News from Engineering at Illinois January 2010

Excerpts from Illinois in the News, a daily service provided by the University of Illinois News Bureau. This collection of January excerpts focuses on engineering topics and faculty contacted for their expertise by print and broadcast reporters around the world.

NANOSCALE PRINTER PROPOSED
New Scientist (Jan. 30, Barras) reported, "In 2007, John Rogers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and colleagues produced a printer small enough to print electronic circuits from conductive ink on the nanoscale. By modifying the technique, they think it would be possible to manipulate biological cells or biomolecules such as DNA, says Rogers." The article explains the process, and notes that "the technique could complement cell-printing techniques for artificial tissue manufacture by helping to guide cells too fragile to be printed into position inside a 3D matrix."  Also: ASEE FirstBell (Feb. 1).

THEORY AND EXPERIMENT
Genome Web Daily News (New York City, Jan. 29) -- U of I physics professor Aleksai Aksimentiev is one of the researchers granted use of the U.S. Department of Energy’s supercomputers under the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment program.

FLEXIBLE MATERIALS
New Electronics (London, Jan. 29) -- John Rogers, a U of I professor of materials science and engineering, says that his research team obtained lightweight, flexible devices that bend without measurable changes in their electrical or mechanical properties by stamping hundreds of these microcells onto plastic substrates. This, says Rogers, makes them ideal for integration on fabrics such as backpacks, clothes and cases.

WATER PURIFICATION
Water Technology Online (Latham, N.Y., Jan. 29) -- Researchers at Illinois have developed new water purification technology that uses visible, as opposed to ultra-violet, light. The photocatalyst, synthesized by U of I professor of materials science and engineering Jian-Ku Shang and his team of researchers, is made up of fibers of titanium oxide doped with nitrogen to make it capable of absorbing visible light, the article stated.

PROFESSOR TARGETS DIPLOMA MILLS
The Chronicle of Higher Education (Jan. 28) -- George Gollin, a physics professor at Illinois, estimated that some 200,000 bogus degrees are issued every year, though he noted that coming up with accurate numbers is difficult. A new bill in Congress that would make diploma mills a federal concern. “I think it might be very helpful,” said Gollin. Related stories: Inside Higher Ed (Jan. 29), WHNT-Channel 19 (CBS; Huntsville, Ala., Jan. 28).

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES DEAL
Electronic Engineering Times (Manhasset, N.Y., Jan. 27) -- South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has agreed to a license deal with the U of I allowing Samsung to use deuterium in semiconductor devices. The university owns five U.S. and one South Korean patent covering the use of deuterium in semiconductor devices. The named inventors on the university’s deuterium patents include electrical and computer engineering researchers Joseph Lyding and Karl Hess. Also: Chicago Tribune (Jan. 28), News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana, Ill., Jan. 28), ASEE FirstBell (Jan. 29), Daily Herald (from The Associated Press; Arlington Heights, Ill., Jan. 28),  Herald & Review (from AP; Decatur, Ill., Jan. 28), The Plain Dealer (from AP; Cleveland, Jan. 28).

YAHOO! CHALLENGE WINNERS
Trading Markets (Sherman Oaks, Calif., Jan. 27) -- The U of I was among the institutions represented in the list of 2009 winners of Yahoo! Inc.’s Key Scientific Challenges Program.

ASHRAE FELLOW
ThomasNet (New York City, Jan. 26) -- Anthony M. Jacobi, a professor of mechanical science and engineering and a co-director of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center at Illinois, has been named an ASHRAE Fellow by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

QUANTUM BATTERY
MSNBC (from Discovery News, Jan. 21) -- Plasma TVs consume a notoriously large amount of electricity, but new technology being developed by scientists at Illinois could turn the TVs into energy savers. By removing the gas from the tiny tubes that produce high-definition pictures, and replacing it with an electrical field, researchers led by U of I physics professor Alfred Hubler think they can create a “digital quantum battery,” a new type of energy storage device that could hold more electricity, and even computer information, than any current technology today. Also: ABC Science (from Discovery News; Sydney, Jan. 25).

FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS THAT CAN MONITOR INTERNAL ORGANS
Compound Semiconductor (Coventry, England, Jan. 20) -- John Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineering at Illinois and a specialist in flexible electronics, has developed a way in which flat silicon wafers could be replaced so semiconductors can be used to monitor the heart and brain. Also: Rapid Online (Colchester, England, Jan. 21), New Electronics (London, Jan. 25).

USING LIGHT TO KILL BACTERIA
Nanotech Now (Banks, Ore., Jan. 19) -- In the battle against bacteria, researchers at Illinois led by Jian Ku Shang, a U of I professor of materials science and engineering, have developed a powerful new weapon--an enhanced photocatalytic disinfection process that uses visible light to destroy harmful bacteria and viruses, even in the dark. Also: AZom (Sydney, Jan. 20), AZoNano (Sydney, Jan. 20), Daily India (from Asian News International, New Delhi; Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 20), Infection Control Today (Phoenix, Jan. 19), Nanowerk News (Honolulu, Jan. 19), R&D Magazine (Rockaway, N.J., Jan. 19), RedOrbit (Dallas, Jan. 19), Science Centric (Sofia, Bulgaria, Jan. 20), Science Daily (Chevy Chase, Md., Jan. 19), Sindh Today (from Asian News International, New Delhi; Mumbai, India, Jan. 20), Thaindian News (from Indo-Asian News Service, New Delhi; Bangkok, Jan. 20), TopNews (Mohali, India, Jan. 20), Science 360 (Washington, DC, Jan. 21), MedIndia (Chennai, India, Jan. 22), Chemistry (Berlin, Jan. 22), Technology Review (Jan. 27), ASEE FirstBell (Jan. 27), Nanotechnology and Development News (from Technology Review, Jan. 27), Popular Science (from Technology Review, Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 28).

GPU vs. CPU
Bioresearch online (Erie, Pa., Jan. 19) -- “A simulation that takes one day to run on a GPU-based workstation would have taken 30 days to run on a CPU-based machine, rendering it impractical for real research,” says John Stone, a senior research programmer at Illinois.

U of I EARTHQUAKE EXPERT TO SURVEY HAITI'S DAMAGE
WCIA-TV (Jan. )  -- Scott Olson, an assitant professor of civil engineering at Illinois, is traveling to Haiti as part of a Geo-engineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) team. The GEER association is funded through the National Science Foundation and the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP). Also: University of Texas at Austin (news release, Jan. 26), News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana, Ill.; Jan 30).

NEW RADAR TRACKS BIRD ACTIVITY AROUND AIRPORTS
The Olympian (Olympia, Wash., Jan. 15) -- Sea-Tac Airport this week became the nation’s first airport to put an advanced bird-tracking radar into service in the airport vicinity. The new radar, developed in partnership with the U of . and the Federal Aviation Administration, allows airport wildlife experts to view in real time bird activity as they drive around the airport. Also: State Journal-Register (Springfield, Ill., Jan. 12),  Aviation News (Alexandria, Va., Jan. 14), Highline Times (video of installation; Burien, Wash., Jan. 15), Post Chronicle (from The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.; Denville, N.J., Jan. 15), Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Jan. 14), The Money Times (from United Press International; Mumbai, India, Jan. 15), The Seattle Times (Jan. 14), United Press International, Jan. 14), TheNewsTribune.com (from the Associated Press, Jan. 15), CBS (Jan. 15), KPTV (Portland, OR, Jan. 15), WLUK (Green Bay, WI, Jan 15), WAND (Decatur, Ill., Jan 15), KHQA Late News (Quincy, IL, Jan 14), Q13 FOX News at Ten, KCPQ (Seattle, WA, Jan 14), KOIN 6 News at Noon (Portland, OR, Jan 15), Arizona Morning, KSAZ (Phoenix, AZ, Jan 15),  KOMO 4 News (Seattle, WA Jan 15), KIRO 7 E.W. News at 6AM (Seattle, WA, Jan 15), Good Morning Kern County, KERO (Bakersfield, CA, Jan 15), KPSP Local 2 Morning News (Palm Springs, CA, Jan 15), KREM 2 News First Edition (Spokane, WA, Jan 15), KFMB News 8 at 5AM, (San Diego, CA, Jan 15), KXLY Good Morning Northwest (Spokane, WA, Jan 15), KMAX Good Day, Sacramento (CA, Jan 15), and many other media across the U.S.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY
Chemistry World (Royal Society of Chemistry; London, Jan. 14) -- There are several ways to measure the release of NO--a molecule known to stimulate immune defenses--and “‘electrochemistry is certainly a valid way to make those measurements,” says Jonathan Sweedler, the director of the Biotechnology Center at Illinois.

AVIATION SAFETY
Westchester Suburban Life (Downers Grove, Ill., Jan. 13) -- O’Hare International Airport is the third airport in the nation to experiment with an avian radar system devised by the U of I that would allow airports to track flights of birds.

COMPUTER SIMULATIONS
RTT News (Williamsville, N.Y., Jan. 14) -- “A simulation that takes one day to run on a GPU-based workstation would have taken 30 days to run on a CPU-based machine, rendering it impractical for real research,” says John Stone, a senior research programmer at Illinois.

BLUE WATERS
Science 360 (Jan. 12) -- A video describing the capabilities and applications of NCSA's Blue Waters supercomputer is featured on "Live from Studio 8."

STAR SIMILARITY
PhysOrg (Douglas, Isle of Man, Jan. 11) -- A team led by Lynn D. Matthews at the MIT Haystack Observatory that includes scientists in the U of I Department of Physics has discovered a disk of gas swirling close to a young massive star, which they say offers the first evidence that massive stars form similarly to smaller stars. Also: softpedia (Bucharest, Romania, Jan. 12).

ELECTRIC SPORTS CAR
News-Gazette (Jan. 6) -- More than a dozen engineering students and car enthusiasts braved 9-degree chill to check out an all-electric car. The Tesla Roadster Sport made a recharging stop on campus as part of a 2,700-mile road trip from Los Angeles to Detroit (the site of the 2010 North American International Auto Show). Tesla Motors was co-founded by Martin Eberhard, an Illinois electrical and computer engineering alumnus. Also: WAND-TV (Decatur, Ill.; Jan. 6).

BRIDGE MONITORING
Dr. Dobb’s Journal (Manhasset, N.Y., Jan. 4) -- Illinois researchers have developed an inexpensive, wireless means for continuous and reliable structural health monitoring and successfully deployed their system this summer at full scale on the new Jindo Bridge in South Korea. A joint project between the U of I, KAIST in Korea, and the University of Tokyo, it is the first dense deployment of a wireless sensor network on a cable-stayed bridge and the largest of its kind for civil infrastructure to date.

COMPUTING
Dr. Dobb’s Journal (Manhasset, N.Y., Jan. 4) -- U of I computer science professor Josep Torrellas has demonstrated that easing a programmer’s burden in parallel computing does not compromise system performance or increase the complexity of hardware implementation.

PROFESSOR UNCOVERS DIPLOMA MILLS
The Swazi Observer (Mbabane, Swaziland, Jan. 5) -- U of I physics professor George Gollin began collecting data on bogus colleges and universities in 2002.  Also: CNN (Jan. 11).

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING
China Post (from the Chicago Tribune, Taipei, Taiwan, Jan. 2) -- The BlackBerries, iPhones and cell phones given this Christmas undoubtedly will consign many older models to the landfill. What would it take to put more of those – or at least pieces of them – back to work in the next generation of electronic gadgets? Harrison Kim, a professor in the U of I department of industrial and enterprise systems engineering, has studied the question and found that the time to think about such “end of life” issues is before the small electronics are even designed. Also: Chicago Tribune (Dec. 28),  Ventura County Star (from the Chicago Tribune, Camarillo, Calif., Jan. 2).

ICT REPORTS ON DEKALB CO. BRIDGE COLLAPSE
Daily Chronicle (DeKalb, Ill., Jan. 3) -- Researchers in the U of I civil engineering department’s Illinois Center for Transportation determined the collapse of a bridge DeKalb County likely was due to its carrying heavier-than-allowed loads involved in the construction of an oil pipeline.
_______________________

PLEASE NOTE: Some web links are short-lived by design of the publisher. In most cases, articles are archived on the publisher's website and can be retrieved electronically. Some articles may be archived on sites that are fee-based, and some may have re-distribution restrictions.

Contact: Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, editor.