Technology

East Tennessee is now home to two of the world’s three fastest computers, according to new rankings released today.
The Top500 list of the world’s fastest supercomputers places University of Tennessee supercomputer Kraken in third place, where it also holds the title of world’s fastest academic supercomputer, while Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jaguar computer took first [...]

The eyes may be the mirror to the soul, but the iris reveals a person’s true identity — its intricate structure constitutes a powerful biometric. A new report by computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) demonstrates that iris recognition algorithms can maintain their accuracy and interoperability with compact images, affirming [...]

When searching for basketball videos online, a long list of Web sites appears, which may contain a picture or a word describing a basketball. But what if the computer could search inside videos for a basketball? Researchers at the University of Missouri are developing software that would enable computers to search inside videos, detect humans [...]

Irethorrou, an Egyptian priest entombed for thousands of years in the Middle Egyptian city of Akhmim, can now be seen like never before. Using state of the art High Definition Volume Rendering technology developed by Fovia, Inc., in conjunction with high resolution computed tomography (CT) scans provided by the Stanford Medical School’s Department of Radiology, [...]

Does your laptop sometimes get so hot that it can almost be used to fry eggs? New technology may help cool it and give information technology a unique twist, says Jairo Sinova, a Texas A&M University physics professor.
Sinova and colleagues from Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory, Institute of Physics ASCR, University of Cambridge and University of Nottingham [...]

More than 120 years after the discovery of the electromagnetic character of radio waves by Heinrich Hertz, wireless data transmission dominates information technology. Higher and higher radio frequencies are applied to transmit more data within shorter periods of time. Some years ago, scientists found that light waves might also be used for radio transmission. So [...]

North Carolina State University engineers have created a new material that would allow a fingernail-size computer chip to store the equivalent of 20 high-definition DVDs or 250 million pages of text, far exceeding the storage capacities of today’s computer memory systems.
Led by Dr. Jagdish “Jay” Narayan, John C.C. Fan Family Distinguished Professor of Materials Science [...]

A new computerised approach to airport operations is being developed that will reduce delays, speed up baggage handling and decrease pollution.
The project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and led by researchers at The University of Nottingham.
The research work aims to computerise and co-ordinate four key areas of airport operations: [...]

In the quest for smaller, faster computer chips, researchers are increasingly turning to quantum mechanics — the exotic physics of the small.
The problem: the manufacturing techniques required to make quantum devices have been equally exotic.
That is, until now.
Researchers at Ohio State University have discovered a way to make quantum devices using technology common to the [...]

Modern tissue engineering developed at the University of Michigan could improve the function of prosthetic hands and possibly restore the sense of touch for injured patients.
Researchers will present their updated findings Wednesday at the 95th annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
The research project, which was funded by the Department of Department of [...]

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Intel Labs Pittsburgh (ILP) have combined low-power, embedded processors typically used in netbooks with flash memory to create a server architecture that is fast, but far more energy efficient for data-intensive applications than the systems now used by major Internet services.
An experimental computing cluster based on this so-called Fast [...]

Government agencies and other organizations planning to use WiMAX — Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access — networks can get technical advice on improving the security of their systems from a draft computer security guide prepared by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
WiMAX is a wireless protocol that can cover an area that incorporates [...]

The latest technology in optics and lasers will be on display at the Optical Society’s (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO), which takes place Oct. 11-15 at the Fairmont San Jose Hotel and the Sainte Claire Hotel in San Jose, Calif.
Information on free registration for reporters is contained at the end of this release. [...]

Researchers have overcome a major obstacle in efforts to use tiny structures called carbon nanotubes to create a new class of electronics that would be faster and smaller than conventional silicon-based transistors.
Carbon nanotubes, which were discovered in the early 1990s, could make possible more powerful, compact and energy-efficient computers, as well as ultra-thin “nanowires” for [...]

Physicists at UC San Diego have successfully created speedy integrated circuits with particles called “excitons” that operate at commercially cold temperatures, bringing the possibility of a new type of extremely fast computer based on excitons closer to reality.
Their discovery, detailed this week in the advance online issue of the journal Nature Photonics, follows the team’s [...]

A team of engineers and artists working at the University of Washington’s Solheim Rapid Manufacturing Laboratory has developed a way to create glass objects using a conventional 3-D printer. The technique allows a new type of material to be used in such devices.
The team’s method, which it named the Vitraglyphic process, is a follow-up to [...]

Understanding precisely how fluid boils in tiny “microchannels” has led to formulas and models that will help engineers design systems to cool high-power electronics in electric and hybrid cars, aircraft, computers and other devices.
Allowing a liquid to boil in cooling systems dramatically increases how much heat can be removed, compared to simply heating a liquid [...]

Many medical conditions, such as chronic pain, cancer and diabetes, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques have been developed, using an implanted heat source, an implanted electronic chip or other stimuli as an “on-off” switch [...]

Chemical engineers at Oregon State University have invented a new technology to deposit “nanostructure films” on various surfaces, which may first find use as coatings for eyeglasses that cost less and work better.
Ultimately, the technique may provide a way to make solar cells more efficiently produce energy.
The films reduce the reflectance of light, and in [...]

The blind and visually impaired often rely on others to provide cues and information on navigating through their environments. The problem with this method is that it doesn’t give them the tools to venture out on their own, says Dr. Orly Lahav of Tel Aviv University’s School of Education and Porter School for Environmental Studies.
To [...]