Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2006 APS March Meeting
Monday–Friday, March 13–17, 2006; Baltimore, MD
Session N5: Pake and AIP Industrial Physics Prizes |
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Sponsoring Units: FIAP Chair: Thomas Theis, IBM Room: Baltimore Convention Center 309 |
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 8:00AM - 8:36AM |
N5.00001: The Future of Research in Industry Invited Speaker: Since 1990 the environment for and execution of industrial research has changed profoundly. See, e.g., R. Buderi, Engines of Tomorrow (Simon and Shuster, New York, 2000); H. W. Chesbrough, Open Innovation (Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 2003); C. B. Duke, Creating Economic Value from Research Knowledge (The Industrial Physicist, Aug-Sept. 2004, pp. 29-31). According to Thomas L. Friedman (``The World is Flat,'' Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2005) a new global communications-collaboration platform has ``flattened'' the world. National alarms have been raised about the US capability to compete in this changed environment. See, e.g., ``America's Tech Might Slipping?,'' Business Week, March 14, 2004; ``Globalization and Engineering,'' The Bridge, National Academy of Engineering, Fall 2005; ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm,'' National Academy of Sciences, 2005. In this presentation I indicate why firms perform research and how they generate economic value from it. Then I discuss the profound changes in the environment for these activities since 1990. This leads to a consideration of how firms are modifying their Research and Development activities to deal with this situation. I close by noting implications of these developments on the role of physics and the careers of physical scientists in the 21st century. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 8:36AM - 9:12AM |
N5.00002: NIST Role in Advancing Innovation Invited Speaker: According to the National Innovation Initiative, a report of the Council on Competitiveness, innovation will be the single most important factor in determining America's success through the 21$^{st}$ century. NIST mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology -- in ways that enhance economic security and improve the quality of life for all Americans. NIST innovations in measurement science and technology often become the basis for new industrial capabilities. Several examples of such developments will be discussed, including the development of techniques for manipulation and measurement of biomolecules which may become the building blocks for molecular electronics; expansion of the frontiers of quantum theory to develop the field of quantum computing and communication; development of atomic scale measurement capabilities for future nano- and molecular scale electronic devices; development of a lab-on-a-chip that can detect within seconds trace amounts of toxic chemicals in water, or can be used for rapid DNA analysis; and standards to facilitate supply chain interoperability. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 9:12AM - 9:48AM |
N5.00003: Liquid Crystals: From Discovery to Products Invited Speaker: Liquid crystals, constituting a new phase of matter, were discovered in 1888. They remained a scientific curiousity until the late 1960s, when liquid crystal displays were invented by Heilmeier at RCA and Fergason at Kent State University. Today, LCDs dominate the flat panel display industry, with production primarily in the Far East. In this talk, I will briefly review the history of liquid crystals and LC devices, discuss emerging LC technologies and speculate on their commercial potential. I will outline new directions in liquid crystal research and describe some of the remarkable new products that may result. I will conclude by considering the connection between support for basic and applied research and successful product commercialization. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 9:48AM - 10:24AM |
N5.00004: Benchmarking Competitiveness: Is America's Technological Hegemony Waning? Invited Speaker: For more than half a century, by almost every standard, the United States has been the world's leader in scientific discovery, innovation and technological competitiveness. To a large degree, that dominant position stemmed from the circumstances our nation inherited at the conclusion of the World War Two: we were, in effect, the only major nation left standing that did not have to repair serious war damage. And we found ourselves with an extraordinary science and technology base that we had developed for military purposes. We had the laboratories -- industrial, academic and government -- as well as the scientific and engineering personnel -- many of them immigrants who had escaped from war-time Europe. What remained was to convert the wartime machinery into peacetime uses. We adopted private and public policies that accomplished the transition remarkably well, and we have prospered ever since. Our higher education system, our protection of intellectual property rights, our venture capital system, our entrepreneurial culture and our willingness to commit government funds for the support of science and engineering have been key components to our success. But recent competitiveness benchmarks suggest that our dominance is waning rapidly, in part because other nations have begun to emulate our successful model, in part because globalization has ``flattened'' the world and in part because we have been reluctant to pursue the public policies that are necessary to ensure our leadership. We will examine these benchmarks and explore the policy changes that are needed to keep our nation's science and technology enterprise vibrant and our economic growth on an upward trajectory. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 10:24AM - 11:00AM |
N5.00005: MRI from 400 gauss to 1.5 tesla and beyond Invited Speaker: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is arguably the most novel and important medical imaging modality since the advent of the X-ray. MRI grew out of the long development of atomic spectroscopy, atomic and molecular beam resonance and, finally, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in condensed matter. The operation and economics of MRI systems depend on the performance of magnets, pulsed magnetic field gradient windings and rf (radiofrequency) coils. Physics and physicists have made critical contributions to these technologies. Superconducting magnets have come to be the magnet of choice. Magnetic gradient windings present theoretical electromagnetic and practical challenges. The need for rf antennas that resonate at high frequencies while surrounding sizable spatial regions inspired large coils producing uniform rf magnetic fields while minimizing electric field interactions with the imaging subject. This development enabled MRI at high magnetic fields. Additionally it is possible to use arrays of small rf coils to obtain MRI images with the high signal-to-noise ratio of a small surface coil and the field of view of a large coil. We recently investigated the intense acoustic noise (110 dB or more) produced in MRI scanners. Surprisingly, eddy currents induced in the magnet cryostat inner bore make a major contribution to this noise. Calculations indicate that a thin layer of Cu on the outside of the gradient assembly could substantially decrease eddy currents and help reduce noise. GE R{\&}D work was focused on the science underlying MRI, MRI technology and the MRI product. Corporate management sometimes discourages technical publication related to evolving products because it might help rivals. Our practice of extensive publication and participation in open scientific exchange---after filing appropriate patent applications---served as quality control for company science and technology. GE conference presentations and journal publications helped establish technical leadership and determine which ideas were most important. GE scientists built reputations leading to leadership prominent within the MRI technical community. Openness underpinned a highly effective development process that enabled GE to pull ahead of competitors. [Preview Abstract] |
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