Prize Winners
The Foresight Institute recently announced that Dr. Oscar Custance of the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan and Professors Yoshiaki Sugimoto and Masayuki Abe of Osaka University, are the co-winners of the Feynman Prize for Experimental Work in Nanotechnology. The Feynman Prize was named after Richard Feynman and are awarded to researchers whose work "has most advanced the field toward the achievement of Feynman’s vision for Nanotechnology". The prizes will be awarded in January 2010.
Dr Elena Shevchenko, of the Argonne National Laboratory, has been selected by Technology Review as one of the top 35 innovators under the age of 35. Dr. Shevchenko was cited for her work developing nanocrystals that could be used in the production of more efficient solar cells, more powerful magnets and faster processing computers.
Carbon Nanotubes and Buses of the Future
Recently at American University in DC Sinautec Automotive Technologies of Arlington Virginia presented a "Zero Carbon Ultracapacitor Bus" to the public. The electric powered buses use a carbon nanotube enhanced ultracapacitor to store more electricity, decreasing the time for recharging and increasing the distance the bus can travel from one stop to another. Aside from being less expensive than diesel fueled buses, Dan Ye, the executive director of Sinautec, estimated that the use of such buses would reduce carbon emissions by 70%. the buses are a common sight in cities in the Peoples Republic of China and Sinautec Automotive Technologies is partnering with scientists at MIT and the Stella Group LTD to produce a version of the bus for use in DC and other cities. For more on the "Zero Carbon Ultracapcitor Bus" please take a look at Sinautec’s website.
