The Engineer
June 2004 Online
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Analysis goes wireless
30 Jun 2004
Parker Hannifin has added the power of Bluetooth to its MS100 Moisture Sensor and its range of portable particle analysers.
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Buying into the WAN
30 Jun 2004
Cisco Systems has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Los Gatos, California-based Actona Technologies, a developer of wide-area file services software, for $82 million.
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All the way to the bank
30 Jun 2004
Dave Wilson went back to University last week to study why specialisation at an early age might not be a bad thing.
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Solid Edge targets process industry
30 Jun 2004
Version 16 of UGS' Solid Edge 3D computer-aided design (CAD) system has been expanded to add capabilities to ease the design of complex process equipment.
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Nanoshells kill cancer
30 Jun 2004
A revolutionary new form of cancer therapy in development at Rice University has proven effective at eradicating tumours in laboratory animals during the first phase of animal testing.
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Bahrain goes ballistic for radar system
30 Jun 2004
The US Marine Corps has awarded Lockheed Martin a $43.6 million contract to provide an AN/TPS- 59(V)3B ballistic missile defence radar system for the Kingdom of Bahrain.
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BAE Systems awarded Chinook contract
30 Jun 2004
Boeing has selected BAE Systems to develop the digital flight control computer for the newest version of the US Army's CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopter.
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Finnair places $320 million order
30 Jun 2004
Finnair announced today that it has placed a $320 million order for 12 76-seat Embraer 170 jet aircraft, with options for another eight.
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Handing it over
29 Jun 2004
Nortel Networks is to sell off most of its design, systems integration, final assembly, testing and repair operations to Flextronics in a multi-million dollar transaction.
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Polymer modifier
29 Jun 2004
DuPont's Fusabond AEB-560D is a new copolymer that will help compounders boost toughness and incorporate glass fibre and other fillers into a wide range of plastics.
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Gesticulating for blood sugar measurements
29 Jun 2004
Researchers at Penn State University have developed a new under-skin sensor that monitors blood sugar levels with a wave of the arm.
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Keeping computers quiet
29 Jun 2004
Brigham Young University physics professor Scott Sommerfeldt has created a noise suppression system that can reduce the whirl of office equipment cooling fans to a soft whisper.
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New chip is easy on the eye
29 Jun 2004
Stanford University researchers have developed a prototype for a new kind of implantable chip that could be adapted to serve as a prosthetic retina or a drug-delivery system.
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AMEC wins key nuclear clean-up contract
29 Jun 2004
AMEC is to use its GeoMelt technology for the next stage of the world's largest environmental clean-up project at the massive US nuclear weapons site in Hanford, Washington.
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Microsoft settles antitrust lawsuit
29 Jun 2004
In one of the largest antitrust lawsuits to date, Microsoft has agreed to settle with another US state in a class-action case that alleged claims of violation of antitrust laws.
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Shaking it in China
29 Jun 2004
Renault plans to join forces with the Chinese Dongfeng Motor Company to form a joint venture company in China that will make 300,000 Renault automobiles a year for the Chinese market by 2006.
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National Grid makes $2 billion acquisition
29 Jun 2004
Crown Castle International has signed a definitive agreement to sell its UK subsidiary to National Grid Transco for $2.035 billion in cash.
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Powertrain pact
29 Jun 2004
The Suzuki Motor Corporation is to produce variants of General Motors' global V-6 engine for use in future Suzuki cars and trucks.
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Ethanol from waste
29 Jun 2004
The first license for a strain of yeast developed at Purdue University that makes ethanol from agricultural residues more effectively has been issued to biotechnology company Iogen.
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No threat yet
28 Jun 2004
Manufacturers' orders weakened slightly in June but not enough to suggest a threat to the sector's recovery, according to the CBI's Monthly Industrial Trends survey published last Thursday.
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Detecting the extra
25 Jun 2004
A Loughborough University researcher has teamed up with scientists from Italy to develop a unique optical fingerprinting system to detect extra virgin oil from the fakes.
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UK pledges £15 million for nuke clean up
25 Jun 2004
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt today announced a £15 million grant to Russia to help pay for a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.
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Danger: blast area
25 Jun 2004
Novel optical sensors that can withstand the extreme environments within an explosion or a jet engine simulation rig are now being developed in the UK.
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Boeing develops a sense for Goodrich
24 Jun 2004
Boeing has selected Goodrich Corporation to supply the Proximity Sensing System for the new Boeing 7E7 Dreamliner passenger aircraft.
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Steering clear of mines
24 Jun 2004
QinetiQ has unveiled the Diver Reconnaissance System, a new underwater navigation and search system that will increase the effectiveness of mine clearance divers.
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Ethernet switch for all seasons
24 Jun 2004
Canoga Perkins has announced the release of the new HS8000, a new temperature-hardened, managed Ethernet switch for harsh environments.
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Uniting incompatible databanks
24 Jun 2004
NASA scientists recently developed a software framework that unites normally incompatible computer data management systems to improve performance and increase efficiency.
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Chilling effect of iron supplement
24 Jun 2004
Scientists at NIST have discovered that a pinch of iron boosts the cooling performance of a material considered key to the development of magnetic refrigerators.
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Silencing jumbos and hawks
24 Jun 2004
Ohio State University researchers have developed a silencer technology that creates electrical arcs to control turbulence in aircraft engine exhaust airflow, the chief cause of engine noise.
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Bowling robots into battle
24 Jun 2004
Researchers in the US have developed Dragon Runner, a small, hand-deployed remote-controlled prototype robot designed for military surveillance in urban settings.
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Breath tests to diagnose disease
23 Jun 2004
The latest spin-out company from Oxford University, Oxford Medical Diagnostics Ltd, hopes to develop a way of diagnosing disease simply by testing someone's breath.
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Tunis rides with Alstom trams
23 Jun 2004
The Société du Métro Léger de Tunis (SMLT) has announced the provisional award to Alstom of an order worth 80 million Euros for 30 CITADIS tramways.
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Nanocrystals light the way
23 Jun 2004
A wireless nanodevice that functions like a fluorescent light has been developed in a joint project between researchers at Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories.
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Not going green
23 Jun 2004
Government emphasis on voluntary environmental action is unlikely to have a significant effect on the environmental practices of SMEs, according to researchers at Kingston University, Surrey.
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Redefining power laser diodes
22 Jun 2004
CA-based Quintessence Photonics Corporation has successfully manufactured a two dimensional monolithic high power array of laser diodes that emit light from the surface of the semiconductor wafer in which they were fabricated.
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World´s first 16 Mbit MRAM
22 Jun 2004
Infineon Technologies and IBM have presented what they describe as the world's first 16 Mbit Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM).
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GaAs HBT for demanding phones
22 Jun 2004
RF Micro Devices has announced the availability of its series of gallium arsenide heterojunction bipolar transistor driver power amplifiers for cellular base station infrastructure applications.
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Cypress buys CMOS sensors
22 Jun 2004
Cypress Semiconductor is to acquire FillFactory, a Belgium-based leader in active pixel CMOS image sensor technology, for $100 million.
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Cisco Systems pockets Procket
21 Jun 2004
Cisco Systems is to purchase the intellectual property, a majority of the engineering team and select assets from privately-held Procket Networks for $89 million.
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Broadband PON on a chip
21 Jun 2004
Freescale Semiconductor has unveiled what it claims is the industry's first system-on-chip solution for broadband passive optical networking.
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English waste, Irish sea
21 Jun 2004
BNFL has been slapped on the wrists over its failure to properly maintain pipelines at its Sellafield plant that are used to discharge low level radioactive waste into the Irish Sea.
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Printable silicon for electronic systems
18 Jun 2004
By carving specks of single crystal silicon from a bulk wafer and casting them onto sheets of plastic, scientists have demonstrated a route to ultrahigh performance, mechanically flexible thin-film transistors.
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Fresh mesh
18 Jun 2004
A US computer scientist has created a new algorithm to compress the large files that represent 3-D shapes used in animations, video games and other computer graphics applications.
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Bound by gold
18 Jun 2004
"Nanodumbells" - gold-tipped nanocrystals which can be used as highly efficient building blocks for devices in the emerging nanotechnology industry - have been developed by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Hitting new highs
18 Jun 2004
According to iSuppli Corp, the semiconductor industry hit the 'sweet spot' in 2004, with supply and demand aligning to generate strong growth.
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Putting lasers in the shade
18 Jun 2004
University of Central Florida researchers are developing an eyeglass-like device that would react quickly enough to prevent laser beams from blinding soldiers and pilots.
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Alcatel and Finmeccanica form space alliance
18 Jun 2004
Alcatel and Finmeccanica today signed a memorandum of understanding to merge their space activities and form alliances in the space sector through the creation of two sister companies.
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Seeing further with fibre
17 Jun 2004
Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe has won a multi-million pound contract to supply new long-distance optical fibre links for the e-MERLIN large-array radio astronomy project.
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NASA awards BAE Systems $20 million
17 Jun 2004
BAE Systems has received a $20 million contract to design the Hyperspectral Environmental Suite, a new atmospheric sounding/coastal water imaging instrument for NASA.
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Atmos Energy acquires gas in Texas
17 Jun 2004
In a major expansion of its natural gas distribution business, Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) is to buy the TXU Gas Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of TXU, in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.925 billion.
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Wind power on the increase in Italy
17 Jun 2004
Enel SpA, the largest electric utility in Italy, has signed an agreement with US wind giant GE Energy to purchase 71 of GE's 1.5MW wind turbines during 2004 and 2005.
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PXI switch
17 Jun 2004
Automated test engineers now can create high-density switch systems in a single PXI chassis by using a PXI switch module from National Instruments combined with the company's Switch Executive software.
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Terahertz light to help end terror
17 Jun 2004
Smiths Detection and TeraView are to co-develop a next-generation hand-held security wand that utilises terahertz light waves to detect and identify weapons concealed beneath clothing.
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VME rivals no more
17 Jun 2004
Motorola is to acquire Force Computers, the embedded computing business presently owned by Solectron Corporation, for an undisclosed sum.
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Boeing awards billions to Smiths Aerospace
17 Jun 2004
The UK's Smiths Aerospace has been awarded $1.6 billion to supply the landing gear and high lift actuation systems for Boeing's new 7E7 passenger aircraft.
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The road to China
16 Jun 2004
With manufacturers outsourcing everthing from machined components to cargo doors to China, Dave Wilson asks what might be manufactured there next?
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Capturing your thoughts
16 Jun 2004
A team led by University of California neurobiologists has developed an approach to interpreting brain electroencephalograms that provides an unprecedented view of thought in action.
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UAVs at sea
16 Jun 2004
Northrop Grumman has successfully demonstrated a shipboard mission control system that will allow unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UAVs) to operate on board aircraft carriers.
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Vienna places 357 million Euro tram order
16 Jun 2004
Siemens Transportation and consortium partner, Elin have been awarded 357 million Euros to supply 150 ultra-low-floor trams to the Viennese transit operator Wiener Linien.
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Cheaper MFC produces more electricity
16 Jun 2004
Engineers have made a modification to their prototype microbial fuel cell (MFC), making the device less costly and capable of producing six times more electricity from domestic wastewater.
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Virgin orders Airbus aircraft
16 Jun 2004
Virgin America yesterday ordered 18 Airbus aircraft, including 11 A319s and seven A320s. The airline will also lease 15 A320 aircraft from GE Capital Aviation Services.
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China's auto suppliers could face bumpy road
15 Jun 2004
As China's automotive suppliers rush to meet the demands of the world's fastest-growing automotive market, an overcapacity problem may be brewing.
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Jump-starting human embryonic stem cell work
15 Jun 2004
An MIT team has developed new technology that could jump-start scientists' ability to create specific cell types from human embryonic stem cells.
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BTTB orders $41 million mobile network
15 Jun 2004
Bangladesh's state-owned mobile operator, BTTB has signed a $41 million contract with Siemens mobile to set up a mobile network in key districts of the country.
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Roughing up implants
15 Jun 2004
Medical implants - from catheters that deliver long-term life support to joint replacements - may work better when their surfaces are on the rough side, according to researchers at Ohio State University.
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Bio-refinery reduces build-up of greenhouse gases
15 Jun 2004
University of Georgia scientists are developing a bio-refinery that will be an environmentally sound alternative to crude oil refineries. The bio-refinery processes such biomass as agricultural waste and biofuel crops to produce environmentally beneficial fuel.
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Rolls-Royce to power new navy ship
15 Jun 2004
Rolls-Royce has been selected by Lockheed Martin to provide MT30 gas turbine engines and waterjets for up to two of the US Navy's Littoral Combat Ship programme (LCS).
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Chinese power link
15 Jun 2004
ABB has signed an order worth $390 million to build a power link from the Three Gorges hydropower plant in central China to the coastal city of Shanghai. The order is the world's largest power transmission project for several years.
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Defence team lands $3.89 billion aircraft deal
15 Jun 2004
The US Navy has awarded a Boeing-led industry team a $3.89 billion contract to build seven Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA).
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GE to supply turbines for Portuguese wind farm
14 Jun 2004
GE Energy will supply nine of its 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for the Parque Eólico de Alagoa de Cima project, a new wind farm in northwestern Portugal.
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Injectors: made in China
14 Jun 2004
Siemens VDO Automotive is to invest about 10 million Euros to produce gasoline fuel injectors in China.
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Home automation
14 Jun 2004
Smarthome's 'Insteon' is a new home automation network that combines a home's existing wiring, or powerline, with radio frequency communications.
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Irregularities at ABB
14 Jun 2004
ABB has disclosed the preliminary results of a company enquiry into accounting irregularities at its Italian subsidiary.
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MoD orders submarine rescue craft
14 Jun 2004
Rolls-Royce has been awarded £47 million by the UK Ministry of Defence to provide and operate a specialist, unmanned craft capable of rescuing submarine crews.
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Boeing awarded $86 million JHMCS contract
14 Jun 2004
The US Department of Defence has recently awarded Boeing an $86 million contract for the first full-rate production lot of Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS).
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TA-Series launched
11 Jun 2004
Power Jacks has launched the new "TA-Series" of electric linear actuators, which expands their linear actuator portfolio for sub 10kN rated units. There are two basic models in the TA series: a 2.2kN and 4.4kN capacity unit with linear speeds of up to 1370 mm/min.
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Alcatel to build Chinasat 9
11 Jun 2004
Alcatel today signed a contract with China Satellite Communication Corporation to design and produce a new-generation communications satellite, Chinasat 9.
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Israel orders extra double-deck cars
10 Jun 2004
Israel Railways has today exercised options on a contract for 54 additional double-deck cars from Bombardier Transportation, which is set to make 78 million Euros from the order.
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Calm during the storm
10 Jun 2004
A NASA developed technology that can automatically alert pilots of potentially dangerous turbulence will soon make its first evaluation flights on a commercial airliner.
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Siemens sells wafer inspection business
10 Jun 2004
ICOS Vision Systems Corporation, a supplier of inspection solutions for the semiconductor industry, today announced it has acquired the wafer inspection business of Siemens.
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HKO increases production capacity
10 Jun 2004
Hong Kong Oxygen has signed a contract to build an air separation unit and liquefier to supply Zhujiang Iron & Steel Corporation's steel making operations.
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Condition-based maintenance could save millions
10 Jun 2004
EA Technology claims large industrial and public sector electricity users could save money by adopting the latest best practice for maintaining their oil-filled 11kV switchgear.
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Alstom to lead Algerian electrification
10 Jun 2004
The national Algerian railway company, SNTF, has recently awarded an Alstom-led consortium a contract worth 88 million Euros for the electrification of three railway lines.
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New device puts particles in line
9 Jun 2004
Princeton University scientists have invented a device that rapidly sorts microscopic particles into extremely fine gradations of sizes, opening a range of potential uses.
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Alcatel to supply signals and controls
9 Jun 2004
Alcatel has been awarded 11.8 million Euros by Spanish rail operator, RENFE, to equip the Sevilla-Huelva rail line with signalling and control systems.
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Opening up the brain
9 Jun 2004
Dave Wilson examines why the full-scale deployment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems might signal the end for dating agencies.
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Students hunt for land mines
9 Jun 2004
Four Johns Hopkins University undergraduate engineering students have designed and built a remote-controlled robotic vehicle that finds land mines in rugged terrain and marks their location with paint.
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Sensing the weather
9 Jun 2004
ITT Industries has won a $20 million contract to develop an advanced sensor that will improve forecasters' ability to predict where and when severe storms will strike.
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$40 million automation in China
9 Jun 2004
ABB has won a contract worth more than $40 million to deliver process automation, drives, quality control systems, electrification and related services to Asia Pulp and Paper in China. ABB's automation systems will be used to control the operation of a new fine paper machine at the JiangSu Gold East mill in Dagang, about 200 kilometers west of Shanghai. The new 120 MW paper machine, with a planned capacity of 2,970 tons per day, will be the world's largest.
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Burning waste-coal refuse
8 Jun 2004
A new $215 million joint-venture between the US Department of Energy and Western Greenbrier Co-Generation is to develop a new low-emissions power plant that will use waste-coal to generate electric power.
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Parker buys Mead Fluid Dynamics' UK arm
8 Jun 2004
Parker Hannifin has purchased the assets of Mead Fluid Dynamics Ltd., the UK-based subsidiary of Chicago-based Mead Fluid Dynamics, for an undisclosed amount.
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Wireless infrastructure acquired
8 Jun 2004
CA-based RF semiconductor and multi-chip modules developer W J Communications is to acquire the wireless infrastructure business of EiC Corporation, a developer of proprietary radio frequency integrated circuits.
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PET bottle recycling breaks new records
8 Jun 2004
In 2003, more PET bottles were collected and recycled in Europe than ever before, according to a recent report by the non-profit trade association Petcore.
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Superconductor mystery unfurled
8 Jun 2004
Scientists in the US have found evidence to prove why adding a small amount of calcium to a common high-temperature superconductor significantly increases the amount of electric current the material can carry.
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Quantum cryptography network delivers absolute security
8 Jun 2004
The world's first operational network to use quantum cryptography is now operational beneath the streets of Cambridge, MA in the US.
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"Brain-based" control for unmanned vehicles
7 Jun 2004
This summer, a mobile autonomous research vehicle fitted with an agile "brain-based" controller will attempt to smoothly and quietly manoeuvre itself in and out of a docking tube.
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MEMS for consumers
7 Jun 2004
Freescale Semiconductor has developed a series of acceleration sensors specifically for the consumer market.
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Charge pump
7 Jun 2004
Analog Devices' ADM8845 charge pump regulator is designed to deliver accurate backlighting in micro colour TFT LCDs used in cell phones, PDAs and digital cameras.
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Connecting networks
7 Jun 2004
Quake Technologies today announced the availability of the QT2030 - a 10Gbit/sec serial-to-XAUI PHY device for Ethernet and Fibre Channel LAN and WAN applications.
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Sorting with speed and precision
7 Jun 2004
Princeton scientists have invented a device that rapidly sorts microscopic particles into extremely fine gradations of sizes, opening a range of potential uses.
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Pressure switches
7 Jun 2004
Motion and fluid control specialist Norgren has expanded its range of pressure switches to include two new models.
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Understanding geriatric gadgets
4 Jun 2004
A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Argonne National Laboratory have unlocked the secrets of memory loss in electronic devices.
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Driven by $30 million order
4 Jun 2004
Siemens has received a $30 million order from China's Taiyuan Iron & Steel Company to equip five reversing cold rolling stands with drive and automation systems.
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Scottish university to develop artificial corneas
4 Jun 2004
An engineering team at the University of Dundee has secured funding to work with European colleagues on the construction of artificial corneas.
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CBI doubts EU proposals
4 Jun 2004
The CBI yesterday warned that European Commission proposals for EU-wide legislation on corporate governance will "drive a coach and horses" through national plans to encourage best practice.
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Protein engineered to detect nerve gas
4 Jun 2004
Biochemists at Duke University Medical Centre, North Carolina have used computational design to engineer and construct a protein that could sense the nerve agent soman.
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Network booting supported over Ethernet
3 Jun 2004
Parvus Corp today announced the availability of a free network booting utility for users of its SpacePC PC/104 form-factor single board computers (SBCs).
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Giving in to IT
3 Jun 2004
According to AMR Research, manufacturing companies are finally increasing investments needed to achieve their supply chain objectives after years of caution.
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No merger now
3 Jun 2004
The proposed merger between the IIE, IEE and IMechE to create a new Institute of Engineering is not going to happen after talks between the parties collapsed earlier this week.
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DuPont acquires $64 million plant sciences company
3 Jun 2004
DuPont today signed an agreement to acquire California-based plant sciences company, Verdia for $64 million in cash.
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Baking your body
3 Jun 2004
CSIRO scientists have discovered a new process which could soon lead to the production of aluminium cars and planes that get stronger the longer they are left to 'bake' in the sun.
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On the border
3 Jun 2004
In a deal that could be worth $10 billion, a team of companies led by Accenture has been selected to design and develop a high-tech security system that will be deployed at US borders.
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Fighting fire with Novec
3 Jun 2004
Florida based Tyco Fire and Security has developed a fire protection system that fights fire without causing damage to irreplaceable objects like works of art.
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GE Energy gets air quality control
3 Jun 2004
GE Energy has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BHA Group Holdings, a provider of air quality control products and services, in a cash transaction worth approximately $260 million.
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Power plant pollution
2 Jun 2004
A new report claims that electric power plants are the number one toxic air polluter in North America, accounting for almost half of all industrial air emissions.
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The Day After Tomorrow
2 Jun 2004
If you think that the weather is bad right now, it's nothing compared to what it could be. Dave Wilson explains.
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Revenue goes up in smoke
2 Jun 2004
A new study reveals that 54 percent of UK companies face large fines because they are not ready to comply with new European Union regulations on CO2.
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Kiwis board with Boeing
2 Jun 2004
Air New Zealand today signed agreements worth $849 million to acquire eight new Boeing 777-200 ER and two Boeing 7E7 aircraft, plus options for a further 42 long-haul aircraft.
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Million dollar lasers
1 Jun 2004
Newport Corporation signed a definitive agreement today with Thermo Electron Corporation to purchase Spectra-Physics for $300 million.
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DuPont brushes-up with filament JV
1 Jun 2004
DuPont and Wuxi Xingda Nylon of Wuxi, China, have completed the formation and start-up of a joint venture for the production and distribution of filaments used in brushes.
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$100 million subcon contract for BAE Systems
1 Jun 2004
BAE Systems has been selected by Turkey as the key subcontractor for an integrated electronic self-protection system to be installed on Turkey's F-16 fighters.
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Old fashioned profits from unconventional oil
1 Jun 2004
According to a report due for release from Business Communications Company the demand for unconventional oil will reach 10.31 million barrels in 2008, up from 8.59 million barrels in 2003.
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Done deal for dyes
1 Jun 2004
BASF, Bayer and Hoechst announced last week that they are to sell their textile dyes joint venture, DyStar, to Platinum Equity for an undisclosed fee.
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NEC division guilty of fraud
1 Jun 2004
NEC-Business Network Solutions, a subsidiary of NEC America, is to pay a $20.6 million fine after pleading guilty to charges of collusion and wire fraud in the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program.
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Drives order nets ABB $22 million
1 Jun 2004
GE Oil and Gas has awarded ABB $22 million to provide electrical drive systems for an onshore gas processing plant that will support Norway's Ormen Lange gas field.
