Applied Physics

Fairbanks, Alaska—A 150-meter ice core pulled from the McCall Glacier in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this summer may offer researchers their first quantitative look at up to two centuries of climate change in the region. The core, which is longer than 11/2 football fields, is the longest extracted from an arctic glacier in the United States, according to Matt Nolan, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Northern Engineering who has led research at McCall Glacier for the past six years. The sample spans the entire depth of the glacier and may cover…

Similar to the unique make-up of a human fingerprint, each artist has a technique inimitable to only them. Scientists have recently applied this idea to finding a new way of determining the authenticity of an art piece. Using Van Gogh’s paintings and a digital analysis system, Penn State researchers James Z. Wang and Jia Li, are doing their part to help solve counterfeit painting schemes using computer science and engineering. The system used by Wang and Li involves high resolution scans of Van Gogh paintings from the Van Gogh and Kröller-Müller Museums in the Netherlands. By breaking each…

A newly developed nano-sized electronic device is an important step toward helping astronomers see invisible light dating from the creation of the universe. This invisible light makes up 98% of the light emitted since the "big bang," and may provide insights into the earliest stages of star and galaxy formation almost 14 billion years ago. The tiny, new circuit, developed by physicsts at Rutgers University, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the State University of New York at Buffalo, is 100 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. It is sensitive to faint…

ARNHEM, The Netherlands, July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- ARCADIS (EURONEXT: ARCAD), the international consultancy, design, engineering and management services company, announced today that the Company has been selected by the Cleantech Group(TM), LLC to join its prestigious Cleantech Index(TM) (AMEX: CTIUS) of public cleantech companies, effective June 30, 2008. The Cleantech Group's Cleantech Index is the first, and only, equity index to offer investors and index licensees an easy, liquid and cost-effective way to track and invest in the broad cleantech category. Unlike indices that specifically…

Imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building they are part of. MIT engineers report a new approach to harnessing the sun's energy that could allow just that. The work involves the creation of a novel 'solar concentrator.' "Light is collected over a large area [like a window] and gathered, or concentrated, at the edges," explains Marc A. Baldo, leader of the work and the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering. As a result, rather than covering a roof…

HOUSTON, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- - Accretive Transaction Strengthens ION's Portfolio of Land Seismic Imaging Systems - Conference Call Scheduled for Wednesday, July 9th at 9 AM EDT ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of ARAM Systems Ltd., a Canadian-based provider of cable-based land seismic recording systems, and its affiliate company, Canadian Seismic Rentals, Inc. Of the gross purchase price of CDN $350 million, US $275 million will be paid in cash while the remainder will be paid in ION…

WAALWIJK, The Netherlands, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Industrial Automation Integrators (IAI) B.V. in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, a subsidiary of DOCDATA N.V. in Waalwijk, the Netherlands, will supply two BookMaster One systems to AB Svenska Pass in Tumba, Sweden. The BookMaster One systems will be used for the personalisation of the Swedish passport. BookMaster One systems perform the entire personalisation of a passport in one pass through the machine, including a quality verification of all processing done. Thus, the system is able to turn blank passports offered to the machine, into fully…

Scientists have long been fascinated by structure of bone. Bone is very light but can withstand heavy pressure and he inside is like a sponge so bone is firm and compact in certain places and porous in others. The construction industry would love to have materials like bone. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research have developed a simulation program that calculates the internal structure and density distribution of bone material and, from that, the scientists were able to derive the material structure for other components. The…

CAMBRIDGE, England and ACTON, Massachusetts, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- - Carbon Forms new Irvine, Calif. Development Facility CAMBRIDGE, England and ACTON, Massachusetts, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- ARM (LSE:ARM) (Nasdaq:ARMH), and Carbon Design Systems(TM), the leading supplier of tools for the automatic creation, validation and deployment of system level models, announced today an agreement under which Carbon will take over future development, support and sale of the SoC Designer tool. Key members of the ARM(R) SoC Designer development team will join Carbon Design Systems and form a new Carbon…

Millions of years of evolution have maximized the efficiency of how sea creatures move through water while humans have been trying to perfect streamlined designs for barely a century - but we're catching up. Biologists and engineers from across the U.S. have been studying the flippers, fins and tails of whales and dolphins and discovered some features of their structure that contradict long-held engineering theories. Dr. Frank Fish of West Chester University will talk about the impact these discoveries may have on traditional industrial designs on Tuesday 8th July at the Society for…