Lee Bruno

Oil and water do mix - all too often. And they're not so easy to separate. Just ask the research scientists trying to develop next-generation water-filtration technologies to do it. But with the 21st century toolsets of nanotech and chemistry, they promise to overcome vexing problems of cost-effectively removing oil agents from drinking water. Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new, durable membrane material that does double duty: it separates oil from water (at a 98 percent rate) and cleans itself to prevent clogs. Those kinds of purification numbers and characteristics offer a unique filtration material well suited for environmental cleanup, water purification and industrial...

Research teams at Clemson, UCLA and the University of Southampton in the UK are pioneering novel nanoscale sensors for detecting environmental toxins and other harmful airborne chemical and biological agents. At Clemson, researchers have developed nanoscale cantilevers that potentially could be placed in a handheld device and used for real-time chemical alerts in detecting harmful gases on the battlefield, in healthcare and even at home. The nanoscale cantilevers look like tiny diving boards under an electron microscope. Researchers have found that the cantilevers can vibrate much like a guitar string. By measuring the amplitude and frequency under different conditions, the scientists...

For years engineers and utilities have been waxing on and on about the future of the utility grid and the economic importance of having a smarter, more flexible infrastructure for distributing electricity. But the conversation goes silent when it comes to the price tag: $1.5 trillion. There’s no doubt that a radical improvement needs to be made to the aged infrastructure that carries electricity from generation plants to homes and businesses. Some places on the grid, like stretches between L.A. and San Diego, are as congested as the freeways at rush hour. This is where energy intelligence comes in. Energy intelligence is often defined as a subsector of traditional energy efficiency, focused on...

Let's face it. The majority of tech companies have become obsessed with innovation and determined to use it whenever possible in marketing campaigns. That's because demonstrated leadership in the area of innovation signals to competitors and customers alike that your company possesses the right stuff. The trouble is that measuring innovation is not easy. Which doesn't mean people aren't trying. McKinsey Quarterly recently reported results of a global survey that it says reveals the companies getting the highest returns from innovation. Among the interesting findings are: only 16 percent of the survey respondents say their companies don't use metrics to assess innovation; and 45...

Rugged microbes equipped with a unique set of survival skills find high-temperature and acidic conditions a welcome home. And scientists have a peculiar fondness for these "extremeophiles," freaks of nature that live outside the boundaries of normal existence. These are bugs that can grow in the harshest of conditions, from sulphuric acid to high-salt environments. Part of the reason scientists are interested is extremeophiles potential to be put to work to produce next-generation cellulosic-based biofuels. Sandia's Rajat Sapra examines assays for the screening of engineered enzymes. (Photo: Sandia National Labs) How? These microbes can perform feats that bioengineers till now only...

The drinking-water pipe network in the United States extends more than 700,000 miles -- four times the length of the national highway system. Much of the infrastructure is more than 100 years old. It is estimated by the American Water Works Association that U.S. water utilities will need to invest $250 billion over the next 30 years to replace the aging pipes, many of which leak. That typically involves digging up streets, which is costly. Enter a new platelet technology being tested by Yorkshire Water in the UK. It was developed by a company called Brinker, which was spun off from the University of Aberdeen. (It's estimated that about a third of London's drinking water is lost through leaking pipes.) The technology is already used by the natural gas...

The problem for scientists and engineers has been that in order to tune a catalyst to do what is desired, you need to know how it adapts during a reaction. Trouble is, watching catalysts in action has escaped the reach of scientists until now. With the aid of powerful spectroscopy technology, U.S. Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists observed catalysts restructuring themselves in response to various gases swirling around them. The spectroscopy helps provide a window into these reactions for tuning catalysts. These insights are expected to help improve pollution control as well as fuel cell technologies. Smarter catalysts hold promise for removing toxins from water and helping feed...

Nanoparticles are all the rage for a variety of different applications, ranging from treatments for cancer to use in automobile sensors. Trouble is, the manmade nanomorsels have been raising concern about side effects in humans and the environment. A University of Missouri research team has devised a method for creating nanoparticles that don't have negative side effects. And the work has garnered the scientists international recognition. The team found that when you submerge gold salts into water and then add soybeans, gold nanoparticles are created. The procedure is simple but can be used in creating very complex nanoengineered components. The beauty of this green process...

One big problem of converting to solar generated electricity is what to do when the sun goes down. To ensure electrical current on the grid doesn't sharply fall off, requires an industrial-scale electrical storage system to smooth out short term fluctuations. It's a problem at the heart of realizing a renewable energy economy. There's an added urgency for storage systems when considering the California Public Utilities Commission recently mandated that retail sellers of electricity purchase 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2010, and the New York Public Service Commission is mandating 24 percent by 2013. The quest for a large-scale electrical storage system is a...