An Assessment of ARPA-E


Book Description

In 2005, the National Research Council report Rising Above the Gathering Storm recommended a new way for the federal government to spur technological breakthroughs in the energy sector. It recommended the creation of a new agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, as an adaptation of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) modelâ€"widely considered a successful experiment that has funded out-of-the-box, transformative research and engineering that made possible the Internet, GPS, and stealth aircraft. This new agency was envisioned as a means of tackling the nation's energy challenges in a way that could translate basic research into technological breakthroughs while also addressing economic, environmental, and security issues. Congress authorized ARPA-E in the 2007 America COMPETES Act and requested an early assessment following 6 years of operation to examine the agency's progress toward achieving its statutory mission and goals. This publication summarizes the results of that assessment.




The Performance Economy


Book Description

This updated and revised edition outlines strategies and models for how to use technology and knowledge to improve performance, create jobs and increase income. It shows what skills will be required to produce, sell and manage performance over time, and how manual jobs can contribute to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources.




The 2030 Spike


Book Description

The clock is relentlessly ticking! Our world teeters on a knife-edge between a peaceful and prosperous future for all, and a dark winter of death and destruction that threatens to smother the light of civilization. Within 30 years, in the 2030 decade, six powerful 'drivers' will converge with unprecedented force in a statistical spike that could tear humanity apart and plunge the world into a new Dark Age. Depleted fuel supplies, massive population growth, poverty, global climate change, famine, growing water shortages and international lawlessness are on a crash course with potentially catastrophic consequences. In the face of both doomsaying and denial over the state of our world, Colin Mason cuts through the rhetoric and reams of conflicting data to muster the evidence to illustrate a broad picture of the world as it is, and our possible futures. Ultimately his message is clear; we must act decisively, collectively and immediately to alter the trajectory of humanity away from catastrophe. Offering over 100 priorities for immediate action, The 2030 Spike serves as a guidebook for humanity through the treacherous minefields and wastelands ahead to a bright, peaceful and prosperous future in which all humans have the opportunity to thrive and build a better civilization. This book is powerful and essential reading for all people concerned with the future of humanity and planet earth.




Air Quality Criteria for Oxides of Nitrogen


Book Description

Evaluates the latest scientific data on health effects of NOx measured in laboratory animals and exposed human populations and the effects of NOx on agricultural corps, forests and ecosystems, as well the NOx effects on visibility and non-biological materials. Other chapters describe the nature, sources, distribution, measurement and concentrations of NOx in the environment. Covers all pertinent literature through early 1993. Glossary of terms and symbols. Extensive bibliography. Charts, tables and graphs.




Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy


Book Description

Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of products including cell phones (e.g., tantalum) and liquid crystal displays (e.g., indium). For some minerals, such as the platinum group metals used to make cataytic converters in cars, there is no substitute. If the supply of any given mineral were to become restricted, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected. Risks to minerals supplies can include a sudden increase in demand or the possibility that natural ores can be exhausted or become too difficult to extract. Minerals are more vulnerable to supply restrictions if they come from a limited number of mines, mining companies, or nations. Baseline information on minerals is currently collected at the federal level, but no established methodology has existed to identify potentially critical minerals. This book develops such a methodology and suggests an enhanced federal initiative to collect and analyze the additional data needed to support this type of tool.




The Photomultiplier Handbook


Book Description

"Photomultipliers are extremely sensitive light detectors with the capability to detect single photons. In multiplying the charge produced by incident light by up to 100 million times, these devices are essential to a wide range of applications, from medical instrumentation to astronomical observations. This complete and authoritative guide will provide...a deeper understanding of the operating principles of these devices." -- Publisher's description, back cover.




City of Light


Book Description

This text presents the history of the development of fibre optic technology, explaining the scientific challenges that needed to be overcome, the range of applications and future potential for this fundamental communications technology.




Human Factors in Lighting, Second Edition


Book Description

The availability of electric lighting has changed the lives of people the world over and lighting is a major consumer of energy, yet little has been written about the forms of lighting that can alter human visual capabilities and enhance productivity, ensure comfort and create appropriate lighting conditions. It is important to understand the forms of lighting available, and their appropriateness to specific activities, in order to apply the technology most effectively. This book is a comprehensive review of the interaction of people and lighting and supercedes the author's classic Human Factors in Lighting. The technology has changed markedly in recent years with the introduction of new light sources and new methods of light distribution. The significance of specialist lighting applications, such as photobiology, are now becoming better understood. The nature of work itself has changed, and hence so have lighting requirements. Equally, the development of the technology has created new opportunities for improving peoples' work and leisure environments.




Assistive Technology for Visually Impaired and Blind People


Book Description

Equal accessibility to public places and services is now required by law in many countries. For the vision-impaired, specialised technology often can provide a fuller enjoyment of the facilities of society, from large scale meetings and public entertainments to reading a book or making music. This volume explores the engineering and design principles and techniques used in assistive technology for blind and vision-impaired people. This book maintains the currency of knowledge for engineers and health workers who develop devices and services for people with sight loss, and is an excellent source of reference for students of assistive technology and rehabilitation.