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| Dr. Duane Dombek | Transparent Armor
will Focus on High Strength Polymer
MATRIC
is currently in the process of creating its first technology business
spin-off called Transparent Armor, LLC which focuses on the
development and production of a new strong, transparent polymer.
Dr. Richard Gerkin, President of Transparent Armor, has more than 30 years of experience in the polymer industry. “This material has tremendous potential,” Dr. Gerkin stated recently. “Its properties are unique among transparent polymers, since it offers excellent chemical resistance and high strength over a wide temperature range, in addition to very good impact performance. This will be an outstanding competitor for the existing materials in challenging applications.” Potential applications for the new polymer could include, for example, aircraft cockpit enclosures and bullet-proof windows. Transparent materials presently used in these applications, which often include layers of glass, are heavy and have poor abrasion and chemical resistance. The lightweight Transparent Armor polymer is based on a new monomer precursor material which is currently being introduced into the market by The Dow Chemical Company. | |||||
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| Jason Cooper | MATRIC Partners with
CAMC
MATRIC
has partnered with the Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC)
and the Charleston Area Medical Center Health Education and Research
Institute (CAMC
Institute) in a groundbreaking program of Observational Engineering
to be conducted by healthcare professionals and engineers within these
organizations.
Clinical Observational Engineering is an interdisciplinary technique used to educate engineers in clinical methods and tools, spur innovation, and generate new intellectual property. This process may also lead to research opportunities – both at the bench and clinical research ends. Observational Engineering pairs MATRIC researchers with clinical professionals to “observe” traditional tasks within a real-time medical situation, such as surgery, emergency room triage or outpatient procedures. MATRIC researchers can use their extensive biomedical knowledge to suggest implementations of health information technologies, new medical devices or improvements to existing techniques or devices. The CAMC Institute is currently engaged in approximately 300 clinical and health services research projects. MATRIC complements this impressive research capacity with the capabilities of systems and biomedical engineering as well as domain expertise. Sharon Hall, President of the CAMC Institute, stated that this “program creates a unique opportunity for the merger of the medical and engineering sciences to seek new and improved solutions to health care and the delivery of health care services.” MATRIC could not agree more as our mission is to provide “life-changing research and development.” Ms. Hall also added that this “collaboration will strengthen a mutual goal of bringing innovation and new research opportunities to the Kanawha Valley – promoting a synergy where the collective potential is greater than its individual parts.” | |||||
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| Jason Cooper | Field Programmable
Gate Arrays
Prior
to exploring FPGA analysis details, one must understand the underlying
framework of software verification and validation (V&V), and what the
objectives of such a framework are. Verification is typically explained
using the catchphrase “are we building the product right?” whereas
validation is explained similarly by “are we building the right product?”
Verification aims to prove that a software item conforms to its
specifications and processes used to build that software item are sound.
Validation aims to prove that the end-user requirements are being met.
These methods are classically employed during each phase of the software
lifecycle.
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| Keith A. Pauley | Recommended
Resources
The AAAS
organization highlights R&D spending by the federal government in
every state. The Dow Chemical Company seeks to attract high technology companies to the South Charleston Technology Park.
(Photo credits: U. S. Air Force, John Crawford/National Cancer Institute, NASA/JPL, Union Carbide Corporation) | |||||
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