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CI CyberNews, Vol. 8 No. 16
ALFA AESAR OFFERS ONLINE CERTIFICATES OF ANALYSIS Alfa Aesar, a Johnson Matthey company, recently announced that certificates of analysis are now posted online for most of the company’s line of more than 27,000 research chemicals, metals and materials. To view a certificate of analysis in PDF format, users simply visit www.alfa.com
, click on the “New Certificate of Analysis Search” link and enter both the stock number and lot number of the item (these numbers can be found on the product label). Many thousands of certificates are available online; however, a small percentage may require a fax or e-mail response. A fax or e-mail request can be submitted via the link from the website. For more information, call (978) 521-6328, fax (978) 521-6350, e-mail info@alfa.com or visit www.alfa.com.
ALFRED’S LACOURSE TO RECEIVE MOREY AWARD FOR GLASS RESEARCH William C. LaCourse, Ph.D., professor of Glass Science in the School of Engineering and associate provost for Statutory Affairs for Alfred University, will be awarded the George W. Morey Award by the Glass and Optical Materials Division of the American Ceramic Society during its May 20-23 meeting in Rochester, N.Y. The award “recognizes achievements in the field of glass science and technology,” according to Barrett G. Potter, Ph.D., Jr., professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Arizona State University and chair of the Glass and Optical Materials Division. LaCourse is receiving the award for his “contributions in glass structure and
mechanical properties that have provided novel insights into the structures of As2S3 and silicate fibers, the effects of forming conditions on fiber structure and properties, and the effects of environment on the formation and structure-mechanical properties of glass,” according to Potter. For additional information, visit www.alfred.edu.
DOE RELEASES NEW VERSION OF ENERGYPLUS SOFTWARE The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies program has officially released Version 2.0 of its EnergyPlus software. EnergyPlus’ sophisticated modeling engine equips building designers and engineers with state-of-the-art building energy simulation technology that identifies extraordinary energy savings and efficiencies for today’s low-energy buildings. Based on a user’s description of a building’s physical makeup and associated mechanical and other systems, EnergyPlus calculates heating and cooling loads necessary to maintain thermal control set points, conditions throughout a secondary HVAC system and coil loads, and the energy consumption
of primary plant equipment. Simultaneous integration of these details, and many others, verify that the EnergyPlus simulation performs as would the real building. The software is available to download from www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus.
ENRG RECEIVES NYSERDA CONTRACT FOR SOFC SYSTEM ENrG Inc. recently announced that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has awarded the firm up to $500,000 on a $1.4 million contract to further advance the development of a bi-electrode-supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. Technology for this high-power, compact energy source was originally developed by the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio, and offers the potential of a five-fold improvement in power performance per weight over current SOFC approaches. It also features increased reliability of the fuel cell stack, the electrochemical power-generating unit that is central to the system. ENrG and NASA GRC will work with
Battelle and Ultralife Batteries, Inc. on the commercialization of SOFC-based battery charger systems for the military. For additional information, visit www.enrg-inc.com, www.nyserda.org,
www.battelle.org or www.ulbi.com.
IRAP PROJECTS LARGE GROWTH RATES FOR MICRO FUEL CELLS According to a new report from Innovative Research and Products (iRAP) titled “Micro Fuel Cells for Handheld Consumer Electronic Products – A Global Industry and Market Analysis (ETP-103),” micro fuel cells have recently entered the consumer electronic products market and are likely to see large growth rates in the next five years. iRAP estimates that the market in 2006 was about $12 million, and that it will reach $112 million by 2011 at an annual average growth rate (AAGR) of 55.7% from 2006 to 2011. From 2006 to 2011, portable digital assistants (PDAs) will show the highest growth rate (reaching 89.8%), followed by camcorders, chargers and other consumer
electronics at an AAGR of 83.7 %, and mobile phone applications at 50.7%. For more information, call (203) 569-7909, e-mail marketing@innoresearch.net or visit www.innoresearch.net.
GILMOUR PROMOTED TO PRESIDENT OF STEDMAN Stedman recently announced the promotion of Dennis M. Gilmour to the position of president. Gilmour has been with Stedman for nearly 30 years, starting with the company in 1978 as a sales engineer and holding various positions through the years, including district sales supervisor, sales manager, vice president Sales & Marketing, and senior vice president. For additional information, call (800) 262-5401 or (812) 926-0038, fax (812) 926-3482, e-mail sales@stedman-machine.com, or visit www.stedman-machine.com.
SAINT-GOBAIN TO SELL SPECIALTY BOTTLES BUSINESS Following the search for strategic partners for its specialty bottles business, Saint-Gobain Desjonquères, the Saint-Gobain Group has selected the project of a consortium of two investment funds, Sagard and Cognetas. Under this agreement, the Saint-Gobain Group has agreed to sell 100% of Saint-Gobain Desjonquères and its subsidiaries, and will reinvest a 20% stake in the business. A world leader in the production of glass bottles for the perfume, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, the specialty bottles business of Saint-Gobain (SG Desjonquères and its subsidiaries) delivered in 2006 consolidated sales of €607 million (~ $821 million) and operating profit
of €50 million (~ $68 million). The sale, which is part of the Saint-Gobain Group’s ongoing business development strategy, has been approved by the relevant competition authorities. For more information, visit www.saint-gobain.com.
SPONSORED BY:
Go with the Flow Although most of us tend to think of manufacturing when we hear the word lean, and of Mahayana Buddhism when we hear the word Zen
, the primary principles of both translate directly to successful adoptions of warehouse management systems (WMS). Lean principles focus on process flow, optimization, waste elimination, problem solving and continuous improvements. The first principle of lean is flow, which lends itself to the Zen theory of being one with your environment. Without question, these same principles guide the most successful WMS implementations. Learn how to translate the concepts of lean manufacturing and the Zen theories of flow to the adoption of a warehouse management system in
Zen and the Art of WMS Software.
CyberTip Need to find equipment in the ceramic and related industries? Look no further than CI's Equipment Digest. This invaluable reference tool lists dozens of equipment suppliers and hundreds of definitions -- from abrasive wheels to zeta potential analyzers.
Online Calendar CI's full
Calendar of Events is available online to help you keep track of all the latest trade shows and seminars.
CHARTER SPONSOR
Mohr Corp. provides ceramic and machinery services to both buyer and seller, from the sale of one machine to entire factories, with its professionally established brokering, liquidation and appraisal organization. For more information, visit www.mohrcorp.com.
ABOUT OUR SPONSOR
Insaco is a precision machining company that provides finished pieces to customers' specifications from ultra hard materials, including oxide ceramics, nitrides, carbides and quartz, and especially industrial sapphire. NEW capability allows the company to machine within a 102” x 31” x 70” envelope and still hold tight tolerances. Visit www.insaco.com.
All statements about the companies/products included in this newsletter are manufacturers' claims, and neither CI CyberNews nor Ceramic Industry endorses any of the products mentioned.
