The U.S. Navy has signed The Boeing Co. to begin another round of tests of a defensive reconnaissance system that involves an autonomous underwater craft. Boeing has a new $11 million contract with U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command to refurbish and launch new tests of the technology, the AN/BLQ-11 Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System.

The system is designed to send out an unmanned underwater vehicle, or UUV, from a submarine. The vehicle is capable of reaching programmed waypoints as it gathers data about mines. It can search an area for more than 12 hours at a stretch. Once the vehicle reaches its rendezvous position, it communicates acoustically with the submarine and operators on the submarine can command it to return and dock with a recovery arm. The craft uses inertial guidance and GPS tracking to reunite with the submarine, which retrieves it. Once the vehicle is back onboard, data can be downloaded and analyzed to reveal the existence of minefields and the positions of individual mines.

The Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System incorporates an unmanned underwater vehicle that can be launched and retrieved through the torpedo tubes of a submarine.

The purpose of the automated system, a Navy spokesman said, is to "keep the man out of the minefield."

The system was tested in January 2006, when a UUV was released through the torpedo tube of the USS Scranton and later returned to dock with the recovery arm. According to Boeing, the system's 60-foot robotic recovery arm suffered a mechanical failure during the test and, although docking was successful, the unmanned vehicle was not retrieved as planned.

The new contract covers repairs to the recovery arm, but the primary purpose of the refurbishment is to replace worn parts, Boeing said. The arm is designed to last 20 years, or about 300 cycles. During the test program, it was cycled more than 600 times.

Boeing will add cameras to the recovery arm so operators can observe the retrieval. Boeing said it also will modify the vehicle and the command and control software.

The AN/BLQ-11 system consists of the recovery arm, two UUVs, shipboard deployed equipment, and non-deployed shore support equipment. A spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command said the current configuration is designed to search for undersea mines, but the next phase of development may include "mission-configurable" vehicles with different payloads to carry out other missions.

While the numbers of women studying engineering have increased in the U.K., many use it as a launch base for a variety of other careers, according to new research funded by England's Economic and Social Research Council.

The council funds research and training that address economic and social concerns.

While a series of government initiatives in the U.K. encourages women to become engineers, traditionally regarded as a male profession, they can be turned off by the teaching and learning methods they must undertake on the way to getting a degree, according to study lead Barbara Bagilhole, a professor of social policy and equal opportunities at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, England.

The rising number of women engineering students doesn't necessarily equate to an increase in those taking up the profession for a living, Bagilhole said. The study asked women a series of questions before, during, and after an industrial placement to garner how they felt about their chosen profession at different points in education and at work.

In England, industrial placement functions as a type of internship for students as they near the end of their degree studies.

The researchers found that women students had identified engineering degrees as a good basis for a variety of career paths.

Indeed, students of both sexes were critical of both the content and the emphasis on theory in their college courses, and said that they wanted a more practical curriculum relevant to the working world. Those students had difficulty adjusting to the practicalities and routines of work as well as to the workplace culture. Industrial placements can ease this process, and help women engineering students make choices about their careers, Bagilhole said.

"Women adopt a variety of strategies for coping both as an industrial placement student and in a male-dominated environment," Bagilhole said. "These include acting like one of the boys, accepting gender challenges, and building a reputation.

"Overwhelmingly, women found that, both in the engineering classroom and workplace, their gender was, unwittingly, likely to ensure that they received more help than their male counterparts," she added. "On the negative side, this indicates that women are widely viewed in engineering as less capable than their male counterparts."

Yet the women surveyed perceived themselves more employable as a result of their gender, and felt that companies were trying to recruit more females in order to improve their image, the study found.

"A drive to recruit more women into the industry is commendable, but this has had the effect of making them wonder whether they have been employed for their capabilities or their gender," Bagilhole said.

With federal funding for research and development slowing down this year, industry funding will continue to grow. That is the essence of the 39th annual Battelle-R&D Magazine 2007 R&D Funding Forecast.

Industrial R&D investments are expected to reach $219 billion is 2007, an increase of 3.4 percent over 2006 levels of $212 billion. On the other hand, the federal government is slated to spend $98.3 billion on R&D, a minor increase of 1.8 percent from last year's figure of $96.6 billion.

According to Battelle, the Columbus, Ohio-based research firm, the U.S. industrial climate is strong, with R&D spending expected to remain that way for 2008.

The research firm says that growth fields for industry are electronics, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, software development, and process modeling. Aerospace and the semiconductor market are also on the upswing. The report points out that low-cost, high-efficiency photovoltaic systems are approaching the cost efficiencies of petroleum-based energy supplies.

Nanotechnology-based materials science, energy, and any industry involved in sustainability areas show promise for improvements.

Battelle pointed out that many program managers, planners, teachers, researchers, and operating scientists and engineers are approaching retirement age. There are thus legitimate concerns about the number of future practicing science and technology employees currently working their way through the educational pipeline.

ASME and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers will present five virtual seminars on sustainable engineering, beginning on March 15.

Each virtual seminar will be an Internet-based, interactive forum with experts in the field of sustainable development and product life-cycle analysis. The five ASME-AIChE programs will present case studies on the successful application of sustainable engineering practices at leading global firms, including Wal-Mart and Bristol-Meyers Squibb.

The March 15 session is "Shaping Your Sustainability Strategy and Moving to Action." It will feature presentations by Richard E. Feigel, past president of ASME, and Calvin Cobb, chair of the AIChE Institute for Sustainability.

The fee for all five sessions is $595 for members and $695 for nonmembers. Details and links for registration are online at http://www.asme.org/ Education/Courses/Webinars/ NEWVirtual_Symposia.cfm. The Web site requires registrants to select a date before they have the opportunity to sign up for the course.

It's said that an army marches on its stomach. But if a portable generator devised at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., gains acceptance, that old saying will have to be updated: An army generates power from its waste.

Small enough to fit in the back of a truck, the generator is actually a self-contained refinery as well. Food scraps, paper, plastic, and other trash are fed into the machine. The food is sent into a fermentation tank where yeast converts it to ethanol. The rest of the material goes into a gasifier that breaks down the carbon-based solids into methane and propane.

A generator system developed at Purdue can take a military camp's paper, plastic, and food waste, and convert it into electricity.

The fuel streams are combined and injected into a modified diesel engine to power a generator. Although the generator does require some diesel fuel to power the gasifier, during tests of the system in November, it produced 90 percent more energy than it consumed.

Military encampments create huge piles of waste, but the system can cut this volume by a factor of 30. Even the residual from the fermenter is cycled into the gasifier, where it is reduced to a fine ash. This method of disposal might provide more than just energy security: By gasifying paper products, it helps keep sensitive documents out of the hands of enemy agents working near the camp.

The designers of the system, which is still in prototype, say that such a freestanding portable generator could have non-military applications. It could provide emergency power in a disaster area by converting wood debris into electricity. Restaurants and processed food facilities might also find that turning scraps and leftovers into electricity is more profitable than paying for disposal.

In addition to Purdue, Bowen Engineering of Indianapolis and Defense Life Sciences LLC of McLean, Va., helped develop the system.

When Continental Automotive Systems set up its exhibit at the Chicago Auto Show last month, it used the occasion to make a strong recruiting pitch for software engineers.

The automotive supplier's German parent, Continental AG, launched a Global Engineering Initiative two years ago with eight leading international universities to enhance engineering education. The company plans to hire some 600 engineers worldwide, including at least 50 in the Chicago area over the next year. The effort is part of plans to hire 1,300 professionals worldwide in 2007.

The growing demand for intelligent automotive electronics is driving the need for Continental to recruit top engineering talent for its Deer Park, Ill., electronics development center. Continental, the system supplier behind GM OnStar and the system integrator behind Ford Sync, is developing a variety of other smart car technologies for various applications, including telematics, powertrain and chassis, hybrid vehicle, sensor, body, and security electronics.

The company is even taking résumés by e-mail, at CAS_Careers@us.contiautomotive.com.

A leading manufacturer of microturbine systems, Elliott Energy Systems Inc., said that it has received the approval it needs to begin delivering its microturbines to New York City. The approval is in the form of a materials equipment acceptance number, which has been assigned to Elliott's 100 kW integrated combined heat and power microturbine systems.

The MEA is given under the approval of the New York City Department of Buildings and the New York Fire Department. The MEA number of Elliott's equipment is 216-06-E.

An MEA is required for many products, including microturbines, and is generally concerned with "public safety, health, and welfare," according to the Department of Buildings Web site. It is required for plan approval and obtaining permits. The MEA for microturbines requires certification to UL 2200, UL 1741, and IEEE 1547. Elliott's MEA was obtained based on these certifications and the extensive operating experience under rigorous European safety standards, specifically the directive on appliances burning gaseous fuels 90/396/EEC.

The MEA allows Elliott to begin delivery of a large order for microturbines in the New York City market, according to the company, which is based in Stuart, Fla. The first one will be shipped this month. According to Steve Hillman, vice president of sales and marketing, "This is just the start of significant growth for Elliott Energy Systems in America's premier city."

Hillman said, "Microturbines are installed in critical applications, such as apartment complexes, nursing homes, office buildings, and offshore oil platforms. The nature of these applications means that you need 'boots on the ground' for service. Native distributors know their markets and communities. Customers expect reliable prime power, and distribution is a key part of reliability."

Elliott Energy Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ebara Corp. of Tokyo.

A manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of industrial batteries, EnerSys in Reading, Pa., has reached an agreement to acquire a majority interest in Energia AD, a producer of industrial batteries located in Targovishte, Bulgaria. The total purchase price for the transaction was approximately $17 million.

The acquisition "increases our market presence in the rapidly growing Eastern European and Russian markets," said John Craig, CEO of EnerSys.

The 26th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering in June will include a specialty forum, "Career Opportunities in the Offshore and Arctic Engineering Profession." The forum, sponsored by the ASME Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering Division of the International Petroleum Technology Institute, is open to senior engineering students and early career professionals from a broad range of engineering and scientific qualifications. The conference will be held June 12–13 at the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego.

Hamilton Sundstrand of Windsor Locks, Conn., has acquired Precision Engine Controls Corp., a manufacturer of industrial and marine engine controls and services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. PECC, based in San Diego, supplies valves, electric actuators, and control systems for use in gas turbines. Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., makes aerospace systems for commercial and military aircraft. It also is a major supplier for international space programs.

NYacad Inc. of New York has updated SolidStructural, its three-dimensional steel modeling and auto detailing software for structural design, steel detailing, and fabrication.

The manager of the Nevada Rail Project, the railroad that will carry radioactive waste to the repository at Yucca Mountain, will speak on March 15 at the ASME/IEEE Joint Rail Conference. The speaker, Eugene C. Allen, is an engineer at Bechtel-SAIC Co. LLC, which is designing the railway for the U.S. Department of Energy. The conference runs March 13–16 in Pueblo, Colo.

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