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Articles - Publication Date 12.1.2003
R&D Stars Shine
Past accomplishments and promising futures characterize these researchers and engineers who continue to push the boundaries of technical and scientific achievement.
Grady Booch, chief scientist, Rational Software, IBM Software Group, IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y. One of the original authors of the Unified Modeling Language, the industry standard language of blueprints for software-intensive systems, Booch is known for innovative work in the areas of software architecture, modeling and software engineering processes. Earlier this year he was among five employees IBM designated IBM Fellows, its most prestigious technical honor. Booch also is author of numerous software-related books and hundreds of technical articles, and has lectured worldwide.
Robert S. Chau, Intel Fellow, Technology and Manufacturing Group; director, transistor research, Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif. Chau directs Intel's research and development in advanced transistors and gate dielectrics for microprocessor applications. He also leads research efforts in advanced nanotechnology for device and process applications. Chau currently manages the Novel Device Laboratory. Among the latest breakthroughs to come from Intel's transistor research are the development of a high-performance transistor using a new material called high-k for the gate dielectric, and new metal materials for the transistor gate. These new materials are said to drastically reduce current leakage that results in reduced battery power and excessive heat.
Steven Danyluk, professor of mechanical engineering, director of the Georgia Institute of Technology Manufacturing Research Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. Technology based on 10 years of research by Danyluk has helped establish Qcept Technologies Inc., which developed a patented sensing technology called the Scanning Contact Potential Difference sensor. The sensor can sense electric fields caused by minute changes to the features of surfaces, which creates variations in the voltage of the sensor. Proprietary software then interprets the resulting data. Qcepts markets include inspection in the semiconductor industry and industrial control applications. Qcept is an outgrowth of Georgia Tech's VentureLab, a center that commercializes university research. It was also the first company from the VentureLab program to be accepted into the Advanced Technology Development Center, Georgia Tech's business incubator.
Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, professor of chemical engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Mass. Research led by Flytzani-Stephanopoulos may one day lead to fuel cells that can be made with significantly less precious metals -- thus helping to reduce the expense of fuel-cell production. Much of the cost of today's fuel cell technology goes toward the purchase of precious metals like gold or platinum, which help purify the hydrogen used to produce the cell's energy. Tuft researchers have found that just a tiny amount of the precious metal -- far less than required in current processing technology -- in non-metallic form can create the active catalyst needed to purify the hydrogen. Research findings were published earlier this year in Science Express, the online Web site for the journal Science.
Yong Huang, chief science officer, Excellin Life Sciences Inc., Milpitas, Calif. and Boris Rubinsky, professor of mechanical engineering and bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley. Huang's and Rubinsky's research may one day lead to the creation of a method to warn of a biochemical attack or test drug toxicity on human tissue. They are among the researchers who -- in experiments conducted at the University of California, Berkeley -- found a way to tap into the electrical signals that mark cell death using a microchip. The microchip detects changes in a cell membrane's electrical resistance almost instantly following the membrane's exposure to a toxic agent. The June 15 issue of Sensors and Actuators contains the study.
Deborah Jin, physicist, National Institute of Standards<
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