- Number 289 |
- June 22, 2009
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Smart robots help navigate smugglers' tunnels
U.S. Border Patrol agents are finding a new use for intelligence systems that help robots operate autonomously. Robots equipped with the Robotic Intelligence Kernel (RIK) developed at DOE's Idaho National Laboratory have been aiding reconnaissance of underground tunnels, including a smuggler's route 50 feet below the U.S./Mexico border.
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Breathing a sigh of relief
Researchers at Instrument Development Lab (IDL), part of DOE’s Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, are designing lightweight aerosol monitors as part of a long-term study of the possible causes of childhood asthma. For several years, students will carry the monitors, just under 6 inches in length, when they go to school and elsewhere in New York City.
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A Graphene Transistor With a Tunable Bandgap
By creating a bandgap in bilayer graphene, Feng Wang and his colleagues in the Materials Sciences Division at DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley have opened the way for practical electronic and photonic applications of this remarkable material.
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Lab researcher pushes new microelectronics technology
Ushering in a novel method of microelectronic fabrication at Los Alamos National Laboratory is James Maxwell of Applied Electromagnetics. His technology, called Lasonix, is poised to revolutionize many facets of society, from household electronics to medical x-ray machines.