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| Smiling for ENR’s camera in their booth at the IEEE-EMC Society Symposium in Hawaii is Mike Hart and daughter Natalie. |
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Mike Hart Dies Coming Back from Hawaii
As this issue of ENR was headed for the printer, word came that Michael J. Hart Sr. had died in a car accident near his Texas home on the morning of July 13, having just taken a redeye flight from Honolulu. He was 55. His daughter Natalie, who had worked in their exhibit booth at the IEEE-EMC Symposium, was not with him.
Former president of EMCO (The Electro-Mechanics Company, now ETS-Lindgren) in Austin, Texas, he was noted for transforming it into one of the most successful EMC companies of its time. Not only did EMCO develop many products that became industry standards but also saw its international sales and presence grow because he traveled the world looking for new opportunities. When he
left EMCO, Mike started Quantum Change and created TILE! Software, now widely used by testing labs.
Survivors include his wife Sally, four children, his parents, two brothers and four sisters. Cards can be sent to the family at 382 Vista Del Lago Dr., Huffman, TX 77336. Burial was to be in Arlington National Cemetery.
EMS Wins Harris Contract for Antenna System
Harris Corp. has awarded EMS Technologies, Inc.’s Defense and Space Systems (D&SS) Division a contract to develop the Hawklink common data link terminal antenna in support of the U.S. Navy MH-60R Seahawk multi-mission ship-based helicopter. Hawklink is a high-speed digital data link that transmits tactical video, radar, acoustic and other sensor data from MH-60R helicopters to surface ships or other airborne systems.
EMS will develop and deliver up to 500 antenna systems featuring its patented slot-array antennas and composite positioner designs, integrated into a low-weight, highly reliable package. Each helicopter will be fitted with two EMS antennas, one to the front and one to the back.
The contract value is potentially $22 million.
University Marks a Quarter-century of EMC Training
The University of York in the United Kingdom has been delivering education and training in electromagnetic compatibility for 25 years. The first courses were delivered to Plessey Assessment Services, Titchfield (now TUV Product Service).
The provision of short courses was developed into a full master’s program and now York is offering NARTE certification as an option to its portfolio of courses. This is in response to trainees requiring recognition for their attendance at courses and the need to have a professional EMC qualification. NARTE provides the only internationally recognized qualification, and York has been appointed as the first NARTE examination test center in the U.K.
“We have always tried to make these not only the best technically and educationally, but an enjoyable experience as well with a good social side,” said Chris Marshman, managing director of York EMC Services.
York is an IET-endorsed training provider, and all courses are within its IS 9001 certification.
Eichelberger Named Regional Sales Manager at AR
AR RF/Microwave Instrumentation has named Tom Eichelberger regional sales manager, replacing John Whitney, who has been promoted to general sales manager.
Eichelberger brings 28 years of experience with leading technology companies, including Bell Labo-ratories, AT Micro-electronics, Lucent Technologies, and Agere Systems. His education includes a B.S. and M.S. in physics from Ohio State University and a MSE in technology management from the Executive Master’s in Technology Management program at the University of Pennsylvania.
In other news, a new 15,000 square-foot building has been completed at AR’s worldwide headquarters in Souderton, Pennsylvania. The three-story structure houses the accounting department, customer service and a new machine shop on the first floor, expanded production facilities on the second, and a meeting room and kitchen on the third. With its increased production capabilities, AR RF/Microwave Instrumentation is now able to fulfill new orders and perform in-house service and repairs and manufacture replacement parts more expediently.
Camera Displays 200 V/m RF Tests Via Internet
ETS-Lindgren has created a new camera system to monitor RF immunity tests with field strengths of 200V/m or more. The Model 4340 camera allows tests to be witnessed in real-time over the internet by up to 50 PCs.
Chris Brown, director of sales for ETS-Lindgren, said, “As a shielded enclosure specialist, we know the importance of enhancing test capabilities while not compromising the shielding integrity of our enclosures.”
ETS-Lindgren is an international manu-facturer of comp-onents and systems that measure, shield, and control electro-magnetic and acoustic energy. The com-pany’s products are used for EMC, microwave and wireless testing, EMF measurement, RF personal safety monitoring, and control of acoustic environments.
Headquartered in Cedar Park, Texas, ETS-Lindgren has facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.
New Franchise for Focus EDL
EMI/RFI filter company HAL, located in Hsin Tien City, Taiwan, has appointed Focus EDL as a franchised distributor. The agreement covers the U.K. and Ireland.
“By partnering with HAL, we are now able to offer, from stock, a full range of IEC inlet filters, power entry modules and a very wide selection of filters that will meet all our customer’s standard requirements,” says Focus EDL’s managing director Geoff Philpot.
MIT Team Demonstrates Wireless Power Transfer
A team from MIT has demonstrated wireless power transfer, which would enable cell phones, MP3 players, laptops, and other portable electronics to charge themselves without being plugged in. Some of these devices may not even need their batteries to operate.
The team was able to light a 60W light bulb from a power source seven feet away with no physical connection between the two. The MIT concept is called WiTricity (wireless electricity) and is based on using magnetically coupled resonant objects. Two resonant objects of the same resonant frequency can exchange energy efficiently while interacting weakly with off-resonant objects. This technology is suited to everyday applications because most common materials interact only weakly with magnetic fields, so interactions with extraneous environmental objects are suppressed.
Tektronix and Sypris Team Up
Tektronix Inc. has formed a partnership with Sypris Test and Measurement Inc., reports the Portland Business Journal.
Sypris, a subsidiary of Louisville, Kentucky-based Sypris Solutions Inc., will provide on-site calibration services for products from multiple vendors for Beaverton, Oregon-based Tektronix, a provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation.
The combined offerings of the two companies provide on-site calibration support for more than 90% of the equipment that customers typically use for test and measurement functions.
Tektronix and Sypris service will provide customized calibration services for Tektronix and non-Tektronix equipment across many different manufacturers.
WJ Communications Adds Online Store for RFID
WJ Communications, Inc., a leading designer and supplier of RF products and solutions for the wireless infrastructure and RF identification reader markets, has launched an online store for its RFID product line.
“This e-commerce initiative enables OEMs, VARs, and customers worldwide to order our RFID products in an efficient and convenient manner,” said Haresh Patel, senior vice president of sales and marketing at the San Jose, California-based company.
Starting from US$399, customers can choose from numerous RFID OEM reader modules, including the WJM3000 based on the integrated WJC200 chipset. Both are recipients of the 2007 North American Frost and Sullivan Award for Product Innovation.
Visit the store at www.wj.com/onlinestore.
NXP Opens RFID System Design Center
NXP Semiconductors has set up a reference design center (RDC) for RFID technology, which will address the issue of standardization in RF tagging markets.
Located near Graz, Austria, the RDC will support the development of RFID systems by testing applications under real-life conditions for various industries such as pharmaceutical, manufacturing and retail.
According to Jan-Willem Reynaerts, general manager, of RFID at NXP, “In the past, system integrators have only been able to find out how components perform in actual applications when conducting trials with end-users. The RDC will ensure these solutions are business-ready, removing the need for beta testing.”
An early application which has been identified for RFID is in the retail supply chain, where it can be used for goods tracking and anti-counterfeit protection.
TÜV SÜD America to Test and Certify MIC Mark
TÜV SÜD America Inc., a global testing and certification services firm, has been approved by the Radio Research Laboratory (RRL) in Korea to test and apply the Korean MIC Mark for various standards related to emissions and immunity. This accreditation enables TÜV SÜD America to provide IT testing to eight Korean EMC standards, in addition to the numerous domestic, international and specialized EMC, environmental and product safety standards it currently tests to.
The RRL is a division of Korea’s MIC (Ministry of Information and Communications), and issues EMC certifications and telecom authorizations for IT equipment in Korea. Currently, the RRL mandates that these products must display the MIC Mark to be imported or sold in South Korea.
“TÜV SÜD America is constantly pursuing ways to provide added value to our customers and we are pleased to be able to offer these additional testing schemes to expedite the process of Korean approval,” says Steve Dykstra, vice president, testing (pictured above).
Dominguez Chairman of ETSI Committee
Victor Dominguez, Director of Strategy and Standardization at DS2, the world’s leading powerline chipset provider, has been re-elected as chairman of the Powerline Technical Committee of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). His key objective will be to work for the development of global standards and specifications for powerline technologies. Under his chairmanship the committee has made significant advances to ensure the co-existence and interoperability of powerline technologies to enable numerous organizations to extend their presence in the rapidly growing powerline market.
DS2, based in Valencia, Spain, is committed to creating open standards for powerline tech-nologies, and is also working with the Universal Powerline Assoc-iation (UPA) and the IEEE.
“The ETSI standards for powerline are essential for the growth and maturation of this rapidly growing industry, to provide global specifications to ensure all products and applications meet high quality of service needs,” says Dominguez.
Crops “Talk” to Farmers
A University of Colorado at Boulder invention optioned to AgriHouse, a Colorado-based company, may soon enable corn and potato crops to “talk” to farmers when they need water and how much they need. A tiny sensor clips on to plant leaves and charts their thickness, a key measure of water deficiency and accompanying stress, according to Hans-Dieter Seelig of CU-Boulder’s BioServe Space Technology Center.
The non-intrusive device sends data from the leaves wirelessly over the Internet to computers linked to irrigation equipment, ensuring timely watering and cutting down on excessive water and energy use. Less than one-tenth the size of a postage stamp, the sensor consists of an integrated-circuit chip that clips to individual plant leaves and collects and stores information. When the leaves lose enough water to contract to a critical width, the sensor wirelessly signals computers. The computers could instruct individual irrigation systems to dispense set amounts of water to particular crops, automatically turning the motors that drive them, and conserving water and energy in the process.
Biological Computers
Researchers at Harvard University and Princeton University have made a crucial step toward building biological computers, tiny implantable devices that can monitor the activities and characteristics of human cells. The information provided by these devices – constructed entirely of DNA, RNA, and proteins – could eventually revolutionize medicine by directing therapies only to diseased cells or tissues.
“Each human cell already has all of the tools required to build these biocomputers on its own,” says Harvard’s Yaakov (Kobi) Benenson, a Bauer Fellow in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ Center for Systems Biology. “All that must be provided is a genetic blueprint of the machine and our own biology will do the rest.”
Evaluating Boolean logic equations inside cells, these molecular automata will detect anything from the presence of a mutated gene to the activity of genes within the cell. The biocomputers’ “input” is RNA, proteins, and chemicals found in the cytoplasm; “output” molecules, indicating the presence of the telltale signals, are easily discernable with basic laboratory equipment.
Richardson Expands Agreement with RF Monolithics
Richardson Electronics, Ltd. has expanded its product distribution agreement with RF Monolithics, Inc. to include products from RFM’s subsidiary Cirronet, Inc. The agreement, which covers North America and South America, now includes distribution of Cirronet’s line of ZigBee™ WPAN modules, 802.15.4 modules, and proprietary wireless sensor networking modules and complementary products.
“We are pleased with the expansion of our relationship with Richardson Electronics,” commented Duane Covell, director of worldwide distribution for RFM. “Our business model will continue to place high priority upon the role of our distributors, especially as our product portfolio continues to expand.”
“The addition of Cirronet’s extensive product line of ZigBee and proprietary products will allow customers the benefits of low engineering costs and fast time to market with a proven, reliable solution,” says Chris Marshall, Richardson Electronics’ vice president of wireless and broadband communications.
Magnetic Guidance Could Steer Drugs
A group including Tokyo Women’s Medical College and Hitachi Medical Corp. have harnessed magnetism to develop technology to guide medicine with high precision inside the body, according to a recent story in The Nikkei Daily. Also participating in the project were Osaka University, Kyoto University and Hitachi Ltd. which provided a moveable superconducting magnet capable of generating 5 tesla.
The group demonstrated that 100nm-diameter iron beads injected into pigs can be gathered to specific sites like the liver in amounts 28 times as much as normal when guided by the Hitachi magnet and a guidance procedure originally developed for brain surgery. Before the procedure, an image of the target site was taken using magnetic resonance imaging. During the procedure itself, the locations of blood vessels and the iron beads were checked using ultrasound sensors. Using this method, the beads could be directed to sites in the body with a positional error of less than 5mm, which is not possible when similar guidance is attempted using regular magnets.
The next step is to attach medicinal compounds to the iron beads to see if drugs can also be guided this way. This holds promise for a new method of targeted therapy to treat cancers. Safety tests on the use of magnetic guidance still need to be conducted, as do tests on whether the procedure affects DNA, RNA and proteins.
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