Companies that are starting up, moving or expanding may be able to tap into state and local economic development incentives to save significant money and improve profitability.

Ever wonder why the steaks cooked on a home barbecue don’t taste like the ones from a high-end steakhouse? It’s because many steakhouses use high-temperature infrared (IR) grilling technology that can sear meats evenly at 700° or hotter under the careful watch of professional chefs.

Kyocera Corp. recently announced that a solar project using the company’s solar modules has been awarded the 2012 Swiss Solar Prize: The wheelchairs of 10 inhabitants at the Quimby Huus, an institution for the physically disabled in St. Gallen, Switzerland, are driven exclusively using solar power.

I’m writing this column one day after the horrific terror attacks in Boston.

For centuries, ceramic materials were used exclusively for tableware and building materials. In the mid-19th century, technical development in refractories and abrasives enabled the development of modern metallurgy and glass industries and became the first industrial application for ceramics.

When the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) adopted the America Invents Act (AIA) “first-to-file” system on March 16, the following scenarios became reality.

My daughter recently introduced me to the wonders of Internet radio and it’s official—I’m hooked. At the risk of dating myself, let me just say the ’80s channel is getting a lot of play in my office. I’m amazed that I know the lyrics of so many of these songs, most of which I’d forgotten even existed. But I digress.

Our current economic situation is kind of like an impossibly extended March; things are starting to get better, but the progress is slow and the winter was so bad that it’s hard to imagine that spring is coming.