OTHER ELECTRONICS AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
UPDATE
December 2009
McIlvaine Company
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Juki Headquarters Moves to Tama City, Japan
Czech Government Launches Four Major New Research Initiatives with EU Support
New Nanoscience Labs Are Completed at University of Southern California
Ultra Clean Technology Acquires Facility in Singapore
Fusion Opens High-Tech Anti-Counterfeiting Lab
New Energy Research Lab at Argonne
AppliedMicro Expands into New Centre in Vietnam
Juki Corporation, a provider of automated assembly products and systems, announces the completion of its new headquarters and research and development (R&D) located at 2-11-1 Tsurumaki, Tama-shi, Tokyo 206-8551. The expanded facilities combine the company's headquarters and R&D functions to speed process development, enhance operational efficiency and strengthen its global presence.
Juki began construction of the two office buildings in Tama City, Tokyo in April 2008 and expects to move into them before 2010. The buildings, designed by Nihon Sekkei, Inc. and constructed by Nishimatsu Construction Co., Ltd., will accommodate 800 employees from Juki and five group companies. The east building consists of the headquarters as well as the planning and sales departments. In this facility, there is a showroom for SMT pick-and-place systems. The west building, which is four stories, houses the R&D department.
(Nanowerk News) Toxicology, mechanical engineering, nanoscience and veterinary medicine are the subjects of four major new EU-funded research initiatives launched recently in the Czech Republic. The projects, which will share over CZK 2 billion (EUR 77 million), are financed under the Operational Program Research and Development for Innovation (OP R&DI), which receives EU support through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The aim of the OP R&DI is to strengthen research, development and innovation in the Czech Republic with a view to enhancing the country's economic growth and competitiveness, and to make the Czech regions attractive locations for research and related activities.
One grant recipient is Masaryk University in Brno, which has been allocated CZK 544 million (EUR 21 million) for its CETOCOEN ('Centre for the study of toxic substances') project. The money will allow the university to build a new pavilion for the centre and put together a research team comprising both Czech and foreign scientists with expertise in environmental science.
The project will focus on the development of new chemical and toxicological tools to monitor environmental quality, assess the impacts of man-made and natural toxins in the environment on human health, and model the behavior of these compounds. The team will create an open access environmental database and link it up to other epidemiological databases. They will also work closely with regional authorities and support regional development through the organization of an international conference or workshop and annual summer schools.
Another project is the NETME ('new technology for mechanical engineering') Centre at Brno University of Technology. As its name suggests, the NETME Centre's work focuses on research into advanced technologies for mechanical engineering. The CZK 768 million (EUR 30 million) grant will help the centre significantly enhance its research activities by allowing it to invest in state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment. In addition, the new equipment will help the centre improve its education program and ensure its research is applied in practice.
Elsewhere, the Technical University of Liberec has been allocated CZK 800 million (EUR 31 million) for the Centre for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation. The funds will go towards the purchase of new equipment and devices to allow the centre's researchers to carry out top-level experiments in the fields of material research (with a focus on nanomaterials) and competitive engineering (notably in the areas of robotics, mobile devices and safe engineering subjects).
The new facilities provide a solid foundation for research at USC on nanoscience, defined as the study of matter and structure roughly on the order of a billionth of a meter. Biomedical nanoscience seeks to use nanoscale particles and structures for highly precise tests, devices and treatments.
"We've improved our infrastructure tremendously," initiative co-director Mark Thompson of the USC College said at the group's annual retreat Nov. 20.
Co-director Sarah Hamm-Alvarez of the USC School of Pharmacy said the infrastructure had come so far that the initiative should consider logical next steps, such as post-doc fellowships, student travel fellowships, seminars, and other educational opportunities.
Guest speaker Paras Prasad, a nanotechnology expert at The State University of New York, told the initiative's researchers: "You could be globally visible in this area in a very short time, and make a real huge impact on 21st century health care."
A new facility for imaging molecular structure rounds out the nanobiophysics, cell and tissue imaging, and protein analysis core laboratories opened previously.
Formally called the Biomolecular and Small Molecule Nuclear Magnetic Resonance facility, the new laboratory (actually two rooms on the first floor of Stabler Hall) contains magnetic field scanners for studying medically important molecules in their natural state. The laboratory was developed by Richard Roberts, professor of chemistry, who wrote the grant that obtained funding that was matched by the provost's office.
Previously, USC researchers were limited to x-ray crystallography, which only works if a molecule can be grown in crystal form; many cannot.
The new equipment, Thompson said, "will allow us to determine the structure of small and medium-sized biomolecules."
Speaking on future directions, Vice Provost for Research Advancement Randolph Hall reminded listeners that nanoscience had received a major outlay from the Office of the Provost. Hall agreed that the infrastructure goals had been largely accomplished, and added the time had come to capitalize on the investment.
"Eventually we need to take that basic science and turn it into drugs and therapeutic devices," he said.
Hall said he was "very concerned" about medicine's very slow progress against cancer and neurodegenerative diseases in particular.
HAYWARD, Calif., Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (UCTT), a leading developer and supplier of critical subsystems for the semiconductor capital equipment, medical device, research, flat panel and solar industries, is pleased to announce the launch of its new manufacturing operation in Singapore at the Spectrum 1 complex in the Woodlands Industrial Estate. Ultra Clean took over the 35,000 sq. ft. facility from Allegro Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. in early November 2009. In addition to acquiring the facility and installed equipment, Ultra Clean has taken over ongoing systems integration business in the facility.
Commenting on the news, Clarence Granger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ultra Clean remarked "expansion in Asia and alignment of our operational footprint to the needs of our customers are both core elements of our growth strategy. As mentioned in our recent earnings call, the new Singapore facility will enable us to provide our customers with manufacturing services in market segments where speed, intellectual property protection, and export compliance are key concerns."
"The new Singapore facility will be Ultra Clean's Asia Pacific regional headquarters and will also host engineering and supply chain management activities for Ultra Clean," said David Savage, Ultra Clean's President and Chief Operating Officer. "In addition to meeting our customers' expectations for local systems integration capability, we consider Singapore the ideal base for key support functions. The availability of skilled engineers and experienced suppliers in the precision engineering sector will allow us to develop Singapore as our regional engineering center and procurement hub."
To further protect against the increasing volume of counterfeit electronics components entering the supply chain, Fusion, a global independent distributor of electronic components, has invested in a new Anti-Counterfeit Screening and Analysis Laboratory. The lab, the most advanced among independent distributors, enables Fusion to conduct both destructive and non-destructive screening and analysis, supplementing its rigorous quality and inspection processes already in place.
The announcement of the lab's opening comes on the heels of Fusion meeting the stringent membership requirements of The Independent Distributors of Electronics Association (IDEA). In its ongoing efforts to protect customers and thwart counterfeiters, Fusion has employed anti-counterfeit screening equipment and procedures within each of its worldwide Quality Hubs, all of which are ANSI ESD 20.20-certified. Inspections conducted at all of the Quality Hubs are conducted by IDEA-certified inspectors only.
Among the new analytical equipment contained in the lab are:
"As counterfeiters get increasingly more sophisticated, accordingly, it's even more imperative for us to know and trust that the components we utilize in our products are authentic," says Kamran Mohajer, senior manager, Manufacturing Engineering, Cisco Systems. "As a standard, Fusion continuously pursues and employs the latest technologies and methods to insure its products are not bogus and/or are of poor quality. This is the only way to beat the counterfeiters at their game. It brings much assurance and peace of mind for us."
The new lab's screening and analysis capabilities supplement rigorous quality and inspection processes Fusion already has in place:
"It's essential, for all parties involved, that the products we distribute are authentic and of the highest quality," says Paul Romano, COO at Fusion. "We hope that our customers see our new Quality Lab, another step on top of the many rigid inspection and vendor protocol procedures we employ, as a testament to our unrelenting commitment to deliver superior customer service and the highest quality products."
The Dept. of Energy is providing $8 million to Argonne National Laboratory for detailed design work for a new, world-class energy research facility. This is the first step in beginning work on what is expected to be a $95 million construction project.
The Energy Sciences Building (ESB) will provide an environment that will accelerate the pace of discovery by bringing together interdisciplinary teams of researchers in a space that can be adjusted to accommodate an evolving energy-related science agenda. Construction is scheduled to begin during fiscal year 2011.
"The ESB will house the kind of research infrastructure that is necessary to conduct breakthrough science," says Argonne Director Eric Isaacs. "Compared to many of Argonne's existing buildings, some of which are more than 50 years old, the ESB will enable highly interactive scientific collaborations by bringing together in one place energy-related scientific research that is presently spread throughout the Argonne campus."
"The work in the ESB will focus on four central themes associated with Argonne's energy security strategy, strengthen our basic research capabilities and facilitate synergies that enhance both," Al Sattelberger, associate laboratory director for Energy Sciences and Engineering, says.
The four themes are:
"The ESB is another step in Argonne's long-range campus modernization plan," Sattelberger says. Completion of ESB is currently slated for FY 2014. The building will be located in the northern part of the Argonne campus, known as the 200 area. The multi-story building will be approximately 140,000 square feet and accommodate an estimated 250 employees.
The focus on long-range plans for construction of buildings that will ensure the competitiveness of Argonne is part of a broader modernization initiative by the DOE Office of Science, which oversees Argonne and nine other basic science-oriented national laboratories for DOE.
"The focus of this modernization effort is major capital investment in the infrastructure to ensure the continued vitality of the national laboratories and to improve the readiness of the infrastructure to support current and future missions of DOE," says Angela Harvey, director of the Infrastructure, Programs and Projects Division at the DOE Argonne Site Office.
"This initiative involves all the SC laboratories and includes more than 30 projects totaling more than $2 billion," Harvey adds. "The end result will be modern, safe, quality infrastructure that will allow the laboratories to ensure scientific leadership now and in the future."
Semiconductor maker AppliedMicro Circuits Corporation (AMCC) announced the opening of a new office in HCM City, Vietnam. The office would expand its existing facility and strengthen efforts in integrated circuit design and software development, the company said.
The larger facility would enable the company hire more employees from Viet Nam’s talented engineering pool, it added.
The new centre also marked a milestone of the company changing its name from AMCC to AppliedMicro to reflect a new focus on greater energy efficiency and lower costs for its high performance connectivity and processing products, it said.
"The outstanding efforts turned in by AppliedMicro’s Viet Nam design team since its inception in 2008 have encouraged the company to expand its presence by opening a new office," said Paramesh Gopi, president and CEO of AppliedMicro, who presided over the opening ceremony.
"The new office means more jobs for Viet Nam’s highly educated, world-class engineers and it improves the company’s efforts to compete globally with leading-edge processing and transport products. AppliedMicro remains committed to its employees here and as we look to expand the company, the design centre will play an important part of our company’s growth," Gopi said.
"The new design centre will enable AppliedMicro to expand its workforce from 70 to 100 people. Viet Nam is gaining recognition by the electronics industry for producing young talented board designers and layout engineers, and AppliedMicro’s design centre in HCM City provides a central location for recruiting new employees," the company said.
The design centre’s proximity to mainland China, Japan and Taiwan is strategic for AppliedMicro, as most of its growth is being generated from business in these countries and territories. The Viet Nam location enables prompt support efforts to its customers there.
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