SWE - Spring 2008 - (Page 60) ENGINEERING WORLD and family continue to be the most common source of initial funding for startup companies • Total U.S. patent applications increased to 15,908 (up from 15,115 in FY2005), but patents issued continued to decrease (indicative of delays at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) • Invention disclosures received rose to 18,874, an increase of 1,492, or 8.6 percent, from FY2005, more than twice the increase seen from FY2004 to FY2005 • Licensing to small companies (primarily nonexclusive licenses) again dominated total licensing activity • Technology transfer offices are growing — more than 1,800 full-time equivalents — continuing a 10-year increase in staffing lowing more-efficient car engines, photovoltaic cells, and electronic devices. Novel thermoelectric materials have already resulted in a new consumer product: a simple, efficient way of cooling car seats in hot climates. The devices, similar to the more-familiar car-seat heaters, provide comfort directly to the individual rather than cooling the entire car, saving on airconditioning and energy costs. The research is based on the principle of thermoelectric cooling and heating, which was first discovered in the early 19th century. In the 1960s, MIT professor and former president Paul Gray, Ph.D., among others, advanced the principle into some practical applications. Dr. Dresselhaus and colleagues are now applying nanotechnology and other cutting-edge technologies to the field. Thermoelectric devices are based on the principle that when certain materials are heated, they generate a significant electrical voltage. Conversely, when a voltage is applied to them, they become hotter on one DONNA COVENEY/MIT Mildred Dresselhaus Jumpstarting a New Energy Approach Breathing new life into an old idea, MIT Institute professor Mildred S. Dresselhaus, Ph.D., and co-workers are developing innovative materials for controlling temperatures that could lead to substantial energy savings by al- side and colder on the other. The process works with a variety of materials, and especially well with semiconductors. But it always had one big drawback: it is very inefficient. The fundamental problem in creating efficient thermoelectric materials is that they need to be very good at conducting electricity, but not heat. That way, one end of the apparatus can get hot while the other remains cold, instead of the material quickly equalizing the temperature. In most materials, electrical and thermal conductivity go hand in hand. Therefore, researchers had to find ways of modifying materials to separate the two properties. I AWE? Inspiring. Outreach Assesment Tools Are Within Your Reach. Validate the Impact of your K-16 engineering outreach programs with AWE’s integrated suite of assessment products. These powerful tools, which cost you nothing, provide a number of key benefits that help you: - Identify and integrate best practices - Collect results that underpin guided decision making - Justify your activities or program to attract and sustain funding - Access expert-developed surveys that are off-the-shelf, straight-forward and easy for students to complete - Collect data on intended outcomes of a specific activity (e.g. pre-college, mentoring, self efficacy) through the use of targeted AWE instruments Make your outreach more effective and less time consuming today—visit www.swe.org/awe. Funded by the National Science Foundation: HRD 0120642, 0607081, 0010224, 0734072. 60 SWE SPRING 2008 http://www.swe.org/awe http://www.swe.org/awe
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