John Viera, Ford's director of sustainable business strategies, laid out his company's future in a small meeting with members of the news media. Ford's looking at new technologies that will meet its criteria of being both affordable and capable of selling in high volume. The company is high on its new line of EcoBoost engines, which it expects will hike gas mileage by up to 20 percent and cut CO2 emissions by up to 15 percent. They draw on two proven technologies (direct fuel injection and turbo-charging) and will allow V8 engines to be replaced by V6s, and V6s replaced by V4s, without any lose of horsepower or torque. Ford aims to have EcoBoost engines available in 90 percent of its nameplates by 2013.Meanwhile, it's looking for ways to inch economy higher in a number of small ways, including slimming down vehicle weight, six-speed transmissions (4 to 6 percent better fuel fuel economy), and lighter-weight electric power-assisted steering (3 to 5 percent better fuel economy). It's also expanding its hybrids to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan mid-size sedans, which will greatly increase the number of hybrid Fords on showroom floors. The company is eyeing plug-in hybrids but isn't diving in in a major way.Ford is also planning to import some of its popular small vehicles now being sold only in Europe. They include the Fiesta sedan and Transit Connect small van, six small vehicles in all by 2012.I got to drive a Ford Focus powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. I would have never known I was driving a fuel-cell-powered vehicle except for a slight whine from the rear of the car. Acceleration from stoplights was brisk. Meanwhile, GM is letting consumers test a fleet of 100 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles right now in a program called Project Driveway.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Periodic Table of Videos
Tables charting the chemical elements have been around since the 19th century - but this modern version has a short video about each one.
Since launching this site, the videos have been watched more than 2.5 million times.
The chemical elements videos developed by The University of Nottingham and it can be viewed from http://www.periodicvideos.com
Since launching this site, the videos have been watched more than 2.5 million times.
The chemical elements videos developed by The University of Nottingham and it can be viewed from http://www.periodicvideos.com
Water-propelled cars may run on Indian roads, in about two decades
Manas Dasgupta
VADODARA: It may not be long before the cars will be running on the Indian roads literally on water! Sounds amazing, but the senior researcher of the central government’s Energy Resources Development Agency (ERDA), Vadodara, G. S. Grewal, believes that it could become a reality in a maximum of two decades or even earlier.
The ERDA has already developed techniques for using hydrogen gas, available in abundance from water, as fuel to run cars and other uses to meet the world’s energy crisis likely to arise from the diminishing fossil fuels. Based on the indigenous technology, the system developed by the ERDA for the generation of hydrogen gas would cost just about Rs. three per kilo watt per hour as against Rs. 9.3 required for the creation of same amount of energy from diesel.
Dr. Grewal was speaking at a seminar on “Impact and Benefits of the Petroleum Products and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006, on the Society,” organised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Power and Energy Society of India with the support of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Gas Authority of India Limited and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.
Dr. Grewal said the technology to use hydrogen as fuel for static installations had been fully developed and the ERDA was ready for commercial production, but the technology for using it in moving vehicles could still take some time in developing suitable containers to store gas. Pointing out that storing hydrogen in gaseous or liquid forms would be unviable, he said the ERDA had developed a magnesium-based alloy to use as hydrogen container in solid state, but was yet find an answer to the problem of explosion in the event of even a minor collision.
Source: The Hindu
Courtesy: Dr S Vasudevan
VADODARA: It may not be long before the cars will be running on the Indian roads literally on water! Sounds amazing, but the senior researcher of the central government’s Energy Resources Development Agency (ERDA), Vadodara, G. S. Grewal, believes that it could become a reality in a maximum of two decades or even earlier.
The ERDA has already developed techniques for using hydrogen gas, available in abundance from water, as fuel to run cars and other uses to meet the world’s energy crisis likely to arise from the diminishing fossil fuels. Based on the indigenous technology, the system developed by the ERDA for the generation of hydrogen gas would cost just about Rs. three per kilo watt per hour as against Rs. 9.3 required for the creation of same amount of energy from diesel.
Dr. Grewal was speaking at a seminar on “Impact and Benefits of the Petroleum Products and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006, on the Society,” organised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Power and Energy Society of India with the support of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Gas Authority of India Limited and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.
Dr. Grewal said the technology to use hydrogen as fuel for static installations had been fully developed and the ERDA was ready for commercial production, but the technology for using it in moving vehicles could still take some time in developing suitable containers to store gas. Pointing out that storing hydrogen in gaseous or liquid forms would be unviable, he said the ERDA had developed a magnesium-based alloy to use as hydrogen container in solid state, but was yet find an answer to the problem of explosion in the event of even a minor collision.
Source: The Hindu
Courtesy: Dr S Vasudevan
Sunday, September 28, 2008
‘Research interest growing in India’
Microsoft Research India on the trends shaping the scene..
“The situation here is always improving. We at Microsoft Research India got about 60 to 70 submissions when we started. Now we get about 400 a year. The numbers have doubled in other institutions, too.”
Ravikanth Nandula
Compared to a thousand doctorates in computer science that come out of American universities every year, India produces 50. But the situation here is improving, P. Anandan, Managing Director of Microsoft Research India, says.
Excerpts from a chat with eWorld:
Could you tell me a little bit about the idea behind setting up a computer science research lab?
I was already interacting with the Indian research community for close to a decade before this lab was conceptualised.
As part of my job (leading a group researching into computer vision at Microsoft, Redmond) I would attend various technological events where research papers are presented by professors and IITians. And a lot of those papers were from third year and final year students.
At the time when I did my B.Tech (in 1977) from IIT Madras I could not tell what writing a paper even meant! That was one of the first things that made me realise that a change was on.
A second point is, back in 2003-2004, a certain area of research was becoming interesting — ICT (information and communication technologies).
It made sense that if you wanted to do research, the developing countries were the place to go to.
And India was the best place, with its opened economy, strong educational foundations and the resulting opportunities. It is still easily a leading destination.
But wasn’t the talent flying out of India at that time?
That is true of today. And that is definitely true of yesterday. But reverse migration is also happening. People who have gone abroad in the 1970s and 80s want to come back and contribute.
The economy had opened up and opportunities for people who wanted to come back were there.
In fact, setting up the labs was a recognition of these changing conditions.
How does the research environment in India fare, say, vis-a-vis, the US ?
We produce about 50 Ph.Ds a year in computer science. The US, about one thousand. Last year was especially good for them with 1,500 Ph.Ds. But don’t ignore the fact that about a quarter of them are from Indian students.
To do research, we need a critical mass of people. We need four or five faculty members who’re interested and a few students rally around them and then things get to happen.
Is this situation changing?
The situation here is always improving. We at Microsoft Research India got about 60 to 70 submissions when we started. Now we get about 400 a year. The numbers have doubled in other institutions, too.
Can you tell me how your research activities are structured?
We have about 60 people; 52 do research. Each research area has one or two top people, world-renowned, who attract other researchers.
At the middle, we have fresh Ph.Ds from around the world, not just India. The third one are an interesting group: fresh graduates from B.Tech and M.Tech who come and work with us.
These are assistant researchers who work with us and eventually go for a Ph.D. They are really good! Very bright!
You are a research facility that’s attached to a company. How different is it for a prospective researcher from working in an academic institution?
There are two things that stimulate a researcher: One is peer recognition and the other is the impact his research has on the larger society.
The best way a technological researcher can affect the society around him is to work through the company that makes the technological products. There is a satisfaction when a thousand peers cheer you in a seminar hall and then there is an altogether different satisfaction when a billion people use the products that your research made happen. We offer them both.
You also hold an annual research symposium. Tell us about it.
It’s called TechVista. It is part of our efforts to create awareness about what research is and the potential that research has to make a global impact. It is a one-day symposium that brings together some of the world’s leading researchers, scientists and academics.
A number of Turing award winners (the most prestigious award in computer science) have been speakers at previous editions of TechVista and this year will also feature a Turing award winner,
Prof. John Hopcroft, as a speaker.
We’re holding it in Chennai on October 1. It’s open to all.
rkanth@thehindu.co.in
Source: Hindu Business Line
“The situation here is always improving. We at Microsoft Research India got about 60 to 70 submissions when we started. Now we get about 400 a year. The numbers have doubled in other institutions, too.”
Ravikanth Nandula
Compared to a thousand doctorates in computer science that come out of American universities every year, India produces 50. But the situation here is improving, P. Anandan, Managing Director of Microsoft Research India, says.
Excerpts from a chat with eWorld:
Could you tell me a little bit about the idea behind setting up a computer science research lab?
I was already interacting with the Indian research community for close to a decade before this lab was conceptualised.
As part of my job (leading a group researching into computer vision at Microsoft, Redmond) I would attend various technological events where research papers are presented by professors and IITians. And a lot of those papers were from third year and final year students.
At the time when I did my B.Tech (in 1977) from IIT Madras I could not tell what writing a paper even meant! That was one of the first things that made me realise that a change was on.
A second point is, back in 2003-2004, a certain area of research was becoming interesting — ICT (information and communication technologies).
It made sense that if you wanted to do research, the developing countries were the place to go to.
And India was the best place, with its opened economy, strong educational foundations and the resulting opportunities. It is still easily a leading destination.
But wasn’t the talent flying out of India at that time?
That is true of today. And that is definitely true of yesterday. But reverse migration is also happening. People who have gone abroad in the 1970s and 80s want to come back and contribute.
The economy had opened up and opportunities for people who wanted to come back were there.
In fact, setting up the labs was a recognition of these changing conditions.
How does the research environment in India fare, say, vis-a-vis, the US ?
We produce about 50 Ph.Ds a year in computer science. The US, about one thousand. Last year was especially good for them with 1,500 Ph.Ds. But don’t ignore the fact that about a quarter of them are from Indian students.
To do research, we need a critical mass of people. We need four or five faculty members who’re interested and a few students rally around them and then things get to happen.
Is this situation changing?
The situation here is always improving. We at Microsoft Research India got about 60 to 70 submissions when we started. Now we get about 400 a year. The numbers have doubled in other institutions, too.
Can you tell me how your research activities are structured?
We have about 60 people; 52 do research. Each research area has one or two top people, world-renowned, who attract other researchers.
At the middle, we have fresh Ph.Ds from around the world, not just India. The third one are an interesting group: fresh graduates from B.Tech and M.Tech who come and work with us.
These are assistant researchers who work with us and eventually go for a Ph.D. They are really good! Very bright!
You are a research facility that’s attached to a company. How different is it for a prospective researcher from working in an academic institution?
There are two things that stimulate a researcher: One is peer recognition and the other is the impact his research has on the larger society.
The best way a technological researcher can affect the society around him is to work through the company that makes the technological products. There is a satisfaction when a thousand peers cheer you in a seminar hall and then there is an altogether different satisfaction when a billion people use the products that your research made happen. We offer them both.
You also hold an annual research symposium. Tell us about it.
It’s called TechVista. It is part of our efforts to create awareness about what research is and the potential that research has to make a global impact. It is a one-day symposium that brings together some of the world’s leading researchers, scientists and academics.
A number of Turing award winners (the most prestigious award in computer science) have been speakers at previous editions of TechVista and this year will also feature a Turing award winner,
Prof. John Hopcroft, as a speaker.
We’re holding it in Chennai on October 1. It’s open to all.
rkanth@thehindu.co.in
Source: Hindu Business Line
Blog notes on OA in chemistry
Blog notes on OA in chemistry
Jan Kuras, Chemistry Central host OA session at EuCheMS Congress, Chemistry Central Blog, September 26, 2008.
Chemistry Central hosted an engaging open session - An Introduction to Open Access Publishing in Chemistry - at the recent EuCheMS Chemistry Congress in Torino, Italy [(September 16-20, 2008)].Jan Kuras, Associate Publisher at Chemistry Central, provided an overview of the strategy and business model of OA publishing and positioned it within the publishing landscape, highlighting the beneficiaries throughout the research community.Dr Livia Simon Sarkadi, from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, then examined the benefits (as well as some disadvantages) of OA publishing to the chemistry community and shared some initiatives that could be implemented to progress OA in chemistry. These included: soliciting articles from leading chemists in areas of high topicality to raise the profile of an OA journal; engaging with young chemists for whom OA publications will be part of their careers; and seeking support for OA publishing from national societies and divisions. ...
SOURCE:
Jan Kuras, Chemistry Central host OA session at EuCheMS Congress, Chemistry Central Blog, September 26, 2008.
Chemistry Central hosted an engaging open session - An Introduction to Open Access Publishing in Chemistry - at the recent EuCheMS Chemistry Congress in Torino, Italy [(September 16-20, 2008)].Jan Kuras, Associate Publisher at Chemistry Central, provided an overview of the strategy and business model of OA publishing and positioned it within the publishing landscape, highlighting the beneficiaries throughout the research community.Dr Livia Simon Sarkadi, from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, then examined the benefits (as well as some disadvantages) of OA publishing to the chemistry community and shared some initiatives that could be implemented to progress OA in chemistry. These included: soliciting articles from leading chemists in areas of high topicality to raise the profile of an OA journal; engaging with young chemists for whom OA publications will be part of their careers; and seeking support for OA publishing from national societies and divisions. ...
SOURCE:
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Rice research center takes aim at corrosion
Rice University has established a National Corrosion Center where researchers will develop better technology for preventing corrosion, particularly as it affects the oil and gas industry.
Rice will collaborate with NACE International, an association of more than 20,000 scientists, engineers and technicians worldwide involved in virtually every industry and aspect of corrosion prevention and control.
“Anything made with steel corrodes, so our system of highways and bridges, our pipelines for transporting water, oil and gas, our buildings, our aviation and transportation industries are all at risk,” said Emil Peña, executive director of the new center and also of Rice’s Energy and Environmental Systems Institute.
“We will focus on corrosion prevention and mitigation technologies that not only have the potential to improve the reliability and safety of just about everything made of steel, but also can save billions of dollars in repairs and rebuilding. This research even has biomedical implications.”
A 2001 study by the Federal Highway Administration found that corrosion costs the oil and gas industry $13.4 billion a year, while the overall cost to U.S. industry is about $276 billion.
With Rice’s expertise in nanotechnology, Peña is optimistic about developing so-called nanocoatings that can keep water away from steel surfaces.
The center is seeking government and private corporate funding.
Source: Houston Business Journal
Rice will collaborate with NACE International, an association of more than 20,000 scientists, engineers and technicians worldwide involved in virtually every industry and aspect of corrosion prevention and control.
“Anything made with steel corrodes, so our system of highways and bridges, our pipelines for transporting water, oil and gas, our buildings, our aviation and transportation industries are all at risk,” said Emil Peña, executive director of the new center and also of Rice’s Energy and Environmental Systems Institute.
“We will focus on corrosion prevention and mitigation technologies that not only have the potential to improve the reliability and safety of just about everything made of steel, but also can save billions of dollars in repairs and rebuilding. This research even has biomedical implications.”
A 2001 study by the Federal Highway Administration found that corrosion costs the oil and gas industry $13.4 billion a year, while the overall cost to U.S. industry is about $276 billion.
With Rice’s expertise in nanotechnology, Peña is optimistic about developing so-called nanocoatings that can keep water away from steel surfaces.
The center is seeking government and private corporate funding.
Source: Houston Business Journal
Scientists solve 100-year-old engineering problem
Sept. 26, 2008As a car accelerates up and down a hill then slows to follow a hairpin turn, the airflow around it cannot keep up and detaches from the vehicle. This aerodynamic separation creates additional drag that slows the car and forces the engine to work harder. The same phenomenon affects airplanes, boats, submarines, and even your golf ball.
Now, in work that could lead to ways of controlling the effect with potential impacts on fuel efficiency and more, MIT scientists and colleagues have reported new mathematical and experimental work for predicting where that aerodynamic separation will occur.
The research solves "a century-old problem in the field of fluid mechanics," or the study of how fluids—which for scientists include gases and liquids—move, says George Haller, a visiting professor in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Haller's group developed the new theory, while Thomas Peacock, the Atlantic Richfield Career Development Associate Professor in the same department, led the experimental effort.
Papers on the experiments and theory are being published in the Sept. 25 issue of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics and in the September issue of Physics of Fluids, respectively.
Fluid flows affect everything in our world, from blood flow to geophysical convection. As a result, engineers constantly seek ways of controlling separation in those flows to reduce losses and increase efficiency. One recent accomplishment: the sleek, full-body swimsuits used at the Beijing Olympics.
Controlling fluid flows lies at the heart of a wide range of scientific problems, including improving the performance of vehicles, Peacock says.
READ MORE...
Source: R&D Magazine
Now, in work that could lead to ways of controlling the effect with potential impacts on fuel efficiency and more, MIT scientists and colleagues have reported new mathematical and experimental work for predicting where that aerodynamic separation will occur.
The research solves "a century-old problem in the field of fluid mechanics," or the study of how fluids—which for scientists include gases and liquids—move, says George Haller, a visiting professor in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Haller's group developed the new theory, while Thomas Peacock, the Atlantic Richfield Career Development Associate Professor in the same department, led the experimental effort.
Papers on the experiments and theory are being published in the Sept. 25 issue of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics and in the September issue of Physics of Fluids, respectively.
Fluid flows affect everything in our world, from blood flow to geophysical convection. As a result, engineers constantly seek ways of controlling separation in those flows to reduce losses and increase efficiency. One recent accomplishment: the sleek, full-body swimsuits used at the Beijing Olympics.
Controlling fluid flows lies at the heart of a wide range of scientific problems, including improving the performance of vehicles, Peacock says.
READ MORE...
Source: R&D Magazine
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