Kennedy Hired as President, EO Japan
Optical components provider Edmund Optics (EO) of Barrington, N.J., announced the appointment of Timothy Paul Kennedy as president, Edmund Optics Japan. Kennedy replaces veteran Isao Wakasa, who pioneered the development of the EO sales location in February 1994 and retired in May 2009. Kennedy's responsibilities include sales, marketing, and operations strategy for the Tokyo team, as well as regional participation in the strategic sales growth for all of Asia. He has five years of experience directing the sales & marketing team at EO Singapore, including the development of the Korean office, multiple Asian Web sites, and a fully translated Japanese Master Source Book. Kennedy has a BS in optical engineering from the University of Arizona and speaks English, Mandarin, and Japanese. (7/3/2009)
Dugan Named DARPA Director
Regina E. Dugan has been appointed as the 19th director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Defense (DoD) announced. DARPA is the principal agency within the DoD for high-risk, high-payoff projects in research, development, and demonstration of concepts, devices, and systems that provide highly advanced military capabilities for current and future combat forces. Dugan has held several key positions in industry, most recently as president and CEO of RedXDefense LLC, which she co-founded in 2005, a company that develops defense against explosive threats. She has also served in senior executive positions in several additional companies in roles ranging from global sales and marketing to research and product development. During her first tour at DARPA from January 1996 to May 2000, Dugan received the program manager of the year award for her leadership of the “Dog’s Nose Program,” which was focused on the development of an advanced, field-portable system for detecting the explosive content of land mines. She is also the recipient of the deFleury Medal, the office of the secretary of defense award for exceptional service, and the award for outstanding achievement. She has participated in wide-ranging studies for the Defense Science Board, the Army Science Board, the National Research Council and Science Foundation, and currently sits on the Naval Research Advisory Committee and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Science and Technology Panel. Dugan earned her doctorate in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology and her master's and bachelor's degrees from Virginia Tech. She is the co-author of “Engineering Thermodynamics” (1996), sole inventor on one issued patent and inventor or co-inventor on nine additional patents pending. (7/3/2009)
Bruker Gets 1st EPR Spectrometer Order
Bruker BioSpin of Karlsruhe, Germany, announced its first order for an Elexsys™ E780 system, the first commercial mm-wave 263-GHz EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) spectrometer and its EPR division's first foray into quasi-optical microwave technology. The E780 incorporates a
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A very high frequency EPR probe. (Photo: Bruker BioSpin)
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unique superconducting magnet that can be ramped up to 12 Tesla, and when combined with new EPR probe technology for optimum sensitivity, can measure large samples up to 5 mm. The E780 provides multiple turnkey operation modes including CW- and Pulse-EPR, as well as ENDOR (electron nuclear double resonance) and ELDOR (electron-electron double resonance), enabling research groups to use 263-GHz EPR technology routinely for the first time. The first E780 system is expected to be installed at the Helmholtz-Zentrum in Berlin in late 2009 for pioneering new EPR applications in solar energy and photovoltaic research, as the new instrument can provide important details about the structure of defects in thin-film silicon solar cells. The complete E780 order totals more than $2.2 million and was supported by the recent German stimulus package “Konjunkturpaket.” It represents the start of a new research collaboration project between Bruker and the Helmholtz-Zentrum on EPR probe development for electrical detection. (7/3/2009)
Universal Display Nabs $750K for Flexible OLEDs
Phosphorescent organic LED (PHOLED) provider Universal Display Corp. of Ewing, N.J., has been awarded a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract from the US Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a nonglass, ejection-safe, flexible OLED display prototype for prospective use by pilots in tactical cockpit settings. Combined with military display systems from L-3 Comunications and backplane technology from LG Display, the PHOLED display prototype will be energy efficient, offer full-color video rate and have wireless communications capabilities. In addition, it will be flexible enough to be wrapped around a cylinder for easy storage during flight. The design goal is to provide Air Force pilots with a replacement for printed maps and checklists typically held on their knees in tactical cockpits. In Phase I, Universal demonstrated the initial technical feasibility of such a display. Under terms of Phase II, the team will deliver four breadboard subsystems based on a bright 6-in. diagonal, full-color, low power consumption PHOLED display on flexible metal foil. These displays will then be wrapped around cylinders containing power supplies and wireless communications electronics for evaluation in a tactical cockpit setting. (7/2/2009)
UK, China Fund Spintronics Study
A team of researchers from the University of Surrey and two other institutions have been awarded a grant of around £430,000 (about $704,000) to develop prototype ultrasmall-scale silicon structures for "spintronic" semiconductors. Jointly awarded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the National Science Foundation of China, the three-year grant exploits Chinese expertise in silicon fabrication nanotechnology and UK expertise in observing and controlling the way electrons spin within semiconductors. "Silicon-Based Nanospintronics" brings together experts from the London Centre for Nanotechnology at University College London, the Institute of Microelectronics at Peking University and the University of Surrey's Advanced Technology Institute who have proposed a new way of manipulating electron spins with laser beams. The work could eventually lead to cheaper and more sophisticated processing technologies for computers. The spin of electrons is a fundamental quantum mechanical phenomenon which causes them to behave like small magnets. In normal electronic devices the spin is not relevant, but the increased energy dissipation and performance variability associated with smaller devices is spurring a search for "spintronic" methods and devices where information is carried by the spin itself. While silicon has not been the material of choice for spintronic research to date because of its very weak magnetic properties, there is interest because of its extremely high purity and the far cheaper and more sophisticated processing technologies available for silicon. (7/2/2009)