In the News, April 2010

Tau Beta Pi would like to announce the first annual National Robotics Week, this week April 10-18.

Visit the National Robotics Week 2010: Experience the Possibilities website for information about the celebration and education of robotics technology and development.

Be sure to check to see if there are any events or opportunities in your area to “inspire students of all ages to pursue careers in robotics and other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-related fields.”

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The Free Press is reporting on a new “three-year alliance to share research on technologies such as robotics, radar, barriers and other energy storage devices,” between Chrysler and NASA.

The partnership rekindles the relationship from when “Chrysler worked with NASA in its early days, building Redstone rockets for the Mercury Project which put the first American in space.”

Read the article for more information

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Researchers at MIT’s Biomolecular Materials Group have found a way to “use a modified virus… that can assemble the nanoscale components needed to split a water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen atoms.”

Led by Angela Belcher, the team “has found a novel way to mimic the process by which plants use the power of sunlight to split water and make chemical fuel to power their growth.”

Although the process is not yet commercially viable, it could make hydrogen-fueled cars considerably more competitive in the future. Read more

Advances are described in a paper published in the April 11 issue of Nature Nanotechnology. See the news release from MIT

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