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The Latest news from the world of Metallurgy and Materials Science courtesy of Materials Edge

A new voice for knowledge transfer in UK and Ireland
Knowledge transfer professionals in the UK and Ireland now have their own professional body. The Institute of Knowledge Transfer (IKT), which officially launches on 9 May 2007, brings together the people who help to turn world-class research in science, the arts and social sciences into products and processes that can enhance the competitiveness of the UK and Ireland.

Laser light in the deep infrared
Free-electron lasers (FEL) are large and expensive, but they can deliver unique light for research and applications. On August 21, 2006, at the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf (FZR) in Dresden, Germany, the second undulator of the free-electron laser facility went into operation, producing light up to the hard-to-access range of the deep “far” infrared.

Service sector offers growth potential and new jobs
The role of the service sector in the global economy is growing rapidly. It is important that productivity in services can be increased, say experts of the Finnsight 2015 foresight process.

Materials Science undergraduate numbers at new low.
New research shows that while higher education student numbers for physics degrees may not be falling as drastically as some reports suggest, chemistry and material based subjects are in real danger. The study focuses on university student numbers since 1996 and shows that while there has only been a six per cent drop in the number of full time undergraduates studying physics in that time, the...

University scientists help Pilkington Glass see clear way forward
Manufacturing giant Pilkington Glass has called on Manchester Metropolitan University’s material scientists as it seeks to enhance its range of energy-efficient glazing products. Professor Peter Kelly’s surface engineering group is working with Pilkington to develop their special energy-saving glass coatings, which are used to help reduce heat loss from buildings and cars.

University ‘spin-out’ to revolutionise biomedical optics
Kent Enterprise and the School of Physical Sciences at the University of Kent have ‘spun out’ a high-tech company that is set to revolutionise biomedical optics. Optopod Ltd, the brainchild of Adrian Podoleanu, Professor of Biomedical Optics and Head of the Applied Optics Group in the School of Physical Sciences, has developed a technique based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) that has pr...

Cool solution to nuclear waste disposal
As the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) prepares to issue advice to government on nuclear waste, a group of physicists claims to have discovered a technique that could make nuclear waste much easier to deal with. The new technique, reported in the August edition of Physics World, would render nuclear waste harmless on timescales of just a few tens of years, instead of thousands.

Life-saving clothing for fishermen.
For decades, oilskins have been fishermen’s standard clothing. Now, for the first time, they will be able to kit up in oilskins with built-in buoyancy.