News Briefs

Jmar Technologies Inc. of San Diego, Calif., a developer of laser-based equipment for imaging, analysis and fabrication at the nanoscale, has received a Phase I SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) grant from the US Army to support research leading to the development of a compact laser system, based on the company's Britelight technology, to remotely detect hazardous materials in the field. The system will be designed for adjustable, dual-pulse mode operation to support laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Funding for Phase I, which is expected to last six months, is $100,000. . . . OrthoNetx Inc., a Superior, Colo.-based provider of medical devices for osteoplastic surgery (the medical process of generating new bone and soft tissue growth), has acquired 20 percent of High Precision Devices Inc. of Boulder, a manufacturer of precision mechanical instrumentation integrated with optics, cryogenics and electronics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. . . . Nanometrics Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., a supplier of advanced integrated and standalone metrology equipment for the semiconductor industry, has appointed Ronald Beeson to the new position of corporate controller, effective immediately. Beeson was most recently controller for Vnus Medical Technologies.