Tau Bate-Engineering FYI, December 2009

Two research centers at Clemson University are garnering national interest as leaders and models for other engineering research centers.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded Clemson’s Restoration Institute a grant to “lead a wind turbine research facility in Charleston (SC) and create an immediate 100 jobs for its construction.”

The Institute was established in 2004 and the resilient infrastructure division is lead by Nadim M. Aziz, MS B ’79. Read more from school news release

The International Center for Automotive Research, ICAR, is working on cutting edge research for the cars of tomorrow.

Current research at ICAR includes work on an airless tire.
Students and professor John Ziegert, IN A ’69, are working on the tire concept with Michelin. ICAR is also working on the construction of massive wind turbines and recently hosted visitor, Energy Secretary, Steven Chu.
Read article about other projects at ICAR

Τ

Traditionally antennas are made from copper but researchers at North Carolina State University are “using a new combination of alloys (and) have created shape-shifting antennas that could be embedded into textiles, bandages, and bendable displays.”

Co-author of the research, Michael Dickey, GA A ’99, describes the new antennas, “(they) can be bent, stretched, cut, and twisted and will return to its original shape.”

Currently, the antennas radiate at 90 percent efficiency and are more expensive than copper-based products. Application of this research could be found in many fields, including military, construction, and eventually personal use.
Read full article

Β

The National Science Foundation is funding a three-year study into keeping “power-hungry components from crashing smaller electrical grids.”

The research is being led by Wayne Weaver, MI Z ’97, at Michigan Technological University. Weaver believes that “communication and power-sharing among components will prevent crashes and allow the overall system to operate more efficiently.” Read more from AP

Π