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In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast and became one of the largest natural disasters in the history of the United States. It resulted in more than 1,800 deaths and more than $150 billion in damages. Katrina's storm surge measured up to 30 feet along the Mississippi coast, with winds at 127 miles per hour...

This technology dislodges and removes microscopic particles from substrates quickly and efficiently, which is necessary for the manufacture of electronics and all forms of work at the microscopic scale. Click here for more info.

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...

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued its first-ever reference material designed to improve the performance and reliability of experiments to measure the masses and concentrations of peptides in biomolecular samples. The new reference material is expected to be an important tool in the...

Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed an algorithm that could significantly boost the efficiency of kidney exchanges, a mechanism for matching live donors with unrelated recipients. The algorithm makes it possible to create matches for three- and four-way exchanges -- that is, three or four donors matched...

A method is needed that allows for the visual detection of the presence of pathogenic bacteria or microbes on human hands. The method must be safe and preferably performed in one action. The solution must be small in size and possibly disposable. Click here to respond to this Tech Need.

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...

A group of New York investors will award $1 million a year to the person with the best idea in cancer research, and will share the idea worldwide. The Gotham Prize encourages novel thinking in cancer research and will be selected by a panel of scientists from Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the Cancer...

Each month, NTB highlights tech briefs related to a particular area of technology in a special section called Technology Focus. Here are some of the technologies featured in the June issue focus on Test & Measurement. Multi-Antenna Radar System for Doppler Rain Measurements A team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab is using...

Square leaflet mechanical heart valves allow efficient blood flow with low shear stress because there are no obstructions in the path of blood flow. This patented innovation in mechanical heart valve design is simple, cost-effective, and substantially improves existing mechanical heart valve designs. Rectangular leaflets...

Wind engineers at the University of Florida (UF) have developed the world's largest portable hurricane wind and rain simulator. UF engineers plan to use the machine to blast vacant homes with Category 3 hurricane winds of up to 130 mph, and high-pressure water jets that mimic wind-driven torrential rain. The goal is to learn...

Medical imaging technology has led to quicker diagnoses of conditions that, when caught early, can be treated. Because such devices are large, however, they are impractical in the limited area of a space vehicle. An on-going NASA project to address the issue involves image fusion, where in-orbit ultrasounds would be combined...

Methodology for Providing Secure Time Stamps or Signals for Documents and Other Computer Files The secure time stamps include an externally generated time signal. More information here.

Amnesty International USA is using powerful satellite cameras to monitor highly vulnerable villages in war-torn Darfur -- the first-ever technological capability by human rights defenders to track possible targets of attack, prevent new atrocities, and save lives. Unlike other online projects which only document previous...

A new Web-enhanced version of the most commonly used climate modeling system, TeraGrid, will allow many more scientists to test theories about the Earth's climate. Called the Community Climate System Model (CCSM), the new version is actually a collection of interconnected modeling systems. CCSM contains separate climate models...

ALGOR V20 from ALGOR, Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA) has been named NTB's Product of the Month for June. An integrated CAD/finite element analysis (FEA) modeling environment for working with imported CAD models or building original models, the new release features design scenarios that let a single FEA model contain numerous analyses; a...

A cost-efficient anti-graffiti coating solution is needed for application to flexible PVC film. The coating should add a flexible transparent layer with specific properties: scratch & UV resistant, stable physical behavior between -30 degrees and 90 degrees Celsius, and resistant to solvents and alcohols used for graffiti...

On June 5, NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft flew past Venus just 338 km above the planet's surface and shot a laser into the clouds. Although MESSENGER is on a mission to Mercury, the spacecraft must pass by Venus for a gravity assist en route. In passing, researchers hope to...

Multiprocessing system architectures come in all shapes and sizes, so it is dangerous to make any generalizations. But perhaps there's agreement that most systems can be classified as either symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) or asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP).

High performance multi-core processors are providing opportunities to consolidate multiple applications into a single system. However, embedded applications often have real-time requirements that cannot be put in jeopardy by other software clamoring for the same system resources such as CPU...

A partnership between NASA and the U.S. Naval Academy is offering students the chance to build a satellite called "MidSTAR-2" through a U.S. Department of Defense program that will carry four experiments into space in 2011 to look at different parts of Earth's atmosphere, gamma rays, and solar winds. Scientists at NASA's Goddard...

Beneath the waves near Key Largo, FL, an underwater lab called Aquarius provides a safe harbor for scientists to live and work for weeks at a time. For NASA, Aquarius provides an environment that is analogous to the International Space Station (ISS) and the space shuttle. To maintain Aquarius, NASA recruited Invocon of Conroe, TX, to...

The Magtorque sensor provides a simple, low-cost means to monitor torque on rotating elements. It uses a small and magnetoelastic sensor attached to the shaft that is monitored remotely via an inductive pickup. It provides sensitive and repeatable measurements of applied torque without direct physical contact. More...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is researching the use of cell phones equipped with sensors that could detect biological agents such as anthrax, as well as radioactive isotopes and toxic chemicals. Since fixed sensors can't be placed everywhere, the solution could soon be in everyone's hands. Gentag, a Washington,...

This monthly review lets you "meet" the new advertisers appearing in Defense Tech Briefs (DTB). Here's a sneak peek at the products, services, and offers available from June's first-time advertisers. Alpha Security Group is a publicly traded company that seeks to acquire a homeland security or defense business. Contact Steve...

This modulator was developed to provide circuitry and apparatus that create specialized optical signals suitable for use as a digital photonic clock, a pulse amplitude modulator, and a bi-stable optical memory cell. More information here.

Researchers from Freight Pipeline Company (FPC) taking part in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored project have found that bricks made from fly ash -- fine ash particles captured as waste by coal-fired power plants -- may be even safer than predicted. Instead of leaching minute amounts of mercury as earlier predicted, the...