April 8, 1997
***SPECIAL EDITION***
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTERS STIMULATE NEW APPLICATIONS OUT OF BASIC DISCOVERIES
The National Science Foundation (NSF) established a program of Science
and Technology Centers in 1987 to exploit new opportunities in
fundamental science and technology as well as education. The centers
are also designed to stimulate technology transfer and applications
for various sectors of society. NSF funds 24 centers with an
operating budget of more than $60 million. Below are a few samples of
ongoing projects at major research institutions. For more information
on Science and Technology Centers, contact Beth Gaston (703) 292-8070.
Editor: Bill Noxon
Scientists and engineers at the University of Michigan are
exploring the physical processes of exceedingly brief pulses of lasers
-- bursts of focused light measured in millionths of a billionth of a
second. The physical reactions that result from these studies
illuminate possibilities for advances in fields as diverse as
communications, combustion and medicine.
The NSF-funded Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, along with the
Kellogg Eye Center, is examining how ultrafast pulses may replace
traditional laser surgery for improved treatment of glaucoma.
Center researchers have also found a range of uses for ultrafast
pulses in materials manufacturing, fuel injectors for the automotive
industry, semiconductor electronics for lithography and technology
that will affect the design of electron accelerators which in the
future may be 1,000 times more compact.
The center has interacted with almost 30 companies and produced 10
commercial products and five startup companies, four near the Ann
Arbor area.
The technologies produced by these firms are used in laboratories
or in optical communication systems. Sales have reached about $10
million, half of which has been overseas. [George Chartier]
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In a world gone miniature, it's hard to imagine what scientists may
have been thinking four decades ago before breakthroughs like liquid
crystals.
The impact of liquid crystals on optical devices alone has led to
rapid advances in laptop computer displays. "The impact may be even
greater in liquid crystal applications for integrated, hand-held
communications devices," John L. West, Director of the Liquid Crystal
Institute and the Advanced Liquid Crystalline Optical Materials
(ALCOM) said. ALCOM is an NSF Science and Technology Center located
at Kent State University in Ohio.
ALCOM research is advancing the understanding, design and
production of new materials and displays, pooling the talents of
scientists from Kent State and Case Western Reserve Universities and
the University of Akron.
"ALCOM now has 32 industrial partners participating in all of our
programs," West said. "The companies are benefiting by hiring ALCOM
graduates and in licensing new technology."
The center's extensive outreach to high schools includes
newsletters, symposia, an "ask a scientist" program and Science and
Math on the Net (SCI-Net). The resources help teachers in Northeast
Ohio integrate science, math and information management concepts into
their classrooms. [Bill Noxon]
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Recent earthquakes around Los Angeles, including the 1987 Whittier
Narrows and 1994 Northridge events, have intensified scrutiny of the
region's earthquake hazard plans.
At a National Science Foundation Southern California Earthquake
Center (SCEC) workshop in Los Angeles, engineers, earth scientists and
city planners discussed the current level of understanding about
regional earthquake hazards and whether new strategies might be
implemented to reduce future earthquake risks.
"The primary goal was to find out to what makes sense, given our
current level of knowledge about earthquake hazards in the L.A.
region," Tom Heyney, SCEC director, said. Heyney cited the ongoing
concern of risks to critical public facilities such as hospitals,
schools, and emergency response centers, and the evaluation and
retrofitting of unreinforced structures.
Participants reviewed implications of future code requirements for
new buildings and developed a plan that lays out the next steps for
establishing a vehicle for continuing dialogue, continuing the
education of public officials about new scientific information and
identifying projects that would benefit the city over both the short-
and long-term. [Cheryl Dybas]
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