SWE - Winter 2009 - (Page 56) ENGINEERING WORLD Cell-Size Batteries Forget 9-volts, AAs, AAAs, or D batteries: The energy for tomorrow’s miniature electronic devices could come from tiny microbatteries about half the size of a human cell and built with viruses. MIT engineers have developed a way to at once create and install such microbatteries, which could one day power a range of miniature Become the invaluable engineering leader your organization or industry needs Master of Engineering in Professional Practice The Master of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison gives you the knowledge, strategies and tools to create new opportunities for yourself and your employer. With the skills you gain, you’ll be a valued and necessary leader of projects and teams in the global marketplace. As you learn with other engineering leaders in this highly interactive, Internet-based program, you will: no interruption to your career, travel or family time to succeed as a leader projects for assignments most engineers The admission process is underway for studies beginning in June 2009. Request your application package today! From left, MIT professors Yet-Ming Chiang, Angela Belcher and Paula Hammond. The three have co-authored a paper detailing their virus-based method of creating and installing microbatteries by stamping them onto a variety of surfaces. devices, from labs-on-a-chip to implantable medical sensors, by stamping them onto a variety of surfaces. “To our knowledge, this is the first instance in which microcontact printing has been used to fabricate and position microbattery electrodes and the first use of virus-based assembly in such a process,” wrote MIT professors Paula T. Hammond, Ph.D.; Angela M. Belcher, Ph.D.; Yet-Ming Chiang, Ph.D.; and colleagues. Further, the technique itself “does not involve any expensive equipment, and is done at room temperature,” said Dr. Belcher. U.S. and American Views on Plugging in vs. Filling Up A new study has uncovered significant consumer demand for energy-efficient technologies in the automotive sector in Europe. Comparison research in the U.S. mimics this trend. Figures from the annual AutoTECHCAST Europe study, undertaken by global market research organization Harris Interactive®, reveal that 20 percent of Europeans are very or extremely likely to purchase a vehicle that has plug-in hybrid technology, not taking into account estimated market prices. The Harris Interactive AutoTECHCAST U.S. study evaluates similar domestic consumer trends and provides comparison data for marketers and manufacturers seeking to better understand key differences (and important similarities) in U.S. and European consumer markets. The convenience of plugging in a vehicle every night instead of filling it up at the gas station every week is appealing to plug-in hybrid considerers, with 72 percent of respondents in Europe preferring the plug-in option. The study also highlights that further consideration of the infrastructure required to support a population of plug-in hybrid vehicles is needed. Among the European consumers surveyed, 21 percent of those considering buying a plug-in hybrid indicated that they currently park on the street when at home. mepp.engr.wisc.edu 866-529-6377 meppapply@epd.engr.wisc.edu See the real-life success that a MEPP degree can bring at mepp.engr.wisc.edu/swe 56 SWE WINTER 2009 DONNA COVENEY Are You Ready for the Changes Ahead? http://mepp.engr.wisc.edu http://mepp.engr.wisc.edu http://mepp.engr.wisc.edu/swe
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