STIMULATING THE BRAIN
By Jean Thilmany

In a new twist on the uses of ultrasound, a group of neuroscientists at Arizona State University in Tempe has developed pulsed ultrasound techniques that can remotely stimulate brain circuit activity. The techniques, they say, can help activate nonresponsive brain circuits.

The researchers’ findings, published in the Oct. 29 issue of the journal Public Library of Science One, show that low-power ultrasound offers potential for new treatments of brain disorders and disease, the researchers said.

For example, the techniques might be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorders, traumatic brain injury, or Alzheimer’s disease, said William Tyler, the lead investigator. He’s an assistant professor of neurobiology and bioimaging at the university.

Many of the brain-stimulation methods traditionally used by neuroscientists require electrodes to be implanted in the brain, Tyler said. The search for new types of noninvasive neurostimulation methods led his team to revisit ultrasound.

The ASU research group discovered that remotely delivered low-intensity, low-frequency ultrasound can stimulate the electrical activity of neurons.

What about using his group’s methods to remotely control brain activity?

It’s possible, Tyler said.

“One might be able to envision potential applications ranging from medical interventions to use in video gaming, or the creation of artificial memories along the lines of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in Total Recall,” Tyler said.    

SIGNS OF FUTURE ENGINEERS
By Peter Easton

It all adds up: Early achievement in math may identify future scientists and engineers.

New research published in the October issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that there may be a way to identify budding scientists and engineers and thus be able to guide them, from a young age, to careers that will enable them to make the most of their abilities.

Vanderbilt University psychologists Gregory Park, David Lubinski, and Camilla P. Benbow wanted to see if early mathematical reasoning ability would be predictive of future accomplishments in scientific and technical fields. The researchers identified 1,500 young adolescents who had scored in the top 1 percent on the math portion of the SAT. The researchers looked to see how many of those youths, 25 years later, had gone on to publish articles in peer-reviewed journals, receive advanced degrees, and earn patents. The researchers grouped the participants according to the degrees they had earned, then examined within each group the relationship between SAT math scores and scientific creativity (as determined by journal publications and patents earned).

The researchers found that there were more peer-reviewed journal authors and patent holders in the doctorate group compared to the bachelor’s and master’s degree groups. However, more interesting was the finding that within each advanced degree group, adolescents who had scored highest on the SAT math test were most likely to have authored a peer-reviewed scientific publication or to have earned a patent as adults. Also, when the researchers looked only at participants who earned graduate degrees from schools ranked in the top 15 for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduate programs, the participants who scored highest on the SAT math test still achieved more scientific accomplishments as adults.

NOT IN THE KNOW
By Jean Thilmany

Nanotechnology and synthetic biology may be the big buzzwords for the scientific community, but they’re mostly unknown to many Americans.

A recent poll found that almost half the adults in the United States haven’t heard of nanotechnology, while nearly nine in 10 Americans said they have heard just a little or nothing about the emerging field of synthetic biology.

The report was jointly conducted by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and by Peter D. Hart Research, both of Washington, D.C.

According to the poll, the level of U.S. public awareness about nanotechnology has not changed measurably since 2004, when Hart Research conducted the first poll on the topic on behalf of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

The project, also known as PEN, was established in April 2005 by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Pew Charitable Trusts. On its Web site, PEN says it “is dedicated to helping ensure that as nanotechnologies advance, possible risks are minimized, public and consumer engagement remains strong, and the potential benefits of these new technologies are realized.”

Nanotechnology and synthetic biology both involve manipulating matter at very small scale to achieve something new.

Synthetic biology is the use of advanced science and engineering to construct or redesign living organisms—like bacteria—so they can carry out specific functions, said David Rejeski, PEN’s director.

This emerging technology is likely to develop rapidly in the coming years, much as nanotechnology did in the last decade, he said.

About half of those polled said they were too unsure about nanotechnology to make an initial judgment on the possible tradeoffs between benefits and risks.

Of those people who were willing to make an initial judgment, three times as many said benefits would outweigh risks, compared with those who said risks would outweigh benefits.      

SOUTH AFRICA GETS NEW POWER PLANT
By Peter Easton

SPX Corp., an engineering solutions company based in Charlotte, N.C., reported that its thermal equipment and services affiliate has been awarded a $124 million contract with Hitachi Power Africa (Pty.) Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi Power Europe GmbH, to provide key products for the new Kusile power station in South Africa.

“Our highly efficient filters and air preheaters will help reduce emissions and enhance the productivity of Kusile,” said Drew Ladau, SPX segment president. “We’re pleased to work with Hitachi Power Africa in helping South Africa meet its increasing demand for electric power.”

Kusile, formerly referred to as Project Bravo, is the second of two coal-fired power stations being built by Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned utility company. Eskom has awarded a contract to a consortium of Hitachi Power Europe and its subsidiary Hitachi Power Africa to manufacture, build, and supply steam generators for the approximately 4,800 megawatt station, which will be constructed in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Under the present contract, SPX has agreed to provide Balcke Duerr branded pulse jet fabric filters and air preheaters, as well as to manufacture pressure parts for the boilers at the plant. Eskom expects the first generating unit at the Kusile station to be completed in late 2012, followed by the completion of additional units every six months. SPX previously reported that it also will provide feedwater heaters and air-cooled condensers for this facility.

SPX established its manufacturing presence in Nigel, South Africa, in 1970.     

HIGH PRODUCTIVITY MARKS FOR SUPERCONDUCTIVE INDUCTION
By Alan S. Brown

Often, the first thing heard about a new technology is the best thing about it. Only later do we learn that the new do-it-all phone drops people from the network or that the compact gear cannot handle high torques.

It’s understandable then that a manufacturer will want to spread the word when something works out. And that is the message about a new induction heater that uses high-temperature superconductor technology to heat metals quickly and evenly. The technology was developed by Zenergy Power plc. It has not only slashed energy consumption by 50 percent—expected—but also boosted productivity by 25 percent for a manufacturer in Germany.

Weseralu GmbH, a small German aluminum extruder that retrofitted one machine with the heater, saved $75,000 in annual energy costs. It earned four times as much— $300,000—in productivity gains. Companies that run larger extruders could achieve energy savings of up to $500,000 and productivity gains of up to $2.8 million per year, said Zenergy’s CEO, Jens Mueller.

Installed in this aluminum extruding line at Weseralu’s plant in Germany, Zenergy Power’s superconductive induction heater saved energy and increased productivity.

Induction heaters raise temperatures by rotating a metal billet in the magnetic field induced by the superconductor. The change in polarities as the billet moves in and out of the magnetic field quickly raises the temperature of the metal. The strong magnetic fields produced by high-temperature superconductors heat metals faster and more homogeneously than conventional electromagnetic induction heaters.

“Conventional induction heaters need more time to reach the uniform temperatures needed to turn the billet into a profile,” Mueller said. “Once Weseralu learned to fine-tune its process to take advantage of our narrower processing window, it found it could process billets at more than twice its original speed.”

Superconductors use far less energy than electromagnets because they recirculate electrical current without any losses. Once they are charged, they remain charged as long as they are cooled to superconducting temperatures. It takes far less energy to power a cryogenic cooling system than to operate a conventional electromagnet.

Mueller said the productivity advantages make superconducting induction heating a great investment. He said that Zenergy is already talking to 10 prospects about aluminum extrusion for building products like window frames, aerospace components, and automotive exterior trim. The company is also focused on copper extrusion systems and has had discussions with magnesium and titanium extruders.

Over the long term, Mueller thinks that the technology’s fast heat time could help forgers optimize microstructure. Its energy savings may also make it viable for induction melting for aluminum smelters.

BULLISH ON POWERTRAINS
By Peter Easton

Despite the contraction currently occurring within the global auto industry, BorgWarner Inc. said that it expected to get $2.1 billion in new powertrain business from 2009 through 2011. That would be an 8 percent increase over its previous three-year new business.

A VTG turbocharger from BorgWarner, which expects to buck a global trend.

Demand for the company’s environmentally friendly technologies, such as gasoline and diesel turbochargers and dual-clutch transmission technology, is expected to continue to drive a growth rate for the company that exceeds that of the overall auto industry, according to the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based company.

BorgWarner is a provider of highly engineered engine and drivetrain components and systems that address critical environmental needs, such as fuel economy and air quality. The majority of the company’s new business comes from outside of North America, with 80 percent of the programs expected to be launched in Asia and Europe over the three years.

Of the total new business, 80 percent is expected to come from engine-related products, such as turbochargers, ignition systems, emissions products, engine timing systems, variable cam timing modules, and thermal systems. The other 20 percent is expected in drivetrain-related products, including the company’s fuel-efficient DualTronic transmission technology and its traditional automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive technologies.     

NEW WEB VIEWING FEATURE

An Internet-based parts supplier, Quickparts, has introduced a new feature on its Web site that permits review of submitted stereolithography files. The service, called MyQuote3D, permits users to view .stl files in 3-D, even if they do not have a CAD system installed on their desktop computers.

The company provides prototype and production parts through its Web site, quickparts.com. Customers can submit an .stl file at the Web site through a system called QuickQuote, which analyzes the file and quotes a price instantly.

The new feature lets a customer review a file in 3-D to check for faulty details in the model—thin walls, bad edges, and the like—even if there is no CAD system installed on the viewer’s computer.

Art Siegert, Quickparts’ director of marketing, said the feature will be useful for purchasers and others who may request bids but may not have access to a company’s CAD software. MyQuote3D is largely read-only, permitting only changes in annotation, Siegert said.

MyQuote3D is available at www.quickparts.com/myquote3d.  

BRIEFLY NOTED

Palmer Instruments Inc. has received a major contract for a special thermometer for the F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter aircraft, built by Lockheed Martin. The contract will result in several new jobs at the Palmer Wahl facility located in Woodfin, N.C. /// SAS Gouda BV, a Dutch supplier to the oil and gas and maritime industries, has acquired 33.33 percent of a Norwegian company, AXTech AS. The acquisition of shares is expected to broaden SAS’s position as a supplier of engineered deck equipment for the offshore industry. /// American Superconductor Corp., a leading energy technologies company, announced that it has received an order for four distribution voltage Static VAR Compensator systems from one of North America’s largest energy companies. All four systems will be used to improve pumping station performance for a major crude oil pipeline. AMSC will deliver the systems during the first half of 2009 and also will provide start-up services and staff training. /// Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Md., and Infinite Power Solutions, based in King Of Prussia, Pa., announced the signing of a cooperative agreement to apply unique Micro Energy Cell products from IPS to systems and solutions that Lockheed Martin is developing for military and civil applications. /// General Dynamics Land Systems, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., has been awarded a $22 million work order from Force Protection Inc., to produce spare parts for the Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicle program. Force Protection and General Dynamics are partners in the production and program management of MRAP contracts with the U.S. Marine Corps. Work is performed at General Dynamics and Force Protection locations in Michigan and South Carolina. /// PartMaker Inc. of Fort Washington, Pa., is now shipping PartMaker version 9, a computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing suite for programming CNC mills, lathes, and wire EDM machines. /// Mechanical Simulation Corp. of Ann Arbor, Mich., has released BikeSim 2, an upgraded version of its motorcycle vehicle dynamics program.