Dr. Thomas C. Sparks’ Swarm of Ideas

12/21/2009

By keeping an open mind and irrepressible optimism, the 2009 R&D Magazine Scientist of the Year helped Dow AgroSciences pioneer a new, green insect control technology.

Scientist of the Year - Dr. Thomas C. Sparks

11/2/2009

By some estimates, there are more than a million insect species in this world. Only a small percentage of this number is detrimental to the quality of our lives, but these are the species that drive research by scientists like Dr. Thomas C. Sparks, R&D Magazine’s 44th Scientist of the Year. The entomologist’s job is to know these insects, even down to the molecular level, to discover ways to keep them from destroying a very precious commodity: our food.

Mario Paniccia: Conductor of Light

12/1/2008

At an Intel laboratory, R&D Magazine’s 2008 Scientist of the Year is designing the chips that are revolutionizing photonics and pointing the way to the terascale age of optical communications.

R&D Magazine’s 42nd Scientist of the Year

12/10/2007

Before genomics, before computer software, and long before computer-aided chromatographs, a typical day in the chemistry lab involved arduous work. What might take minutes today required weeks a few decades ago, a fact well-known to George M. Whitesides who learned the chemist's trade as a teenager in his father's lab, studying compounds for rope treatments and enhancements to concrete.

Architect of the Future: Refocusing On Basic Research

11/20/2006

Dr. Gerald Rubin is a researcher who works to understand the genomic structure of the Drosophila melanogaster, or common fruit fly. Rubin is also Vice President and Director of the Janelia Farm Research Campus (JFRC), the recently opened research facility of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Chevy Chase, Md.

Leading the Fight Against Disease

11/21/2005

The world is faced with tremendous medical challengesthat now, all too often, have come to include the wordpandemic. Consider the fact that HIV/AIDS, malaria,and tuberculosis alone are directly responsible formore than 4 million deaths per year.

Constant Focus on the Future

11/16/2004

When George Poste left SmithKline Beecham in late-1999 after nearly 20 years of running many of their R&D operations, he thought that his future commuting route would be a lot different than his nearly weekly trips between SmithKline's headquarters in Philadelphia and its offices in Europe. "I had what I called my three-S triangle-Scottsdale (Ariz.), San Francisco, and San Diego," he explains. "That was going to be my commuting triangle and I would interact with a series of biotech companies in those cities and have more time to explore the landscape of Arizona."

2003 Scientist of the Year

11/12/2003

Eric Lander has a very simple goal in lifeall he wants is to know everything there is to know about the human genome. And he believes he can do it. Eric Lander is director of the MIT Center for Genome Research at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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Lunar tires, space MRSA, and resonating microfluidics

Mar 5

I typically attend the annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy each year in pursuit of specific coverage. This year, I sought out candidates for coverage in a vacuum technology article, and pulled together some instruments for a spectroscopy guide. But as busy as that kept me, it wasn’t all mass spectrometers and vacuum pumps on the show floor.  

A clean energy America…is it coming or not?

Feb 24

Almost a year ago, the buzz during the downturn was that the economic stimulus will help boost jobs in a sort of national improvement program reminiscent of the 1930s. Our coal would be phased out. Our grids would get smart. Our cars would get hybridized.

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NuGard Coating Ashburn Hill

Jan 7

NuGard First Response Protective Clothing are lightweight coveralls, jackets, and pants that provide protection from heat and flame while keeping the wearers body temperature constant.

Multi-Touch Music Maker

Jan 7

Professor David Wessel shows his multi-touch interface that uses computer technologies that allow him to experiment with fine controls to "caress" the instrument.