Blog posts

The nanoHUB is a web-based initiative spearheaded by the NSF-funded Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN). Based at Purdue University and partnered by eight other universities, nanoHUB provides a web interface to numerous resources relevant to students and practitioners in nanotechnology. The cyber environment includes online courses and tutorials, proceedings of seminars, collaborative tools, and an interface for online simulation.

For example, you can view research seminars on nanoHUB through online slideshow with audio, powered by Breeze technology. You can go over the outline of the seminar, choose thumbnail views of the slides and even search text within the titles of the slides, then locate the content of interest and save some time. Another type of resource on nanoHUB is the online simulation tools, which run realtime on nanoHUB. No installation is needed.

The nanoHUB resources are open to public for free. You just need to register to use. In the last eight months, nanoHUB has served more than 10,000 users, with about 60,000 simulation jobs run and more than 10,000 videos viewed. The web server hits of nanoHUB reach 1 million in May 2006.

The June 2006 issue of MRS Bulletin features Macroelectronics.

The guest editor of this issue include Robert H. Reuss (program manager of DARPA's macroelectronics program), Darrel G. Hopper (principal electronics engineer at US ARFL), and Jae-Geun Park (Materials Center at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology)

The issue include a theme review article by the guest editors and four theme technical articles covering various topics related to macroelectronics.


(via www.macroelectronics.org)

In theory, carbon nanotubes are 100 times stronger than steel at one-sixth the weight, but in practice, scientists have struggled make nanotubes that live up to those predictions. This is partly because there are still many unanswered questions about how nanotubes break and under what conditions.

Recently, Prof. Boris I. Yakobson at Rice University, his former postdoc Traian Dumitrica (now assistant professor at University of Minnesota), and his doctoral student Ming Hua, have developed a new computer modeling approach to create a “strength map” that plots the likelihood or probability that a carbon nanotube will break—and how it’s likely to break. Four critical variables are considered in the model: load level, load duration, temperature, and chirality. This work was published in the Proceedings of the National Adacemy of Sciences (Apr. 18, 2006 Cover feature). Full text pdf file of this paper is available here.

This is the title of a three-part series published in Physics Today by Frank Wilczek, the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at MIT. Prof. Wilczek is considered one of the world's most eminent theoretical physicists, and is the 2004 Nobel laureate in Physics for work he did as a graduate student at Princeton University, when he was only 21 years old.

Prof. Wilczek contributes regularly to Physics Today and to Nature, explaining topics at the frontiers of physics to wider scientific audiences. The following series of his "musing on mechanics" won the Best American Science Writing in 2005:
Whence the Force of F=ma? 1: Culture Shock
Whence the Force of F=ma? II: Rationalizations
Whence the Force of F= ma ? III: Cultural Diversity

Prof. Wilczek recently published a book named Fantastic Realities, in which 49 inspiring pieces, including the above three, of "mind journeys" are included. This book also includes contribution from his wife Betsy Devine's blog on what winning a Nobel Prize looks like from inside prizewinner's family.
You may also enjoy a recent podcast of Scientific American, in which Prof. Wilczek and his wife talk about their new book.

The California earthquake of April 18, 1906 (one century ago today) ranks as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. Today, its importance comes more from the wealth of scientific knowledge derived from it than from its sheer size --it marked the dawn of modern science of earthquakes.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently provides a virtual tour utilizing the geographic interactive software Google Earth to explain the scientific, engineering, and human dimensions of this earthquake. This virtual tour can help you visualize and understand the causes and effects of this and future earthquakes.

Enjoy this virtual tour to explore how Google Earth (and other new softwares...) can facilitate and improve the way we teach and conduct research.

Lighting accounts for about 22% of the electricity consumed in buildings in the United States, and 40% of that amount is eaten up by inefficient incandescent light bulbs. The search for economical light sources has been a hot topic.

Recently, scientists have made important progress towards making white organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) commercially viable as light source. As reported in a latest Nature article, even at an early stage of development this new source is up to 75% more fficient than today's incandescent sources at similar brightnesses. The traditional light bulb's days could be numbered.

Read media report here.

(Via www.macroelectronics.org)

Posts on mechanics in industries may attract considerable interest. The audience will be mechanicians working in industries, students planning industrial careers, and academics looking for industrial collaborations.

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, Assistant/Associate Professor

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level in CAD/CAM. The starting date will be July 1, 2007, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The successful candidate will hold a Ph.D. degree or equivalent in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field and will be expected to register as a Professional Engineer in British Columbia. The Department has an Industrial Research Chair (IRC) in High Performance Virtual Machining supported by NSERC and Pratt & Whitney Canada. In addition to the regular faculty appointment, the successful candidate will be appointed as NSERC-Pratt & Whitney Canada Associate Industrial Research Chair for a five-year period following the successful renewal of the IRC. He/She will be expected to participate in virtual machining research. We are particularly interested in candidates who have strong practical engineering skills and experience, and who are keen to teach Engineering Design courses at the undergraduate level and CAD/CAM courses at the graduate level. Further information on the department is available at www.mech.ubc.ca, and information on the employment environment in the Faculty of Applied Science is available at www.apsc.ubc.ca/careers.

The University of British Columbia hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. The position is subject to final budgetary approval. Applicants should submit a detailed resume, a statement (1-2 pages) of research and teaching interests, and names and addresses (fax/email included) of four referees to Professor Nimal Rajapakse, P.Eng., Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 1Z4. The deadline for receipt of applications is November 30, 2006. Please do not forward applications by email.

Search globally, go locally. Starting from Feb. 2006, Google Scholar offers links to find papers in your local library. See here for details.