THE MAGAZINE OF TECHNOLOGY INSIDERS

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG 3.11 BIOLOGICAL TRANSISTORS BIOENGINEERS ARE APPLYING THE CONCEPTS OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TO CONTROL GENES MORE PRECISELY AND FLEXIBLY

SUPERCONDUCTIVITY’S FIRST CENTURY SUPERSTRONG MAGNETS ARE NICE, BUT WHAT’S NEXT?

REPACKAGING THE CHIP NEW DESIGNS ARE MAKING SMARTPHONES SMARTER

3.Cover.NA.INT.indd 2 2/18/11 9:28 AM Think of Us as The innovaTors Behind The innovaTors.

Today more than ever, creativity defines your field. Innovation is your focus. For over 20 years, The Hartford has facilitated innovation through business insurance dedicated to Technology and Life Science. We provide property and casualty, errors and omissions coverage, management liability, benefit solutions and more to companies of all sizes. And, we’ll grow with you as your business evolves. To learn more about how The Hartford can insure your company’s innovation, go to thehartford.com/info/technology.

With The Hartford behind you, achieve what’s ahead of you.®

Insurance is provided by the property and casualty insurance companies of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Hartford, CT

03a.Cov2.NA.indd 2 2/17/11 1:24 PM

CLIENT / Hartford (HFG CO) PROD MGR / Cheryl Sparks PUBS / IEEE Spectrum Prepared by AD# / P00329-D1 TRAFFIC / Kathy Goebel Electronic Design TITLE / “Innovators” DIG ART / Evan Willnow MEDIA / 4-color Magazine ART DIR / Chad Stierwalt SIZE / 7.875" x 10.5" trim WRITER / Tom Townsend 7.75" x 10.625" trim ACCT MGR / Chace MacMullen ©2010. All rights reserved. 314.436.9960 7" x 10" live PREPARED / 12/22/2010 8.125" x 10.875" bleed URL / thehartford.com/info/technology volume 48 number 3 north american 3.11

30

38 50

cov er story 30 a memory of webs past The Web is vast and constantly changing. It’s also 38 the hunt for the most important resource we could bequeath to the biological future historians. Preserving it properly is an enor- transistor mous technical challenge. By Ariel Bleicher 44 good things in Genetic engineers trying to small packages build new functionality into Innovations in semiconductor packaging tech- COVER: nology are key to mobile gizmos that do more anatomy cells can’t just mix and match blue without getting bigger or using more power. T his page, TOP: photo, dan standardized components and By Pushkar Apte, W.R. Bottoms, William Chen Saelinger; Prop stylist, LAURIE & George Scalise RAAB/Halley expect them to work together Resources; Makeup and correctly, the way electrical Hair Stylist, 50 superconductivity’s Greg Clark/ HAlley engineers can. The new first century Resources; Top right: Since the discovery of superconductivity in 1911, Bibliothèque discipline of synthetic biology nationale many possible applications have emerged, but de FrancE; bottom Right: hopes to change that. By Julius only one has really taken off. By Pradeep Haldar peter ginter/ getty images B. Lucks & Adam P. Arkin & Pier Abetti

spectrum.ieee.org March 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 1

03.Contents.NA.indd 1 2/17/11 1:44 PM 03a.p2.NA.indd 2 2/17/11 1:30 PM volume 48 number 3 north american 3.11

spectrum.ieee.org available 1 march Introducing the IEEE Spectrum Mobile Web Site When you navigate to our Web site from any phone, you’ll now be automatically redirected to our new mobile site. In addition to being easier 0018 to navigate, the new mobile site should load much more quickly on bandwidth- U pdate departments limited phones. We built the new 11 teaching Machines 4 Back Story version with the help of Mobify, a about madness An IEEE Spectrum edi- unique service that makes it easy to Machine-learning tricks tor finds the creator of transform an existing Web site. Try it QuickBooks among his are letting computers on your phone today, and let us know diagnose mental illnesses. grapevines and olive trees. By Samuel K. Moore what you think! Send feedback to 6 Contributors [email protected]. 13 tide turns for 22 hands on tidal power A Philadelphia-based electrical engineer has 14 chip-scale ieee.org/theinstitute designed a kit that lets you particle accelerator available 7 march type on an old-fashioned 16 cloud-brained typewriter—to your iPad. Augmenting Your Reality Online tutorials robots By Paul Wallich IEEE Member Blair MacIntyre, director get makeover of Georgia Tech’s Augmented Envi­ IEEE Expert Now, which houses 18 steps toward 23 PROFILE ronment Lab, has spent more than IEEE’s online courses, has been silicon quantum Life recipe: Take equal a decade working on applications for renamed and given an overhaul. computers parts software, wine, and augmented reality. Learn about his Now called IEEE eLearning Library, olive oil. Mix well. lab’s work on AR for smartphones the site has a new interface, more 20 the big picture By Tekla S. Perry and games. features, and offers 200 courses Animatronic love birds and webinars. dance in Singapore. 24 CAREERS Since 1991 there have been free ieee press e-book 1600 For Dummies titles Check out a selection of titles opinion and 1300 Complete Idiot’s available from the IEEE eBook Guides. How hard can it Classics collection. Topics include 8 speCTRal lines be to write one? information technology, digital The U.S. Department of By Mark Anderson transmissions, data mining, and Homeland Security’s biomedical telemetry. oft-criticized SBInet 26 books project is finally Is there a harder topic for canceled, but SBInet II an idiot’s guide than string looms on the horizon. theory? Yet two books have ONLINE WEBINARS & RESOURCES covered it successfully. Aallev i ab at Changing the Direction of 29 REFLECTIONS By Mark Anderson http://spectrum.ieee.org/webinar Embedded Design Many of today’s gadgets can’t be tinkered with— 28 Geek life 8 March: Effectively Managing Reduce the Costs of Developing DO178B some won’t even let you Only the geekiest of geeks Autostar Development CertifiableS oftware With Automation would apply social network- change the battery. 24 March: A Smart Approach ing to the problem of bad Capability vs. Complexity: What’s an engineer to do? to Maximizing ROI in Consumer Building Smarter Products By Robert W. Lucky dates. By Susan Karlin Electronics Innovation Integrated Electronics Cooling Solution 72 the data 29 March: Best Practices for Delivering Hundreds of billions of Value Through Quality Management dollars are being spent Free white papers by Intel: http:// 31 March: Kinetis ARM Cortex-M4 spectrum.ieee.org/intel-resource-library around the world on MCUs: The Inside Story high-speed rail—some of it Design resource library by Texas

Clockwise from Left: Wong Maye-E/ even in the United States. RF and Microwave Heating Instruments: http://spectrum.ieee.org/ AP Photo; Apple; Georgia Tech By Steven Cherry static/ti-resource-library

IEEE SPECTRUM (ISSN 0018-9235) is published monthly by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2011 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5997, U.S.A. The e­ ditorial content of IEEE Spectrum magazine does not represent official positions of the IEEE or its organizational units. Canadian Post International Publications Mail (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40013087. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Department, IEEE Spectrum, Box 1051, Fort Erie, ON L2A 6C7. Cable address: ITRIPLEE. Fax: +1 212 419 7570. INTERNET: [email protected]. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: IEEE Members: $21.40 included in dues. Libraries/ institutions: $399. POST­MASTER: Please send a­ ddress changes to IEEE Spectrum, c/o Coding Department, IEEE Service Center, 445 Hoes Lane, Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Canadian GST #125634188. Printed at 120 Donnelley Dr., Glasgow, KY 42141-1060, U.S.A. IEEE Spectrum circulation is audited by BPA Worldwide. IEEE Spectrum is a member of American Business Media, the Magazine Publishers of America, and Association Media & Publishing. IEEE prohibits discrimination, harassment, and bullying. For more information, visit http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/whatis/policies/p9-26.html.

spectrum.ieee.org March 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 3

03.Contents.NA.indd 3 2/17/11 1:44 PM back story e ditorial

Editor in chief Susan Hassler, [email protected]

Ex ecutive Editor Glenn Zorpette, [email protected]

Editorial director, digital Harry Goldstein, [email protected]

Manan gi g Editor Elizabeth A. Bretz, [email protected]

S enior Editors Jean Kumagai, [email protected]; Samuel K. Moore (News), [email protected]; Tekla S. Perry, t.perry@ ieee.org; Philip E. Ross, [email protected]; David Schneider, [email protected]

S enior Associate Editors Steven Cherry (Resources), [email protected]; Erico Guizzo, [email protected]

Ass ociate Editor Joshua J. Romero (Online), [email protected]

Ass istant Editor Willie D. Jones, [email protected]

S enior Copy Editor Joseph N. Levine, [email protected]

C opy Editor Michele Kogon, [email protected]

Editorial Researcher Alan Gardner, [email protected]

e xecutive producer, spectrum radio Sharon Basco

Ass istant producer, spectrum radio Francesco Ferorelli, [email protected]

A dministrative Assistants Ramona Gordon, [email protected]; Nancy T. Hantman, [email protected]

ieepee s ctrum journalism intern Joseph Calamia, [email protected]

C ontributing Editors John Blau, Robert N. Charette, Peter Fairley, David Kushner, Robert W. Lucky, Paul McFedries, Prachi Patel, Carl Selinger, Seema Singh, William Sweet, John Voelcker the back of the throat. In 1997 that AT R & Production For the Love oil won a blind tasting in Italy, the S enior Art Director Mark Montgomery first American olive oil ever to a ssociate Art Director Michael Solita do so. Evers calls his oil DaVero, of Olives Ass istant Art Director Brandon Palacio which comes from davvero, an Photo Editor Randi Silberman Klett n the late 1980s, while developing Italian word that translates as D irector, Periodicals Production Services Peter Tuohy the accounting software that “indeed” but is used around food to Editorial & Web Production Manager Roy Carubia would become QuickBooks, mean, loosely speaking, “yum.” se nior electronic layout specialist Bonnie Nani I Wb e Production Coordinator Jacqueline L. Parker Ridgely Evers took a little hiatus in Today DaVero produces m e ultim dia Production Specialist Michael Spector Italy. His goal: to reverse engineer between 900 and 2000 cases of oil his favorite olive oil. He traced it annually. On his farm, Evers also Editorial advisory Board Susan Hassler, Chair; Gerard A. Alphonse, Marc T. Apter, to an 800-year-old grove of olive grows Sangiovese and Sagrantino Francine D. Berman, Jan Brown, Raffaello D’Andrea, J. Roberto trees in Tuscany. grapes for wine, Meyer lemons B. De Marca, Hiromichi Fujisawa, Kenneth Y. Goldberg, Susan Hackwood, Bin He, Erik Heijne, Charles H. House, Christopher Some 4500 descendants of those that go into a lemon-infused oil, J. James, Ruby B. Lee, John P. Lewis, Tak Ming Mak, Carmen S. trees now thrive on Evers’s farm as well as lavender, apples, and Menoni, David A. Mindell, C. Mohan, Fritz Morgan, Andrew M. various vegetables. They’re all sold Odlyzko, Larry L. Smarr, Harry L. Tredennick III, Sergio Verdú, in Sonoma County, Calif., where Jeffrey M.V oas, William Weihl, Kazuo Yano IEEE Spectrum Senior Editor Tekla in a roadside tasting room that Editorial Correspondence S. Perry [above] visited him last Evers built himself; he sells the I EEE Spectrum, 3 Park Ave., 17th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5997 fall, winding down a one-lane road oil and the wine online. Itinerant Attn: Editorial Dept. Tel: +1 212 419 7555 Fax: +1 212 419 7570 flanked by a stone wall, past a pond beekeepers provide an annual crop Bureau: Palo Alto, Calif.; Tekla S. Perry +1 650 328 7570 Responsibility for the substance of articles rests upon the where egrets wade to the house of estate honey. Make no mistake— authors, not IEEE or its members. Articles published do not Evers built himself. Showing her this is a working farm, not a hobby. represent official positions of IEEE. Letters to the editor may be excerpted for publication. around the 28-hectare farm in his But Evers hasn’t walked away Prius, he told Perry, “The trees love from technology. He balances Adv ertising Correspondence I EEE Spectrum, 3 Park Ave., 17th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5997 it here. They love the soil. They his decidedly low-tech farming Attn: Advertising Dept. +1 212 419 7760 love the climate.” And Evers clearly operation with consulting and The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising. loves his trees. is once again creating software Re print Permission

The olives from those trees for the small-business market, L sibrarie : A rticles may be photocopied for private use produce an amazing olive oil, described in “From QuickBooks to of patrons. A per-copy fee must be paid to the Copyright Clearance Center, 29 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970. smooth to taste, then peppery at Slow Food,” in this issue. o For other copying or republication, contact Business Manager, IEEE Spectrum.

citi ng articles in IEEE Spectrum C opyrights and Trademarks: I EEE Spectrum is a registered s

IEEE Spectrum publishes two editions. In the international ­edition, the abbreviation INT appears at the foot trademark owned by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics r e

Engineers Inc. Careers, EEs’ Tools & Toys, EV Watch, Progress, v

of each page. The North American edition is identified with the lettersN A. Both have the same ­editorial E content, but because of ­differences in advertising, page­n umbers may differ.I n citations, you should Reflections, Spectral Lines, and Technically Speaking are ­include the issue designation. For ­example, the Reflections column is in IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 48, no. 3 (INT), trademarks of IEEE.

March 2011, p. 25, or in IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 48, no. 3 (NA), March 2011, p. 29. Ridgely

4 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03.Backstory.NA.indd 4 2/17/11 1:43 PM Name Dr. Dennis Hong Job Title Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech Area of Expertise Robotics LabVIEW Helped Me Convey and respond to vast amounts of data in real time Latest Project Design and prototype a car that can be driven by the blind in just 4 months

NI LabVIEW

LabVIEW makes me better because CODE REUSE saves time and effort

>> Find out how LabVIEW can make you better at ni.com/labview/better 800 453 6202

©2010 National Instruments. All rights reserved. LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 2784

2784.indd 1 12/21/10 11:25:29 AM 03a.p5.NA.indd 5 2/17/11 1:31 PM I eiEEE M d a Staff Director; Publisher, IEEE Spectrum James A. Vick, [email protected] Ass ociate Publisher, Sales & Advertising Director Marion Delaney, [email protected] R ecruitment Sales Development Manager Michael Buryk, [email protected] Pushkar Apte, W.R. Pradeep Haldar and B susines Manager R obert T. Ross ieee media/spectrum group Marketing Manager Bottoms, William Chen, Pier Abetti, who wrote Blanche McGurr, [email protected] and George Scalise worked “Superconductivity’s First I nteractive Marketing Manager Ruchika Anand, [email protected] L ist sales & Recruitment services product/Marketing Manager on the International Technology Century” [p. 50], together have Ilia Rodriguez, [email protected] Roadmap for Semi­conductors, almost a half century of experience RE PRint SALES +1 212 221 9595, ext. 319 marketing & Promotion specialist Faith H. Jeanty, [email protected] which among other things covers with superconductivity. Haldar, Adv ertising Sales +1 212 419 7760 future packaging technology, the an IEEE Senior Member, is a Sales advisor John Restchack +1 212 419 7578 focus of “Good Things in Small professor of nanoengineering at the Advertising Production Manager Felicia Spagnoli s enior Advertising Production Coordinator Nicole Evans Packages” [p. 44]. Apte, now a University of Albany, of the State Adv ertising Production +1 732 562 6334 consultant, was vice president of University of New York. Abetti, IEEE Staff Executive, Publications Anthony Durniak technology at the Semiconductor an IEEE Life Fellow and professor IEEoE B ard of Directors Pre sident & CEO Moshe Kam Industry Association, where of enterprise management at +1 732 562 3928 Fax: +1 732 465 6444 [email protected] Scalise was president before Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Pre sident-elect G ordon W. Day trea surer Harold Flescher ­retiring this year. Bottoms, with once had Haldar as a student. Secretary Roger D. Pollard over 30 years in the industry, Only after Abetti began lecturing Pa st President Pedro A. Ray was most recently chairman of about the commercialization of Vics e Pre idents T ariq S. Durrani, Educational Activities; Third Millennium Test Solutions. superconductivity did he learn David A. Hodges, Publication Services & Products; Howard E. Michel, Member & Geographic Activities; Chen, a three-decade IBMer, is that Haldar had been a director of Steve M. Mills, President, Standards Association; now a fellow for the ASE Group. technology in that very industry. Donna L. Hudson, Technical Activities; Ronald G. Jensen, President, IEEE-USA “He made me get up and talk about Doivisi n Directors A riel Bleicher, the whole thing,” says Haldar. H iroshi Iwai (I); J. Keith Nelson (II); a recent graduate of Nim K. Cheung (III); Peter N. Clout (IV); Michael R. Williams (V); Jeffrey M. Voas (VI); New York Uni­ Julius B. Lucks and Enrique A. Tejera M. (VII); Susan K. Land (VIII); Alfred O. Hero III (IX); Vincenzo Piuri (X) versity’s science Adam P. Arkin write about Region Directors reporting program, how to make genetic engineering Charles P. Rubenstein (1); Ralph M. Ford (2); has written, online, for The Scientist more like electrical engineering Clarence L. Stogner (3); James N. Riess (4); Sandra L. Robinson (5); Edward G. Perkins (6); and OnEarth, and for the Anchorage in “The Hunt for the Biological Om P. Malik (7); Marko Delimar (8); Tania L. Quiel (9); Wai-Choong Wong (10) Press. While in Paris researching Transistor” [p. 38]. Arkin is a this month’s feature on the French professor of bioengineering at the Dri ectors Emeritus E ric Herz, Theodore W. Hissey National Library’s Web archives University of California, Berkeley. IEEtE S aff [p. 30], she found the library’s wealth Lucks, currently a postdoctoral executive director & COO James Prendergast of books, magazines, and diverse fellow at UC Berkeley, will be +1 732 502 5400, [email protected] H uman Resources B etsy Davis, SPHR ephemera impressive, as well as its joining the chemical engineering +1 732 465 6434, [email protected] Publications A nthony Durniak fleet of robotic helpers—each “the faculty at Cornell. Although trained +1 732 562 3998, [email protected] shape of a really big cheese wheel,” in chemistry, Lucks has done plenty Ed ucational Activities Douglas Gorham +1 732 562 5483, [email protected] she says—which shuttle books from of Python coding, and Arkin’s Standards Activities Judith Gorman stacks to waiting patrons. hacking goes all the way “back to +1 732 562 3820, [email protected] m ember & geographic Activities C ecelia Jankowski the days when they had Heathkit +1 732 562 5504, [email protected] Cr o porate Strategy & Communications Matthew Loeb, CAE Ss a wato R. stores and Radio Shack had stuff +1 732 562 5320, [email protected] Das, author of the you could actually use,” he says. chief marketing officer Patrick D. Mahoney +1 732 562 5596, [email protected] Update story on C hief information officer Alexander J. Pasik, Ph.D. spintronic advances Christian +1 732 562 6017, [email protected] C hief Financial Officer T homas R. Siegert [p. 18], contributes Northeast, a +1 732 562 6843, [email protected]

T echnical Activities Mary Ward-Callan tt; u

frequently to IEEE Spectrum. For Canadian illustrator, +1 732 562 3850, [email protected] c r audhuri

Managing Director, IEEE-USA C hris Brantley O h

one assignment, he interviewed created the image for c +1 202 530 8349, [email protected] y a

science fiction writer Arthur C. Reflections [p. 29]. R IEEPE ublication Services & Products board Clarke. That 2008 interview turned In 2009, Northeast published his David A. Hodges, Chair; Tayfun Akgul, John Baillieul,

Silvio E. Barbin, Celia L. Desmond, Tariq S. Durrani, umana out to be the futurist’s last. “He was book, Prayer Requested, in which he Mohamed E. El-Hawary, Lajos Hanzo, Hulya Kirkici, S in poor health, but his mind was depicts heavenly requests for both Michael R. Lightner, Pradeep Misra, William W. Moses, Edward A. Rezek, Jon G. Rokne, Curtis A. Siller,

still very sharp,” Das says. Based in good health and uilleann bagpipes. Ravi M. Todi, Robert J. Trew, Karl R. Varian, rtheast; Timothy T. Wong, Daniel S. Yeung, Jacek Zurada o New York City, Das has written for His clients have included The N I EEE Operations Center k

The Economist, Scientific American, New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Playboy, c 445 Hoes Lane, Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08854-1331 U.S.A.

and New Scientist. and Nickelodeon. Tel: +1 732 981 0060 Fax: +1 732 981 1721 Clo Christian wise fromleft: Carolinetop

6 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03.Contributors.NA.indd 6 2/17/11 1:44 PM Name Dr. Laurel Watts Job Title Principal Software Engineer Area of Expertise Chemical Engineering LabVIEW Helped Me Control multiple instruments operating in harsh conditions Latest Project Engineer the ultimate storm chaser

NI LabVIEW

LabVIEW makes me better because the INTEGRATION with hardware is so seamless

>> Find out how LabVIEW can make you better at ni.com/labview/better 800 453 6202

©2010 National Instruments. All rights reserved. LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 2807

2807.indd 1 12/21/10 9:01:43 AM 03a.p7.NA.indd 7 2/17/11 1:32 PM Proof 4 LAYOUT FINAL 2/16/11 @ 3:05 pm BN/MM NA spectral lines

So what will happen next? Well, a sort of “Son of SBInet” is looming on The Virtual Fence’s Long Good-bye the horizon. The report continues: DHS is currently developing a everal years ago, I wrote comprehensive border technology in my blog for IEEE Spectrum deployment plan that will build Sthat the U.S. Department upon successful technology cur- of Homeland Security’s Secure rently deployed and provide the Border Initiative’s SBInet, the optimum mix of proven surveil- ­“virtual fence” project that was lance technologies by sector. Where ­supposed to build a sensor-, radar-, appropriate, this technology plan and camera-arrayed fence along will also include elements of the the U.S.–Mexico border, was former SBInet program that have finished, kaput. It wasn’t a matter proven successful. of whether the project was going This “new way forward,” the DHS says, to be terminated, only when and at “is expected to cost less than $750 million what final cost. and will cover the rest of the Arizona/ Well, finally, this January Mexico border—totaling 323 miles.” DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano SBInet I, at over $1 billion, managed to announced the termination of cover only 53 miles (85 kilometers). the project, long dead but still on the border, SBInet does not and It will take a while before Son of life support. The obituary came after cannot provide a single technologi- SBInet is deployed, because the DHS yet another US $230 million or so had cal solution to border security. plans to hold an open competition to been spent. To make matters worse, it Have no fear, though. From the same acquire all the technologies needed. was spent over the same time period report: In a recent solicitation document, that an internal DHS and Customs and As a result, Secretary Napolitano the government states that it desires Border Protection (CBP) review team has directed CBP to end SBInet as technology solutions that are was conducting a reassessment of the originally conceived and instead “complete, fully integrated, and proven program, one that “incorporated an use existing, proven technology ­commercial-off-the-shelf/government- independent, quantitative, science-based solutions tailored to the distinct ter- off-the-shelf (COTS/GOTS) solutions,” ‘Analysis of Alternatives’ to determine rain and population density of each which can be integrated without if SBInet is the most efficient, effective border region. “measurable development effort” and economical way to meet our nation’s But for those of you who remember, and are “open architecture” in border security needs.” SBInet was said from the start to be a design. The government also wants Now, with more than $1 billion spent technologically low-risk project based to procure the above technology using on SBInet since 2006, here’s what the on existing, proven technology solutions, fixed price contracts. review team’s “Report on the Assessment according to both the prime contractor— Does anyone really want to bet that of the Secure Border Initiative-Network Boeing—and the DHS. the “expected” cost and the final cost (SBInet) Program” had to say: But as I noted in 2007, their of Son of SBInet will turn out to be less [T]he department has concluded approach was akin to me saying that than $750 million? —Robert N. Charette the SBInet program, as originally I was going to build a car using a Honda proposed, does not meet current Accord engine, a Ford F-150 chassis, Robert N. Charette is president of the standards for viability and cost- a GM Saturn Vue interior, et cetera, and ­consulting company ITABHI Corp. and effectiveness. While it has gener- then claiming that the resulting effort a contributing editor for IEEE Spectrum. ated some advances in technology would be low risk. It might make sense that have improved border patrol to me in the middle of a sleepless night, This article is based on several posts that agents’ ability to detect, identify, but what about all those tenacious little appeared earlier this year in Charette’s deter and respond to threats along issues of integration? IEEE Spectrum blog, The Risk Factor.

THE MAGAZINE OF TECHNOLOGY INSIDERS Corrections rent densities. In addition, lithium- computers incorrectly. According to of Energy for the BlueGene/L in SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG 2.11 In “Batteries That Breathe” (Update, ion batteries typically can handle the Top500 (http://www.top500. 2004; and the U.S. Department February 2011), the storage capa- about 1000 charge/discharge cycles. org), Lawrence Livermore National of Energy, the National Nuclear

TECH EMPLOYMENT IS SLUGGISH, In “The Tops in Flops” (February), Laboratory should be credited for Security Administration, and the BUT DREAM bilities of lithium-ion batteries and JOBS ARE STILL OUT THERE PLUS: RECRUITERS TELL US WHAT GOOGLE, special report RIM, AND TESLA ARE LOOKING FOR IN JOB CANDIDATES ­lithium-air technology were incor- in the graphic “Number Crunching,” making the ASCI White the world’s Lawrence Livermore National

THE END OF SUPER- COMPUTING? Why we won’t see an “exafl ops” computer for rectly characterized. The numbers we listed the operators of the ASCI top-ranking supercomputer in Laboratory for the BlueGene/L 2011: a very long time

an occupational odyssey POLAR PARTICLE HUNTER Detecting neutrinos at the South Pole provided were capacities, not cur- White and the BlueGene/L super- 2000; IBM and the U.S. Department supercomputers of 2005 and 2007. dan page

02.r1.Cover.INT.indd 1 1/13/11 10:46 AM 8 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03.Spectrallines.NA.indd 8 2/17/11 1:46 PM Name Peter Simonsen Job Title Design Engineer, Embedded Software Area of Expertise Renewable Energy LabVIEW Helped Me Perform real-world simulations with total control of the application Latest Project Develop a test architecture for verifi cation of wind turbine control systems

NI LabVIEW

LabVIEW makes me better because I can SIMULATE real-world systems

>> Find out how LabVIEW can make you better at ni.com/labview/better 800 453 6202

©2010 National Instruments. All rights reserved. LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 2811

2811.indd 1 12/20/10 2:26:52 PM 03a.p9.NA.indd 9 2/17/11 1:33 PM Absorbed Radiation (SAR value) in a Human Head.

Capture the Concept.

With COMSOL Multiphysics® you are empowered to build the simulations that accurately replicate the important characteristics of your designs. The key is the ability to include all physical effects that exist in the real world. This multiphysics approach delivers results—tangible results that save precious development time and spark innovation.

Watch Tutorial

Joule Heating of a Circuit Board Fuse www.comsol.com/showcase

© 2011 COMSOL, INC. COMSOL, COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF COMSOL AB. CAPTURE THE CONCEPT IS A TRADEMARK OF COMSOL AB. OTHER PRODUCT OR BRAND NAMES ARE TRADEMARKS OR REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE HOLDERS.

03a.p10.NA.indd 10 2/17/11 1:33 PM more online at spectrum.ieee.org

The Psychiatrist in the Machine S oftware rivals doctors at distinguishing among different kinds of depression and schizophrenia

sychiatrists make life-altering decisions on Pthe basis of a subjective assessment of a set of symptoms. But many freely admit they have far too little information to answer some critical questions: Is the patient suffering from severe depression, or is this a case of bipolar disorder that hasn’t fully manifested itself yet? Will this schizophrenic patient respond to this drug? Draw the wrong conclusions about a depressed patient and the treatment may send him careening into mania. Make the wrong assessment of a schizophrenic person and you may give him an ineffective drug whose side effects could kill him. “I make these decisions Hasey is among a growing whether or not they will respond to hard every day,” says Dr. Gary Hasey, group of psychiatrists pushing clozapine, the “drug of last resort.” evidence: Psychiatrists associate professor of psychiatry for a better way to make Other algorithms they have want to diagnose at McMaster University, in those decisions, by using developed can automatically sort patients Hamilton, Ont., Canada. “If you physiological signals that people—with an 85 percent success based on their make an error, you stand a good include electrical, functional, rate—according to whether they physiology rather chance of making things worse.” and structural data gleaned suffer from depression, bipolar than subjective symptoms. Today’s method of choosing directly from their patients’ disorder, schizophrenia, or are Images of the treatment—essentially an brains via electroencephalogram free of mind or mood problems. brain and the informed version of trial and (EEG) and magnetic And the group is also developing a electric signals error—costs an extra US $8500 resonance imaging (MRI). system that predicts which of the that emanate from it could per patient per year for the most With McMaster electrical many available treatments would be key to difficult-to-treat depression engineering professor James Reilly be most effective for a patient picking the right patients in the United States. and other colleagues, Hasey has suffering from major depression. treatments for What’s worse, it can eat up years of been testing software that sifts The McMaster group is not depression and a patient’s life with fruitless drug through schizophrenia patients’ alone. Engineers and physicians schizophrenia. photo: Don Farrall/ therapy, sullied with side effects. EEGs to find signs that show in the United States and Europe Getty Images

spectrum.ieee.org march 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 11

03U.News.NA.indd 11 2/17/11 1:45 PM Amount of data humanity could store electronically in 2007, 295 Exabytes according to University of Southern California researchers.

are using MRI brain scans regression methods. The cent accuracy whether or not presented the workings of the to diagnose schizophrenia system then generates a list of a schizophrenia patient would system in the December 2010 and other conditions. And a treatment options and their respond to the dangerous issue of IEEE Transactions start-up firm, CNS Response, degree of success in patients but effective drug clozapine. on Biomedical Engineering. in Aliso Viejo, Calif., has with similar EEG features. Researchers led by Researchers at Harvard completed clinical trials In the clinical trial, reported University of New Mexico Medical School are using of an EEG-based system in the January issue of electrical and computer engi- the newest flavor of MRI for to aid psychiatrists in Journal of Psychiatric Research, neering professor Vince D. diagnosis. Called diffusion predicting which type of Carpenter says that with Calhoun are hoping to reach MRI, or diffusion tensor depression medication a the system’s advice, doctors end results similar to those imaging, it shows how water patient will respond to. “doubled the chances of getting of the McMaster group. With flows inside the tiny neuronal Doctors working with CNS it right” versus the practices IEEE Fellow Tülay Adali at fibers within the brain. That Response recently reported laid out in the STAR*D trial. the University of Maryland, flow allows the mapping of that its EEG-analysis According to Carpenter, Baltimore County, and connections between the system could predict, with one of the ways the company associate professor of elec- brain’s regions. With fMRI 65 percent accuracy, whether hopes to improve on those trical engineering Juan I. you are measuring “the tech in sight depression patients who had odds is to move to a machine- Arribas at the University symptoms side of things,” not improved with at least learning algorithm, one in of Valladolid, Spain, he has says Yogesh Rathi, an one drug treatment would which the system is trained been ­developing a machine-­ assistant professor and leader Tides Turn learning system that can of the dMRI team at Harvard “ Essentially, we have the makings distinguish between peo- Medical School. “We want for Tidal of a virtual psychiatrist” ple with ­schizophrenia and to know the anatomy.” those with bipolar ­disorder That could be important, Big tidal power Dr. Gary Hasey, associate professor of psychiatry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., Canada on the basis of functional because although the brain projects seek MRI brain scans. The hope function of medicated patients backing respond to the next drug tried. on the EEG database to pick is that such a system would may be altered in a way Sixty-five percent might not out the few really important give doctors a head start on that would make diagnosis apricious air seem like good odds, but it’s EEG variables rather than treatment, because it can be difficult, it’s unlikely that currents and passing a big improvement over the comparing the more than difficult to tell the difference their anatomy would change. clouds may thwart

w Clo C best practices uncovered 1000 it deals with now. between the two conditions The Harvard system wind and solar power, but c

in a landmark seven-year That teaching process is the first time a patient is seen. was able to correctly pick k the tides, governed by the i s

study, called Sequenced the crux of the recent MRI An fMRI scan shows not out schizophrenic patients e gravitational pull of the f r Treatment Alternatives to research, and it’s just what just the overall structure of 90 percent of the time, top: Corlan om moon and the sun, might Relieve Depression. “STAR*D the software developed at the brain but also indicates according to research prove a more dependable was a high-water mark for McMaster does using EEG. which parts are active presented at the 2010 IEEE energy source. In certain serial trial and error,” says “What we’ve done is taken at any time, according to Symposium on Biological spots, the tides have already H

changes in the blood flow Imaging. “Our end goal,” a George Carpenter, CEO 10 000 features and reduced f proved a good source of r of CNS Response. “But it down to about 5 or 10,” says to them. Using fMRI data, says Rathi, “is to diagnose en; electricity. La Rance Tidal A t

it wasn’t very high.” McMaster’s Reilly, who pre- the system automatically as soon as possible— lant Power Station—a barrage

At its heart, his company’s sented the team’s research finds brain regions whose even try to predict.” i

s on the Rance River’s

R e

system, called referenced at the IEEE Engineering in activity seems relevant to the Researchers believe these sour estuary in Brittany, EEG, is a large, anonymized Medicine and Biology Society diagnosis. It was able to sort systems could get so good at France—has converted the c e database of EEGs from both conference last September. bipolar, schizophrenic, and diagnosis that they could act Corp.; s tides’ movements into as healthy and mentally ill people. Reilly and his colleagues healthy brains with about as advisers to primary care much as 240 megawatts of K

The records included the trained two software pro- 70 percent confidence. (It physicians, says McMaster’s r electricity since 1966. But i s

U

patients’ treatment histories— grams to pick out critical can perform a two-way sort— Hasey. That’s important in n support for new projects is g e what worked and what didn’t. ­features. One learned to pre- distinguishing bipolar from places where access to an r/Ver less predictable: Backing

When a doctor uses the system dict the success of depression schizophrenic, for instance— expert is limited. “Essentially, d has ebbed for some designs, a on a patient, the patient’s treatment options with 80 to with 90 percent confidence, we have the makings of a nt while for others it’s just P o

EEG is correlated with the 85 percent accuracy. The other but that’s an easier problem.) virtual psychiatrist,” he says. wer starting to flow. collected data using statistical determined with up to 89 per- Calhoun and his colleagues —Samuel K. Moore —Joseph Calamia

12 NA • iEEE Spectrum • march 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

03U.News.NA.indd 12 2/17/11 1:45 PM A mount of data humanity could store electronically in 2007, 295 Exabytes according to University of Southern California researchers.

parking garage on the city’s Roosevelt Island. By the end of 2014, Verdant Power plans to install 30 of its newest turbines on triangular frames in the river. Each can produce 35 kilowatts, for presented the workings of the a total peak power output of around 1 MW. More power could come from system in the December 2010 placing larger, 500-kW generators issue of IEEE Transactions in other, deeper waters like the Long on Biomedical Engineering. Island Sound or from using the turbines Researchers at Harvard to tap river currents in addition to tidal currents, says Trey Taylor, cofounder Medical School are using and president of the company. Verdant the newest flavor of MRI for Power has also launched a project in diagnosis. Called diffusion Canada’s St. Lawrence River. MRI, or diffusion tensor imaging, it shows how water Severn Estuary flows inside the tiny neuronal Stretching from the banks of Lavernock S evern Estuary, fibers within the brain. That Point in Wales to the English shores of United Kingdom flow allows the mapping of Brean Down, a 15-kilometer barrage connections between the across the Severn Estuary could meet brain’s regions. With fMRI up to 5 percent of the United Kingdom’s India’s Gulf Centre in Orkney, Scotland, this past electricity demand, its developers you are measuring “the tech in sight August; it already has interested buyers. of Kutch at Corlan Hafren say. The barrage symptoms side of things,” In January 2011, Atlantis announced that would make use of Severn’s 14-meter says Yogesh Rathi, an Atlantis Resources Corp., based in Narendra Modi, the chief minister of difference in water depth between Gujarat, India, approved a partnership assistant professor and leader Tides Turn Singapore and London, is building big. low and high tides. Gates would close for a 50-MW tidal power project in the of the dMRI team at Harvard Its AK-1000 tidal power turbine, the at high tide to trap water behind the largest of its kind, weighs 1300 metric Gulf of Kutch. Cornelius expects that barrage. Then, when the tides turn, the Medical School. “We want for Tidal tons, has rotors with an 18-meter construction will likely begin in 2012 and water would return at high pressure to know the anatomy.” diameter, and stands 22.5 meters finish in 2013—making the company’s through the barrage’s turbines to That could be important, Big tidal power high. The giant can generate up to turbines contenders for Asia’s first generate an estimated peak power of commercial-scale tidal power station. because although the brain projects seek 1 MW of power and has two rotors per 8 gigawatts. backing generator to collect energy from water A UK Department of Energy and function of medicated patients flowing in either direction. Although Roosevelt Climate Change feasibility study, may be altered in a way that’s a mere fraction of what some Island Tidal released in October 2010, dashed that would make diagnosis apricious air barrages can produce, Atlantis CEO Energy Project hopes for public funding of the difficult, it’s unlikely that currents and passing Timothy Cornelius says that turbines barrage’s construction, questioning their anatomy would change. clouds may thwart allow funders to test the waters, As part of its Roosevelt Island Tidal whether the costs of the project were one generator at a time. “The big Energy Project, Verdant Power, too high, measured both in pounds

w Clo C The Harvard system wind and solar power, but difference between a La Rance and our headquartered in New York City, sank its sterling (which the report estimated c was able to correctly pick k the tides, governed by the turbines is that you build up capacity first three-bladed turbines into the East at up to £34 billion) and its impacts on i s River in 2002. From 2006 to 2008, a set out schizophrenic patients e gravitational pull of the incrementally,” he says. “It allows neighboring nature conservation sites. f r governments to get comfortable….. of five turbines—which could passively But Corlan Hafren hasn’t given up: Now 90 percent of the time, top: Corlan om moon and the sun, might You don’t just go from 0 to 240 MW.” pivot to face the tidal currents— it is looking for private investors to front according to research prove a more dependable The company started testing the delivered a total of 80 megawatt-hours what it estimates will be £23 billion presented at the 2010 IEEE energy source. In certain turbine at the European Marine Energy of electricity to a supermarket and for construction. Symposium on Biological spots, the tides have already H a

Imaging. “Our end goal,” f proved a good source of r says Rathi, “is to diagnose en; electricity. La Rance Tidal A t as soon as possible— lant Power Station—a barrage

even try to predict.” i

s on the Rance River’s

R e

Researchers believe these sour estuary in Brittany, systems could get so good at France—has converted the c e diagnosis that they could act Corp.; s tides’ movements into as as advisers to primary care much as 240 megawatts of K physicians, says McMaster’s r electricity since 1966. But i s

U

Hasey. That’s important in n support for new projects is g e places where access to an r/Ver less predictable: Backing R oosevelt Island Tidal

expert is limited. “Essentially, d has ebbed for some designs,

a Energy we have the makings of a nt while for others it’s just

P Project, o virtual psychiatrist,” he says. wer starting to flow. New York Gulf of Kutch, India —Samuel K. Moore —Joseph Calamia spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org march 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 13

03U.News.NA.indd 13 2/17/11 1:45 PM A Chip-Scale Particle Accelerator Zipping ions down a MEMS tight turns: A MEMS particle accelerator drives argon ions. racetrack could lead to portable Image: Yue Shi particle beams

orget for a moment Funded by the U.S. ion beams, it would have a accelerator platform at the about the quest to build Defense Advanced Research broad range of applications, University of California, Los Fbigger high-energy Projects Agency, Yue Shi, says Amit Lal, who worked Angeles, wants to use the particle accelerators. At the an electrical and computer with Shi and leads Cornell’s electric fields in laser light to IEEE MEMS 2011 conference engineering graduate student SonicMEMS Laboratory. speed particles on their way. in January, researchers developed the accelerator‑on- Doctors already use Travish’s group is starting instead explained their a-chip. She is working to particle beams to combat to build a device that he efforts to create a smaller one. create both a device that might cancer. Such therapy requires describes as a 1-µm-thick Their chip-size cyclotron accelerate ions to energies of devices that take up an entire “sandwich” with two mirrors can guide argon ions with hundreds of kiloelectronvolts room, but tiny accelerators above and below a gap that’s around 1.5 kiloelectronvolts on a chip not much bigger might make treatments more only one wavelength of light of energy down a 5-millimeter than a few square centimeters feasible for smaller clinics or high and several hundred accelerating track before and a device capable of allow more localized beams wavelengths wide. As the whipping them around a accelerating ions to hundreds to irradiate fewer healthy light from a laser oscillates 90-degree turn. The system of megaelectronvolts in a cells, says Lal. “Think of a in that gap, an electron boosts the ions’ energy by box the size of a suitcase. scalpel with a proton beam passing through the peak 30 electronvolts. That’s Shi constructed three coming out of it,” he says. electric field will receive a certainly not a world versions of the accelerator— Developing this proof- tremendous boost—around record; the Large Hadron two on silicon-on-insulator of-concept device into a a gigaelectronvolt per meter Collider, the biggest and chips and one on a printed ­commercial tool will take or a megaelectronvolt per most powerful particle circuit board. Each had some work. Shi points out that millimeter. His team hopes to pusher in the world, would a straight, segmented the fastest ions that coursed start beam tests in a prototype have it beat by some seven acceleration track and either through the ­accelerator device in the next six months. to 10 orders of magnitude. a 1-, 2-, or 4-mm turning ­during this initial research The UCLA team imagines But unlike its larger cousins, radius. To test the design, she only had around 2 keV of that their particle beam this accelerator has no fired a stream of argon ions energy, and that’s three might also one day appear need for bulky magnets. with around 1.5 keV of energy orders of magnitude lower in medical devices or in Instead it uses electric from a commercial ion than what she seeks. Having unmanned aerial vehicles fields set up along electrode source into each chip’s tracks. now shown that the ions that could examine suspicious guide rails to accelerate and Electric fields between four can execute tight turns, Shi buildings using X-rays. steer its particle beam. The segments in each chip’s believes that future designs “I think that in the next half device’s designers at Cornell acceleration track gave the could ­navigate the ions repeat- decade you’ll start to see a University, in Ithaca, N.Y., ions a strong kick before they edly through accelerating real awakening,” Travish say that with more research, raced into the turn. Then strips to reach at least 1 MeV. says about the possibilities similar electrostatic mini- another electric potential The Cornell device is not in particle accelerators’ accelerators might be used between two electrode curbs the only mini-accelerator new realm. —Joseph Calamia in shoebox-size scanning pulled ions around the bend. in development, or even electron microscopes or If a small accelerator the smallest. Instead of A version of this article appeared portable particle-ray guns based on this design could electrostatics, Gil Travish, on http://spectrum.ieee.org in for cancer treatment. bestow 1 MeV of energy to who is developing a micro-­ January.

14 NA • iEEE Spectrum • march 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03U.News.NA.indd 14 2/17/11 1:45 PM Try out the Origin 8.5 demo today. Call or chat online with us to discuss features, license options and pricing.

New features in Origin 8.5 include... • Transparency and Gradient Fill • New Gadgets OriginLab Corporation One Roundhouse Plaza • Embed Equations, OLE Objects • Fitting Function Wizard Northampton, MA 01060 USA • 3D Intersecting Surfaces • Virtual Matrix from Worksheet USA: 800-969-7720 • 3D Vectors and Error Bars • Thumbnail View in Matrices FAX: 413-585-0126 • Waterfall Y or Z Color Mapping • Improved Image Profiling EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.originlab.com • Improved Label Control • Zoom and Pan Support

03a.p15.NA.indd 15 2/17/11 1:34 PM Number of nuclear weapons that could have been made from radioactive material 775 recently removed from a fast-breeder reactor in Kazakhstan.

sharing smarts: A robot, part of the RoboEarth project, taps the cloud to learn how to serve a drink to a patient. P hoto: RoboEarth

The idea of connecting a robot to an external computer is not new. Back in the 1990s, University of Tokyo research- ers explored the concept of a “remote brain,” physically sep- arating sensors and motors from high-level “reasoning” software. But the amount of computing power a cloud- connected robot has access to is far greater now than what the researchers imagined during the Web’s early days. Kuffner, who is a member of Google’s autonomous car project, is now exploring a variety of cloud robotics Robots With Their Heads in the Clouds ideas, including “using A Google researcher argues that cloud computing small mobile devices as Net- could make robots smaller, cheaper, and smarter enabled brains for robots,” he told IEEE Spectrum. Some n one of the many famous and voice recognition and James Kuffner, a professor of his colleagues recently scenes in The Matrix (1999), even download new skills at Carnegie Mellon University, unveiled Android-powered Ithe character Trinity learns instantly, Matrix-style. currently working at Google, robot software and a small to fly a helicopter by having a Imagine a robot that described the possibilities mobile robot dubbed the “pilot program” downloaded finds an object that it’s of cloud robotics at the IEEE Cellbot. The software allows to her brain. never seen or used before— International Conference an Android phone to control For us humans, with say, a box of cornflakes. on Humanoid Robots, in robots based on platforms our offline, nonupgradable The robot could simply Nashville, this past December. like Lego Mindstorms, meat brains, the possibility send an image of the box to Embracing the cloud could iRobot Create, and Vex Pro. of acquiring new skills the cloud and receive the make robots “lighter, cheaper, But cloud robotics isn’t by connecting our heads object’s name, a 3-D model, and smarter,” he told the limited to smartphone to a computer network nutritional information, assembled engineers. robots. It could apply to is still science fiction. and instructions on According to Kuffner, any kind of robot, large or Not so for robots. how to pour it. cloud-enabled robots could small, humanoid or not. Several research groups For conventional robots, offload CPU-heavy tasks Eventually, some of these are exploring the idea of every task—moving a foot, to remote servers, relying robots could become more robots that rely on cloud- grasping things, recognizing on smaller and less power- standardized, and sharing computing infrastructure a face—requires a significant hungry onboard c­ omputers. applications would be easier. to access vast amounts of amount of processing and Even more promising, the Then, Kuffner suggested, processing power and data. preprogrammed information. robots could turn to cloud- something even more This approach, which some As a result, sophisticated based services to improve interesting could emerge: are calling “cloud robotics,” systems such as humanoid such capabilities as recog- an app store for robots. would allow robots to robots need to carry nizing people and objects, The app paradigm is one off‑load compute-intensive powerful computers and navigating environments, of the crucial factors behind tasks like image processing large batteries to power them. and operating tools. the success of smartphones.

16 NA • iEEE Spectrum • march 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03U.News.NA.indd 16 2/17/11 1:45 PM AT THE FRONTIERS OF SIMULATION CST STUDIO SUITE 2011

Explore the EM simulation universe

Looking for the broader picture? CST STUDIO SUITE 2011 gives you more than just the details. With a user friendly interface, a choice of first class solvers, easy data exchange between software tools and world class post-processing, you can leverage the latest developments in electromagnetic simulation to bring designs to market faster and with lower risk.

Choose CST STUDIO SUITE 2011 – complete technology for 3D EM.

CHANGING THE STANDARDS

CST of America®, Inc. | To request literature, call (508) 665 4400 | www.cst.com

03a.p17.NA.indd 17 2/17/11 1:34 PM C loud Robotics Science and Technology. Projects “Cloud robotics could make n RoboEarth is a European project led by that possible by expanding the Eindhoven University of Technology, a robot’s knowledge billions of bits: This tiny chip of silicon produced a in the Netherlands, to develop a “World beyond its physical body.” record 10 billion pairs of quantum entanglements. Wide Web for robots,” a giant database photo: John Morton/Oxford University “Coupling robotics and where robots can share information about objects, environments, and tasks. distributed computing could bring about big changes in n Researchers at Singapore’s ASORO robot autonomy,” says Jean- A Crowd of Quantum (A-Star Social Robotics Laboratory) have built a cloud-computing Paul Laumond, director infrastructure that allows robots of research at France’s Entanglements to generate 3-D maps of their Laboratory of Analysis and environments much faster than they P hosphorus-in-silicon system could with their onboard computers. Architecture of Systems, in Toulouse. He’s not surprised could lead to quantum computers n Google engineers developed Android-powered robot to see Google, which develops In a flurry of research reports during computing, along with another software that allows a core cloud technologies the past six months, physicists ­quantum phenomenon called smartphone to control and services, pushing the have proven that silicon, the basis super­position, to create qubits robots based on idea of cloud robotics. of computers today, could also be that can exist in many different platforms like Lego the best platform for tomorrow’s states at the same time. The But Laumond and others Mindstorms, iRobot quantum computers. experiment is being hailed in the Create, and Vex Pro. note that the cloud is not the Such computers would use the quantum computing community solution to all of robotics’ quantum properties of atoms or as a promising step toward silicon- n Researchers at the Laboratory molecules to perform calculations based quantum computers. of Analysis and Architecture of difficulties. In particular, in a fraction of the time it would According to Morton, the main Systems, in Toulouse, France, are controlling a robot’s motion— take conventional computers. advantages of his group’s design creating “user manual” repositories which relies heavily on However, so far only rudimentary are that it integrates easily with for everyday objects to help robots sensors and feedback—won’t quantum computers have been built, ordinary silicon circuits and that it with manipulation tasks. benefit much from the cloud. comprising only a few quantum bits produces qubits that last for a few n At a children’s hospital in Italy, Nao “Tasks that involve real-time (qubits) and built in exotic systems seconds. In many other quantum humanoid robots, created by the French such as ion traps, cryogenically systems, qubits last only milli- firm Aldebaran execution require onboard cooled superconductors, and or microseconds, which makes it Robotics, will processing,” he says. optical tweezers. difficult to perform calculations. rely on a cloud And there are other Silicon could provide a useful path Dane McCamey of the University infrastructure to challenges. As any Net to systems with 100 or more qubits, of Sydney, whose research involves perform speech say some scientists, because it would a similar system, says that what is user knows, cloud-based recognition, face make quantum computers easily important about Morton’s work “is detection, and applications can get slow or compatible with conventional ones. the generation of a large number of other tasks that simply become unavailable. If The silicon solution originated in 1998, identical entangled pairs.” McCamey might help improve a robot relies too much on the when Bruce Kane, a physicist at the and other experts, such as Stephen their interaction cloud, a hitch in the network University of Maryland, in College Lyon of Princeton, say these pairs with patients. Park, suggested making a qubit could pave the way to a form of could leave it “brainless.” from the nuclear spin—a quantum quantum computing where large What could apps do for Still, Kuffner is optimistic. property similar to magnetic entanglements are generated and robotics? It’s too early to say. He envisions a future when moment—of the phosphorus atoms then a series of precise measure- But at the Nashville gathering, robots will feed data into with which silicon is often doped. ments on individual qubits lead to In the past few months, massively parallel processing. roboticists received Kuffner’s a “knowledge database,” research­ers have reported progress Though the Oxford experiment

idea with enthusiasm. where they’ll share their in using the phosphorus-in-silicon produced 10 billion sets of entangled s c “The next generation of interactions with the world system. In the latest development, pairs, the number that were usable i bot o

robots needs to understand and learn about new objects, a team of physicists led by John as qubits was small, and that is R not only the environment places, and behaviors. Morton of the University of Oxford unlikely to change soon.

reported that by using bursts of Raymond Laflamme, executive baran e

they are in but also what Maybe they’ll even be able to d radio waves, they have managed director of the Institute for Quantum l objects exist and how download a helicopter-pilot to entangle the spins of 10 billion Computing at the University of A

to operate them,” says program. —Erico Guizzo pairs of electrons and nuclei in a Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada, ttom: o Kazuhito Yokoi, head of the crystal of phosphorus-doped silicon. cautions: “Some people are making B Entanglement is a phenomenon the leap that we will have silicon Humanoid Research Group A version of this article appeared that allows quantum particles quantum computers soon. We are at Japan’s National Institute in IEEE Spectrum’s Automaton to be interlinked even if they are on the right track, but the track is a o

of Advanced Industrial blog in January. separated. It is used in ­quantum long one.” —Saswato R. Das T p: Cellbots;

18 NA • iEEE Spectrum • march 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03U.News.NA.indd 18 2/17/11 1:45 PM 03a.p19.NA.indd 19 2/17/11 1:34 PM 20 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 s pectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

03.BigPicture.NA.indd 20 2/17/11 1:48 PM the big picture

Love Light in Flight Visitors to Resorts World on the island of Sentosa, Singapore, can witness “The Crane Dance,” a 10-minute animatronics spectacle in which two 80-metric-ton mechanical cranes act out a common fictional trope: the power of love infusing life into inanimate objects. The cranes appear to emerge from the water and flap their wings as they fall in love. The birds’ 25-meter-wide wings are created with a spray of nearly 18 500 liters of seawater that shoots out of each bird’s 10-story-high body during the course of every show. Photo: Wong Maye-E/ AP Photo spectrum.ieee.org s pectrum.ieee.org

03.BigPicture.NA.indd 21 2/17/11 1:48 PM hands on

A Typewriter Is a Terrible strips for the contacts— Thing to Waste no hammering required.”) A manual typewriter’s keyboard makes a After a while, the rhythm of the work becomes almost perfectly good computer keyboard—with a automatic: Hold the resistor little bit of hacking body while you pound a lead flat on the anvil, turn it over n the 1940s, my mother ­various kinds. The typewriter to flatten the other side of tapped out her college term modification is based on the lead, flip end-for-end to I papers on what was then a an Atmel ATmega168 do the other lead, pick up snazzy new Royal typewriter. microcontroller board, a pile another resistor, and so on. In the 1970s, she gave it to me of shift registers, and several Separately, you solder for my high school essays. dozen ­hand-hammered wires to some reed switches I, too, may pass a manual leaf-spring contacts. and wrap them in heat- typewriter on to my kids, Here’s how the computer shrink tubing to protect but with a twist—a couple attached to the typewriter their fragile glass. Then, for of circuit boards bodged to knows which key has example, you can mount the bottom and a USB cable been pressed: When a a magnet on the carriage- coming out the back. An letter is typed, the key’s OLD MEETS NEW: Three portable typewriters, a Royal [above], return lever and one switch obsolete manual typewriter metal support bar touches a Smith-Corona [below, right], and an Underwood [below, left], right next to it on the body of can thus be reborn as a a single contact on the come out of retirement to serve as keyboards for, respectively, the typewriter, so that when computer keyboard. board. Meanwhile, the a Dell all-in-one computer, an iMac, and an iPad. photoS: Jack Zylkin you pull the lever the magnet It’s the brainchild of Jack microcontroller is stepping closes the circuit and notifies Zylkin, a Philadelphia-based a single logic “1” down the the PC. A few strategically typewriter, his board can be the microcontroller that electrical engineer who has row of shift register pins and placed magnets and reed chopped to fit inside with you’ve done the equivalent designed a kit that makes thus the leaf-spring contacts switches detect the shift no electrical repercussions. of pushing the return key. the conversion reasonably wired to them, letting the key, carriage returns, and Assembling the kit is Zylkin found that he easy for anyone who enjoys microcontroller detect the whatever the user wants to fairly straightforward. needed to give special hands-on projects. Zylkin circuit made between the configure as Alt or Ctrl. There’s a lot of soldering thought to designing a kit spent the better part of a typewriter and the board. Why use shift registers (40-odd contacts plus for do-it-yourselfers because year refining his creation at Then, like any other USB instead of the switch matrix eleven 16-pin ICs), none some parts aren’t easily Hive76, a local workspace keyboard controller, it sends buried within a modern of it particularly fussy. found, while others would organized by hackers of the appropriate code back to keyboard? Because ordinary The only unusual be hard to incorporate. It humans can build it. A step is making the leaf- matrix would need fewer spring contacts yourself by components and perhaps flattening the leads of two less code, but it would dozen half-watt resistors require either putting the with two hammers or a microcontroller on the same hammer and an anvil. board as the contacts (a tough Zylkin says that there are no fit inside some typewriters) easy sources for the kind of or soldering more than a copper or phosphor-­bronze dozen wires between the two strips that you can expect boards. The shift registers to use for making contacts. take only four wires. “The (As this article goes to press, other advantage,” Zylkin Zylkin plans to phase the notes, “is that unlike some resistors out: “I’m taking kind of matrix, the shift your advice and moving registers form a repeating away from resistor leads pattern that can be cut to any for the electrical contacts. length.” So regardless of how From now on, the kits will large or small your manual use chemically etched brass

22 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

03U.Resources.NA.indd 22 2/17/11 1:45 PM profile

strips for the contacts— would have been nice, for no hammering required.”) example, to use off-the- From QuickBooks to Slow Food After a while, the rhythm shelf USB or Bluetooth ICs R idgely Evers doesn’t just write software of the work becomes almost to handle the keyboard’s for businesses, he keeps starting them up. automatic: Hold the resistor communication with the Now he’s making wine and olive oil body while you pound a lead rest of the world, but such flat on the anvil, turn it over chips are surface-mount to flatten the other side of only. Zylkin sells modified For Ridgely Evers, developing the lead, flip end-for-end to typewriters as well as kits new technology has always been a means to an end. In do the other lead, pick up and will modify typewriters boarding school, program- another resistor, and so on. sent to him. He recently left ming got him out of waiting Separately, you solder his corporate engineering tables. In college, he figured it wires to some reed switches job to build and sell retro­ would help bring world peace. In the 1980s, sick of keeping technology full-time. and wrap them in heat- the books for a real estate shrink tubing to protect So what is this retro­ start-up, he wrote software their fragile glass. Then, for keyboard like to type on? to do it for him. example, you can mount For many of us, it’ll be “Manual bookkeeping is a magnet on the carriage- more comfortable than a a stupid process,” Evers says. “Spreadsheets are OLD MEETS NEW: Three portable typewriters, a Royal [above], return lever and one switch modern-day one. Remember, not a good place to do a Smith-Corona [below, right], and an Underwood [below, left], right next to it on the body of manual typewriters were accounting, either.” come out of retirement to serve as keyboards for, respectively, the typewriter, so that when designed to be operated In 1987, Scott Cook, the a Dell all-in-one computer, an iMac, and an iPad. photoS: Jack Zylkin you pull the lever the magnet entirely on finger power for founder of Intuit, looked at Evers’s accounting POUR HOUSE: Software hours every day, and the closes the circuit and notifies package and hired him entrepreneur and winemaker typewriter, his board can be the microcontroller that key travel needed to reach as a consultant to write Ridgley Evers enjoys the chopped to fit inside with you’ve done the equivalent contacts is only a fraction of an invoicing add-on for fruits of his labors. no electrical repercussions. of pushing the return key. the distance required in the Quicken personal finance photo: Tekla S. Perry Assembling the kit is Zylkin found that he old days to slam a type bar software. Evers started working on the project he created to handle fairly straightforward. needed to give special onto the platen. Now if only but argued that small inventory, marketing, order There’s a lot of soldering thought to designing a kit someone could go the other businesses needed a taking, and shipping for (40-odd contacts plus for do-it-yourselfers because way around and build a CPU dedicated accounting small businesses. Again, eleven 16-pin ICs), none some parts aren’t easily and some mass storage into package, not just an add-on. he was his software’s first Cook finally agreed, and customer—he uses it to the rest of the typewriter. of it particularly fussy. found, while others would Evers set out to build what’s run his olive oil and wine The only unusual be hard to incorporate. It —Paul Wallich now known as QuickBooks. company, DaVero. step is making the leaf- Evers led a design team Evers also manages his spring contacts yourself by of nine people, created the 28-hectare farm, where flattening the leads of two architecture, and wrote he grows the olives for his about 25 percent of the oil and grapes for his wine. dozen half-watt resistors code himself. It came out in Farming is one process, he’s with two hammers or a 1991, and today QuickBooks found, that technology can’t hammer and an anvil. is still the world’s most do much for; plants have Zylkin says that there are no popular small-business to grow themselves in their accounting package. own good time. And he’s easy sources for the kind of While QuickBooks just fine with that. “I really copper or phosphor-­bronze took the small-business love and am proud of the strips that you can expect accounting world by storm, diversity of my life,” says to use for making contacts. Evers eventually left Intuit— Evers. “I never let myself get (As this article goes to press, then a 30-person outfit, pigeonholed.” now a public company —Tekla S. Perry Zylkin plans to phase the with US $3 billion in annual resistors out: “I’m taking sales—and built what he For more about the origins your advice and moving calls a ­balanced life. He of QuickBooks and how a away from resistor leads does strategic consulting technologist got into the for large companies, and he olive oil business, see “From for the electrical contacts. is about to launch Captina, QuickBooks to Slow Food” From now on, the kits will a company that will sell at http://spectrum.ieee.org/ use chemically etched brass cloud-based software evers0311. spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org Ma rch 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 23

03U.Resources.NA.indd 23 2/17/11 1:45 PM careers For Dummies for Dummies You, too, can turn an interest in Carrier Ethernet or string theory into an idiot’s guide

t all began in 1991, when publisher IDG Books Worldwide irresolutely I published Dan Gookin’s DOS for Dummies in an initial press run of only 7500 copies. Two years and a million copies later, Alpha Books followed suit with The Complete Idiot’s Guide to DOS. Since then there have been 1600 For Dummies titles (now published by Wiley) and 1300 Complete Idiot’s Guides, totaling 220 million copies. And authors and experts are still regularly being hired to pen the next installments in the franchises. Might you be next? Be warned: It takes more than expertise, says technical writer Ed Tittel, whose HTML for Dummies, Custom titles run between 32 and agency for Harvie and for dozens of cowritten with Steve James and 72 pages with deadlines of one to other For Dummies and Complete first published in 1995, is about two months, whereas a first draft of Idiot’s Guides authors, 95 percent of to go into its 13th edition. a regular For Dummies book, which the hundreds of titles they represent “The secret to writing a Dummies can be up to 400 pages, is often due originated with the publisher. “It is book is not in the knowledge,” says in just four or five months. Custom rare that an unsolicited proposal Tittel. “The real test of a writer’s titles have no royalties, but the payout results in a book contract,” he says, mettle is being able to take complex tends to be more generous, Tittel “though it does happen occasionally.” contents and deliver them in says. Writing a trade edition involves And even if you get in over your head, everyday language in as friendly and both an advance up front, which you can bring in help from the outside. nonthreatening a way as possible.” varies depending on the writer’s String Theory for Dummies author In addition to his six For Dummies experience and the popularity of Andrew Zimmerman Jones—a science trade books, Tittel has written five the subject, and royalties once the writer for About.com—says he penned others for private companies—Wiley book has earned back its advance. the book’s first draft on his own (see also leases out the For Dummies brand Be warned also that it isn’t an easy a review of String Theory for Dummies to companies looking to make an niche to break into. Barbara Harvie, in this issue). On the advice of his impression at trade shows or on sales a Sebastopol, Calif.–based writer editor, he sought out Ph.D. string calls. Tittel’s roster of page-turners and entrepreneur who has carved theorist Daniel Robbins of Texas A&M includes Carrier Ethernet for Dummies out a niche writing user guides to University to help him sift through for the Maryland-based network Quicken, QuickBooks, and other competing theories and advanced ideas. firm Ciena Corp. and Clusters for financial software, says technical “Daniel and I had several Dummies for Canadian cloud software writing agent Carole Jelen McClendon discussions to make sure that he was company Platform Computing Corp. contacted her about writing a Complete okay with the approach,” Zimmerman In fact, Tittel says, writing the Idiot’s Guide after reading Harvie’s Jones says. “And he agreed that in a custom booklets gives him a more résumé on her LinkedIn page. reference book like this it was only “generous and relaxed schedule” than According to Bill Gladstone, founder fair to give the critics their due.” writing a retail For Dummies book. of Waterside Productions, the literary —Mark Anderson

24 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03U.Resources.NA.indd 24 2/17/11 1:45 PM Cut Execution Time by >50% with WhisperStation-GPU Delivered ready to run new GPU-enabled applications:

Design Simulation BioTech

3ds Max ANSYS Mechanical MATLAB AMBER Bunkspeed Autodesk Moldflow ACUSIM AcuSolve GROMACS Shot Mathematica Tech-X GPULib NAMD, VMD Adobe CS5 TeraChem

Integrating the latest CPUs with NVIDIA Tesla Fermi GPUs, Microway’s WhisperStation-GPU delivers 2x-100x the performance of standard workstations. Providing explosive performance, yet quiet, it’s custom designed for the power hungry applications you use. Take advantage of existing GPU applications or enable high performance with CUDA C/C++, PGI CUDA FORTRAN, or OpenCL compute kernels.

Up to Four Tesla Fermi GPUs, each with: 448 cores, 6 GB GDDR5, 1 TFLOP single and 515 GFLOP double precision performance Up to 24 cores with the newest Intel and AMD Processors, 128 GB memory, 80 PLUS® certified power supply, and eight hard drives Nvidia Quadro for state of the art professional graphics and visualization Ultra-quiet fans, strategically placed baffles, and internal sound-proofing New: Microway CL-IDE™ for OpenCL programming on CPUs and GPUs

WhisperStation with 4 Tesla Fermi GPUs

OctoPuter™ 4U Server with up to 8 GPUs and 144 GB memory Microway’s Latest Servers for Dense Clustering

4P, 1U nodes with 48 CPU cores, 512 GB and QDR InfiniBand 1U Node with 2P, 1U nodes with 24 CPU cores, 2 Tesla GPUs and QDR InfiniBand 2 Tesla Fermi GPUs 2U Twin2 with 4 Hot-Swap MBs, each with 2 Processors + 256 GB 1U S2050 servers with 4 Tesla Fermi GPUs

Microway Puts YOU on the Cutting Edge Design your next custom configuration with techs who speak HPC. Rely on our integration expertise for complete and thorough testing of your workstations, turnkey clusters and servers. Whether you need Linux or Windows, CUDA or OpenCL, we’ve been resolving the complicated issues – so you don’t have to – since 1982.

Configure your next WhisperStation or Cluster today! 2U Twin2 Node with 4 Hot-Swap Motherboards microway.com/quickquote or call 508-746-7341 Each with 2 CPUs and 256 GB Sign up for technical newsletters and special GPU promotions at microway.com/newsletter

GSA Schedule Contract Number: GS-35F-0431NGS-35F-0431N

MW_SC10 DE - Dec DeskTop_FIN.indd 1 2/15/11 3:06 PM 03a.p25.NA.indd 25 2/17/11 1:35 PM books

String Theory for Dummies sTring Theory By Andrew Zimmerman Jones with Daniel Robbins; glory. And that’s just for starters. Each mADe eAsy Wiley, 2009; 384 pp.; US $19.99; must then argue why we need string ISBN: 978-0-470-46724-4 theory, explain its extraordinarily two books tackle one of the complex hypotheses, what it all most complex theories known The Complete Idiot’s Guide means, and why readers should care. to String Theory to man—with surprisingly By George Musser; Alpha/Penguin, 2008; Zimmerman Jones makes an satisfactory results 368 pp.; $18.95; ISBN: 978-1-59257-702-6 admirable eff ort. Struggling to explain a 25-dimensional (!) precursor theory, the author enlists a Slinky here’s a Complete Idiot’s Guide infi nity of parallel universes that also toy for a deft little metaphor. He then or For Dummies book for just can never be seen. Somewhere within summarizes the case against string T about everything, from caulking this cauldron, infi nitesimal loops theory masterfully, candidly pointing your bathtub to mastering JavaScript. of various vibrations wobble, giving out, for instance, that its acolytes How do they compare head to head? us the “familiar” world of electrons, never predicted “dark energy,” one of And how well do they handle the quarks, and neutrinos—as well as a the biggest physics discoveries since thorniest and most diffi cult topics in menagerie of undiscovered particles string theory’s emergence in the 1980s. science today—say, string theory? that the theory predicts must exist. Nevertheless, if rankings must be made, It’s the big enchilada, the theory that Science journalists Andrew award Zimmerman Jones the silver. unifi es physics’ greatest 20th-century Zimmerman Jones (String Theory for Musser is a joy to read. With an easy achievements: relativity and quantum Dummies) and George Musser (The grasp not only of the central theory but mechanics. String theory syncs Complete Idiot’s Guide to String Theory) its chief competitors—loop quantum these distinct views of the universe have taken on the herculean task of gravity and other lesser-knowns— by hypothesizing seven additional summarizing the universe, in all its he condenses complex tenets like particle dimensions of space plus a near- photon/graviton/black hole/big bang spin and statistical mechanics via clever comparisons to “The Newlywed Game” and salsa dancing. And his extended conceptualization of string theory as a many years.” Many journalists have written corporate merger between two hostile scary stories by picking and choosing data companies is nothing short of brilliant. and speculating about motives of individuals, Ironically, the best introductory and these three writers have done that here, tome would combine the two with their egregiously slanted reporting. contenders, just as string theory At the same time, health agencies have repeatedly reviewed the data and failed itself does. Musser’s breezy pages to find a clear reason for concern. could use a little more of Zimmerman Jones’s candor, such as the fact that Read the review online at there’s no such thing as string theory http://spectrum.ieee.org/cellbooks0311. but rather a vast number of theories. Disconnect: The Truth About In the end, the reader begins to Murderous Microwaves Cell Phone Radiation, What the feel for the seemingly impossible Industry Has Done to Hide It, and expectations heaped on string and three fl awed books How to Protect Your Family related quantum gravity theories: argue that the science By Devra Davis; Dutton, 2010; 271 pp.; US $26.95; ISBN: 978-0-525-95194-0 Unify all known forces and particles of cellphone radiation while also making sense of the dawn hazards is fl awed Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone of time, cosmic infl ation, black holes, Shouldn’t Be Your Alarm Clock time machines, dark matter, and, while Do you feel zapped, disconnected, or and 1268 Ways to Outsmart the electronically polluted by electromagnetic Hazards of Electronic Pollution we’re at it, dark energy, too. One gets fields in your home and workplace? Are you By Ann Louise Gittleman; HarperOne, 2010; a picture of Cinderella tasked with fearful of your electricity? These three books 272 pp.; $25.99; ISBN: 978-0-06-186427-8 endless chores by wicked stepsisters will offer ample justification—but, argues hell-bent on breaking her. And more reviewer Kenneth R. Foster, nothing is new Dirty Electricity: Electrifi cation than anything else, it’s clear she hasn’t here. “The scientific literature on the health and the Diseases of Civilization effects of electro magnetic fields is vast and By Samuel Milham; iUniverse, 2010; 120 pp.; even met her fairy godmother yet. inconsistent,” he writes, “and has been for $12.95; ISBN: 978-1-4502-3822-9 —Mark Anderson

26 NA • iEEE SpEctrum • mArch 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03U.Resources.NA.indd 26 2/17/11 1:46 PM Impossible: Physics beyond the Edge Taught by Professor Benjamin Schumacher IM ED T E O   IT FF E IM R    L 1. From Principles to Paradoxes and Back Again 70% 2. Almost Impossible 3. Perpetual Motion O off 0 R 3 4. On Sunshine and Invisible Particles D L E RI 5. Refl ections on the Motive Power of Fire R B AP Y 6. Maxwell’s Demon 7. Absolute Zero 8. Predicting the Future 9. Visiting the Past 10. Thinking in Space-Time 11. Faster than Light 12. Black Holes and Curved Space-Time 13. A Spinning Universe, Wormholes, and Such 14. What Is Symmetry? 15. Mirror Worlds 16. Invasion of the Giant Insects 17. The Curious Quantum World 18. Impossible Exactness 19. Quantum Tunneling 20. Whatever Is Not Forbidden Is Compulsory 21. Entanglement and Quantum Cloning 22. Geometry and Conservation 23. Symmetry, Information, and Probability 24. The Future of the Impossible

Explore the Physics of the Impossible Traveling through a wormhole. Chasing quantum particles. Reversing the fl ow of time. These and other astounding adventures are staples of science fi ction. And yet they also provide an engaging way to grasp the fundamental laws of Impossible: Physics beyond the Edge nature and discover profound truths about our universe. Course no. 1299 | 24 lectures (30 minutes/lecture) Impossible: Physics beyond the Edge uses this ingenious approach in 24 lectures that teach you more about physics SAVE $185 than you ever imagined. Your guide is Professor Benjamin Schumacher, a pioneer in quantum information who deals everyday with things once deemed impossible. His richly DVD $254.95NOW $69.95 +$10 Shipping, Processing, and Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee illustrated course probes the nature of the impossible from many Priority Code: 50725 perspectives and takes you to the frontier of current scientifi c knowledge—all in pursuit of an answer to the question, Designed to meet the demand for lifelong “Is it possible?” learning, The Great Courses is a highly popular series of audio and video lectures led O‰ er expires 04/30/11 by top professors and experts. Each of our more than 300 courses is an intellectually engaging experience that will change how 1-800-832-2412 you think about the world. Since 1990,

’’’.“”•–.–—/5˜ Ensign John Gay by photo U.S. Navy over 9 million courses have been sold.

03a.p27.NA.indd 27 2/17/11 1:35 PM geek life

If you meet someone in person who appeals to you, hand him or her the card, which has a link to the dating site. The idea is that it’s safer to learn about someone online than in person. That might be true. Consider WomanSavers.com, which serves as an early warning system for women before they date. Stephany Alexander started the site in 2002 after a bad relationship. “I thought, ‘There should be a network for women to share information,’ ” she says. Through Alexander’s site, a group of older women in seven states found out they were married to or involved with the same man, while a single mother learned her boyfriend was a pedophile. Alexander says, “Ninety L ove, Digital Style dating sites Match.com and eHarmony. percent of the men entered do not have E verything else gets a “I was curious to know what people positive reviews—alleged pedophiles, feedback rating, so why not thought of me,” says Moser, who men spreading STDs, abusive men, last night’s date? estimates that his site logs a few and serial bigamists.” Despite hackers thousand visitors a month by word and legal threats and being banned in of mouth. That need for feedback is China, parts of Russia, and the Middle went on a date and I thought it the basis of other sites as well, such as East, the site has grown to include went pretty well. But then after a Hot or Not, which rates people on how more than 40 000 men’s names. “I few days, my date wasn’t taking they look on a scale of 1 to 10. “It’s hugely While the U.S. company DateRate my phone calls. I started to wonder, popular with a very base appeal is not a moneymaker, DateRate.com.au ‘Was it my hair—or lack of it? Maybe to it,” Moser says. “It’s like potato sees financial potential in selling I just talked too much?’ Or maybe she chips. You cannot stop doing this.” targeted advertising, charging users just didn’t feel a spark. The point is, Moser surmises that the popu­ to access their feedback and customize I didn’t know...I wish I had DateRate!” larity of sites like his has picked their questionnaires, and licensing So began Web developer Gabe up as a reaction to other sites, such its software to traditional dating Hallombe’s pitch for DateRate.com.au as DontDateHimGirl.com, where sites. DontDateHimGirl.com and during the Australian start-up com- women share information about dating, WomenSavers.com, which run ads, petition Sydney Startup Camp IV last relationships, finances, and self-esteem. engage in e-commerce, or charge some October. The program, which won an Because Moser’s users also list the fees, have helped brand their creators honorable mention, lets you request dating site they got their date from, he as relationship experts. —Susan Karlin anonymous criticism on such areas as says he was able to compile a rating grooming, sense of humor, and conver- system for the dating sites themselves, DateRate.com.au: http://daterate.com.au sation from dates you’ve had through such as which had the most accurate DateRate: http://www.daterate.net the site. “Sometimes the things we pictures or produced the most successful Hot or Not: http://www.hotornot.com need to hear the most are the ­hardest dates. And at least one site gives out a lot DontDateHimGirl.com: things for people to say,” says Hallombe. of information about itself: OKCupid has http://dontdatehimgirl.com/home “DateRate makes sharing feedback a blog that analyzes dating trends based OKCupid’s blog: http://blog.okcupid.com s

easy.” It’s the latest in a ­growing on information gleaned from its users. Skout: http://www.skout.com e g a m

and addictive niche of feedback and Technology is making other Date Radar: http://hgappsstore.com/ I ­information sites dedicated to dating. appearances in online dating as well. dp616/ourappportfolio/date-radar

Florida-based computer program­ Skout and HG Apps Store’s Date Radar Cheek’d: http://www.cheekd.com y/Getty k mer Kim Moser began DateRate— can connect you with nearby singles via FlipMe: http://flipmedating.com s an unrelated U.S.-based site—in early GPS technology. Cheek’d and FlipMe WomanSavers.com: e

2004 as a goof, after using “traditional” use cheeky business cards with a code. http://womansavers.com K ith Brof

28 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03U.Resources.NA.indd 28 2/17/11 1:46 PM reflections By robert w. lucky

O pen Systems

ccasionally, which you were allowed, even I indulge in a bit of encouraged, to touch—was Onostalgia over those what it was, and could never long-ago days of Heathkit. Of be different. course, building a Heathkit Manufacturers are was the electronics equivalent understandably reluctant of painting a Rembrandt by to open their designs. They the numbers, but I remember fear someone will reverse how proud I was when a engineer the product, project was done. It was produce it more cheaply, and a great starting point for undercut their market. They growing up to be an engineer. also worry about supporting There’s something else to users who’ve crippled or cherish about those Heathkits, ruined their devices. though: their openness. Some consumer devices Whatever might go wrong get opened up by hackers—a with the Heathkit, I could fix trick known as jailbreaking— it. I had access to all the parts and, while strictly speaking, and complete schematics and this might be illegal, a bit circuit descriptions. It was of anarchy might not be truly mine. entirely bad if it stimulated The electronics world of innovation. Indeed, there are today is profoundly different. a number of examples of open can increase its market many in which IBM itself had no None of the many gadgets systems built on top of others, times, and at little expense. inherent advantage. On the that litter my house could be some of which are closed. In In maintaining a stable other hand, Apple has been considered open. “No user- recent decades we have seen platform there is always the able to maintain its market— serviceable parts inside” is the tremendous value in danger of being painted into albeit with a much smaller the ubiquitous phrase of opening innovation up to the a corner, where it becomes share—through the years, as warning—you’re apparently public by providing a stable impossible to change the plat- well as its independence and going to be electrocuted if platform. The Internet itself is form because of ­everything design integrity. It retained you open the back of the the greatest example—a core that has come to surround the freedom to break a lot gadget, and worse yet, you’ll platform consisting of a it. Microsoft Windows is of legacy software when it void the warranty. Many set of protocols on which a prime example, as is the created a completely new won’t let you add memory or millions upon millions of Internet itself. A lot of people, operating system, Mac OS X, even change the battery! people have innovated and now given the benefit of hind- an option that Microsoft These systems couldn’t be created enormous value for sight, would like to change doesn’t seem to have. more different from the old all humanity. the underlying protocols of As an engineer, I’m con­ Heathkits. For one thing, they On a smaller scale we have the Internet. But the weight flicted. I don’t like these seldom break, so information partially open systems that of legacy is so overwhelming devices that lock me out. But about how to fix them is have inspired a great deal that even the thought of such intellectually, I understand unneeded. There’s almost of innovation. Many have change is heresy. that manufacturers have nothing inside anyway, just application programming The whole question of how to make money or they an embedded processor and interfaces that allow third- much and where a system wouldn’t be able to create some firmware. And whatever party add-ons. More recently, should be open is fascinating. these great products. I also

Christian Christian this gadget is and does, with a the advent of the app store With the PC, IBM opened understand the value of change in firmware it could be has provided a wonderful the design to third parties, maintaining stable platforms. and do something different— model for allowing public while Apple maintained a Nevertheless, I’m an N o

rtheast except, of course, that you’re innovation around a closed, closed design. The market engineer and yearn to tinker not allowed to touch it. In proprietary platform. For the chose the IBM design, but with these closed boxes. It’s contrast, the old Heathkit— platform manufacturer, this it was ultimately a market what I grew up doing. o

spectrum.ieee.org March 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 29

03U.Reflections.NA.indd 29 2/17/11 1:45 PM Jude Buffum Jude

spectrum.ieee.org

03.InternetArchiving.NA.indd 30 2/17/11 1:49 PM b y a r i e l b l e i c h e r

Ae M m o r y oeb f W s Pa s t

Ev ery weekday at 5:00 a.m., a nondescript gray van rolls down the underground ser- vice road beneath the French National Library, in Paris, and arrives at a svelte glass skyscraper soaring above the bustling Seine River. Here, at the Tower of the Times, the van delivers a tiny but astoundingly rich snapshot of life in this country that takes its cultural heritage very seriously. T bhe We is The van has been stuffed willy-nilly with two copies each of some a rollicking, 3000 periodicals printed recently in France that are being sent to revealing the library for preservation. One morning last November, the haul record of life includes the dailies Le Monde and L’Humanité, of course, and also the in the 21st union newspaper Le Travailleur. Among the other lexical artifacts century. But dutifully funneled from the van up into the tower are a booklet of preserving classified advertisements, a concert flyer, several religious pamphlets, it for future Busty Beauties magazine, and a community newsletter from Bonnes historians is a (population 330) announcing a town raffle for three hams, six bottles monumental of wine, and a yogurt-making machine. technical “We have a lot of so-called crap, and we’re happy about that,” says challenge Gildas Illien, an archivist at the library. His colleagues in other coun- tries might turn up their noses at hard-core porn, advertisements, and obscure newsletters, but not Illien. “In a hundred years, what’s totally irrelevant or dirty today will end up becoming of extreme interest to historians,” he declares. Jude Buffum Jude

spectrum.ieee.org march 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 31

03.InternetArchiving.NA.indd 31 2/17/11 1:49 PM thE towEr oF thE timEs, where Illien works, is one of four spires, each composed of two perpendicular wings resembling the pages of an open book, that make up France’s newly modern- ized national library. The archivists here aren’t after just printed material; they’re preserving the electronic, too. In fact, it’s Illien’s daunting task to archive French Web sites—all of them, in all their evanescent, constantly changing, and multimedia splendor. Since the ancient Sumerians compiled the fi rst collections of inscribed clay tablets, many peoples have attempted to preserve documents, ephemera, and even the fl otsam of their political, economic, and social tides. But perhaps no nation today tackles this endeavor as thoroughly as France, one of the few countries in which archivists have the legal right to copy and save vir- tual documents without fear of a copyright suit. Five centuries ago, King Francis I ordered book publishers to donate copies of their work to posterity. That legal deposit law, as it is known, has expanded over the years to include maps, music scores, period- icals, photographs, sound recordings, posters, motion pictures, television broadcasts, computer software, and fi nally, in 2006, the World Wide Web. French archivists are still grappling with that most recent mandate. The Web, of course, is unlike any other publishing platform—not simply because it is amorphous and immeasur- ably large but because its “documents” are boundless. Nowadays, an “online publication” is barely recognizable as a publication in any traditional sense; it exists in a perpetual state of being updated, and it cannot be considered complete in the absence of everything else it’s hyperlinked to. Unlike books and news- papers, which have discernible titles, authors, beginnings, and ends, the Internet is utterly nonstandardized. The task of preserving what’s put online has proved, to no one’s surprise, monumental. And it’s only getting more so as the Internet expands, as Web sites become more dynamic, and as concern grows over online privacy. Increasingly, much of what people put online is being diff used across social networks and distributed through personalized apps on smartphones and tab- let computers. The classic Web site, it seems, is already starting to slide toward obsolescence. “I’m convinced the Web as we know it will be gone in a few years’ time,” Illien says. “What we’re doing in this library is trying to capture a trace of it.” But to do even that is requiring engineers to build a new, more sophisticated gener- ation of software robots, known as crawlers, to trawl the Web’s vast and varied content.

illiEn sEEs himsElF as a stEward of an ancient tradition; he believes he is helping pioneer a revolution in the way soci- ety documents what it does and how it thinks. He points out that since the end of the 19th century, the French National Library has been storing sales catalogs from big department stores, including the famous Galeries Lafayette. “Today,” he says, “this exceptional collection…is the best record we have of how people dressed back then and who was buying what.” One day, he insists, the archives of eBay will be just as valu- able. Capturing them, however, is a task that’s very diff er- ent from anything archivists have ever done.

32 Na • IEEE SpEctrum • march 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

03.InternetArchiving.NA.indd 32 2/17/11 1:49 PM A CULTURAL REPOSITORY: Every day, thousands of books, periodicals, brochures, and street fl yers pass through the sorting rooms [above] in the basement of France’s national library [left]. Eight stories above, a team of Web archivists hunt down digital documents and archive them in petaBox storage servers [top] designed by San Francisco’s Internet archive. PHOTOS: BIBLIOTHÈQue NATIONALe de fRANCe

The Web is regularly accessed and modifi ed by as many as 2 billion people, in every country on Earth. It’s a wild bazaar of scripting languages, fi le formats, media players, search inter- faces, hidden databases, pay walls, pop-up advertisements, untraceable comments, public broadcasts, private conversations, and applications that can be navigated in an infi nite number of ways. Finding and capturing even a substantial portion of it all would require development teams and computing resources as large as, or probably larger than, Google’s. But Google, aside from saving previously indexed pages for caching, has mostly abandoned the Webs of the past—the com- plete set of Web pages as they existed a month, six months, a year ago, and so on, back to a site’s origins. Thus the job of preserving them has fallen to nonprofi t foundations and small, overworked teams of engineers and curators at national libraries. Illien, for example, manages a group of nine. For a digital archive, the French National Library’s collec- tion of Web data is surprisingly small—just 200 terabytes stored on hard disks and magnetic tape in the library’s data center. It includes copies of French Web pages dating back to 1996. Illien’s team completed its fi rst harvest of the entire French domain (.fr) just last summer. Other national libraries, such as Iceland’s, have been downloading their national domains periodically since the early 2000s. Part of the diffi culty in fetching the contents of the Web is that no one really knows how much is out there to be fetched. Brewster Kahle, a U.S. computer engineer who in the late 1980s invented the Wide Area Information Servers, a pre-Web pub- spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org march 2011 • IEEE SpEctrum • Na 33

03.InternetArchiving.NA.indd 33 2/17/11 1:49 PM H o w t o a r c h i v E t h e w E B

lishing system, paid a visit to AltaVista’s offi ces in INDEXED coUnting Urls, thoUgh, has become a fairly Palo Alto, Calif., in 1995. He was shocked to see that UNIQUE URLS pointless exercise. For instance, it’s possible and the then-popular search engine had indexed 16 mil- increasingly common that a single site is capable lion Web pages “on a set of machines that were the of generating vast numbers of unique URLs, all size of two large Coke machines,” he recalls. “You pointing to the same content: advertisements or could actually wrap your arms around the Web.” 1997 pornography, typically. Though engineers have The apparent compactness of the Web inspired 50 million devised tricks for steering crawlers away from Kahle to found, in San Francisco in 1996, the non- such spam clusters, even Google’s crawlers still profit Internet Archive. Wary of infringing on from time to time capture billions of unique URLs copyrights, AltaVista made sure to delete old pages redirecting to the same place. in its cache. But the Internet Archive, embold- “In reality, the Web is infi nite in all the wrong ened by its status as a trustworthy nonprofi t, was ways,” laments Julien Masanès, who introduced willing to be brazen. “We have an opportunity to Web archiving at the French National Library one-up the Greeks,” Kahle says, referring to the in 2002 and managed the collection until 2004, ancient philosophers who collected hundreds of when he left to start what is now the nonprofit thousands of papyrus scrolls in the great Library Internet Memory Foundation, headquartered in of Alexandria. The invention of the Internet, he 2010 Amsterdam and Paris. argues, has made it possible to create an archive 3 trillion Realizing the Web’s anarchic nature, its early of human knowledge that anyone can access from archivists quickly gave up trying to dig up docu- anywhere on the planet. And Kahle, for one, wasn’t ments from every nook and cranny and instead going to let a bunch of lawyers talk him out of it. focused on making quality copies of the pages they knew they By March 1997, he had compiled what was arguably the fi rst could fi nd. After all, they were building historical archives, not true time capsule of the global Web. In fact, a substantial portion indexes of live sites, and it was imperative that their crawlers of the French National Library’s electronic archive was simply retrieve complete and perfect replicas. The trick was having 4 THE FRONTIER keeps track bought from Kahle’s Internet Archive. One of the archive’s major a program that could fetch everything—not just text, which of all the Urls that heritrix successes has been its online access interface, called the Wayback was what most search crawlers prioritized, but also images, will discover and archive. it Machine, which lets anyone who knows the address of a Web site graphics, and video. supplies new Urls to hundreds see archived versions of its pages. Today the Internet Archive When Kahle fi rst started saving copies of Web documents of multithreaded fetch requests stores more than two petabytes of Web data in a portable Sun in the late 1990s, he was trawling the Web with a crawler he called toe threads. the Frontier Microsystems (now Oracle America) data center built into a ship- helped develop for Alexa Internet, a search company he founded also makes sure that Urls ping container. Back in 1997, Kahle had captured nearly 2 tera- in 1996, the same year he established the Internet Archive. But are not revisited bytes, which he calculated was about a tenth the amount of text three years later, he sold Alexa to Amazon.com, along with unnecessarily. stored in the entire U.S. Library of Congress. It was a substantial the rights to its software. No big loss, he fi gured. Alexa would collection of the Web of the time, but it wasn’t nearly everything. still donate its twice-yearly global Web crawls to the Internet Kahle knew there were still hundreds of thousands of Archive, and in the meantime, Kahle and his engineers would sites and perhaps millions of “hidden” documents, images, build a crawler that was open source, meaning that anyone and audio clips that his crawler program missed. It couldn’t wanting to use or modify the software could download it for free. access password-protected sites, for example, or isolated pages “Companies come and go,” Kahle says, and because the goal is with just a few if any hyperlinks, such as outdated product to build an archive of the Web that would last indefi nitely, “the postings on eBay. More troubling, it couldn’t probe “form- idea of depending on corporately controlled software is not a fronted” databases, which require typing keywords in search long-term strategy .” boxes to call up information (such databases include those at So Kahle hired a young Internet software developer and self- the National Climate Data Center in the United States and the described “steward of open source” named Gordon Mohr to take British Census). Still, Kahle believed that with the right tools charge of coding the crawler that would ensure the world’s digi- and enough human curators to guide the crawlers, it was pos- tal inheritance. Mohr had few good models to work from. “In the sible to get almost all online data. The Web may have been big, earliest days of search crawlers, an awful lot of them immedi- but ultimately it was manageable. ately reduced a site to plain text,” Mohr notes, explaining that That is no longer the case. The part of the Web indexed the “index quality” crawlers weren’t made to preserve a site’s by search engines such as Google has ballooned from some “original appearance and functionality.” But in January 2004, he 50 million unique URLs in 1997 to about 3 trillion today, accord- released the fi rst public version of his “archival quality” crawler ing to the latest update last November by Majestic SEO, a search and named it Heritrix, an archaic synonym for “heiress.” optimization service. A URL, or uniform resource locator, des- ignates a single document, such as a JPEG image or an HTML BEForE hEritriX, FEw liBrariEs in the consortium had text fi le. Those fi les, however, are just a tiny piece of the Internet. developed the technology to do any real archiving of their own. By some estimates, the total “surface” Web visible to crawlers The problem was mainly a lack of resources. “We’re too small, is six times the size of the indexed Web, and the “deep” Web we’re not smart enough, and we’re terribly French,” Illien

of hidden pages and databases is some 500 times larger still. explains, only half joking. Most libraries, including the French Jude Buffum

34 Na • IEEE SpEctrum • march 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03.InternetArchiving.NA.indd 34 2/17/11 1:49 PM H o w t o a r c h i v E t h e w E B 1 hEritriX is a web app that thE crawl JoB coUnting Urls, thoUgh, has become a fairly crawls the internet 3 also includes a pointless exercise. For instance, it’s possible and for sites to archive. increasingly common that a single site is capable starting list of Urls of generating vast numbers of unique URLs, all to analyze. this pointing to the same content: advertisements or information is fed pornography, typically. Though engineers have to a management devised tricks for steering crawlers away from layer in an app such spam clusters, even Google’s crawlers still called the from time to time capture billions of unique URLs Frontier. redirecting to the same place. “In reality, the Web is infi nite in all the wrong ways,” laments Julien Masanès, who introduced Web archiving at the French National Library 2 a web in 2002 and managed the collection until 2004, archivist when he left to start what is now the nonprofit creates a “CRAWL Internet Memory Foundation, headquartered in JOB” to outline each Amsterdam and Paris. search’s parameters. Realizing the Web’s anarchic nature, its early archivists quickly gave up trying to dig up docu- ments from every nook and cranny and instead focused on making quality copies of the pages they knew they could fi nd. After all, they were building historical archives, not indexes of live sites, and it was imperative that their crawlers retrieve complete and perfect replicas. The trick was having 4 THE FRONTIER keeps track a program that could fetch everything—not just text, which of all the Urls that heritrix was what most search crawlers prioritized, but also images, will discover and archive. it graphics, and video. supplies new Urls to hundreds When Kahle fi rst started saving copies of Web documents of multithreaded fetch requests in the late 1990s, he was trawling the Web with a crawler he called toe threads. the Frontier helped develop for Alexa Internet, a search company he founded also makes sure that Urls in 1996, the same year he established the Internet Archive. But are not revisited three years later, he sold Alexa to Amazon.com, along with unnecessarily. the rights to its software. No big loss, he fi gured. Alexa would still donate its twice-yearly global Web crawls to the Internet Archive, and in the meantime, Kahle and his engineers would build a crawler that was open source, meaning that anyone wanting to use or modify the software could download it for free. “Companies come and go,” Kahle says, and because the goal is to build an archive of the Web that would last indefi nitely, “the idea of depending on corporately controlled software is not a long-term strategy .” So Kahle hired a young Internet software developer and self- TOE THREADS are assignments described “steward of open source” named Gordon Mohr to take 5 to fetch and archive Urls. charge of coding the crawler that would ensure the world’s digi- hundreds of these operations occur tal inheritance. Mohr had few good models to work from. “In the simultaneously. Each thread starts earliest days of search crawlers, an awful lot of them immedi- by requesting a new Url from the ately reduced a site to plain text,” Mohr notes, explaining that Frontier. the Url is the “index quality” crawlers weren’t made to preserve a site’s fetched, analyzed, “original appearance and functionality.” But in January 2004, he archived, and then released the fi rst public version of his “archival quality” crawler reported back to the and named it Heritrix, an archaic synonym for “heiress.” Frontier.

BEForE hEritriX, FEw liBrariEs in the consortium had developed the technology to do any real archiving of their own. The problem was mainly a lack of resources. “We’re too small, we’re not smart enough, and we’re terribly French,” Illien

explains, only half joking. Most libraries, including the French Jude Buffum

spectrum.ieee.org

03.InternetArchiving.NA.indd 35 2/17/11 1:49 PM TOTAL DEEP WEB Hidden sites and databases Rich media is pretty INDEXED much anything that moves when you interact with it. It WEB SITES can be a Flash animation, or a streaming video clip, or an image rotator that changes when you mouse over it. SURFACE WEB The pages describing this kind of media are coded in Visible to such a way that your actions crawlers within a browser—clicking a Play icon on a video player, for example, or typing an address into Google Maps— generate or trigger visible National Library, have eagerly adopted Heritrix. But Heritrix crawler and keep it from fetching useful things. If each page content. But Heritrix, because it looks for ordinary HTML fi les, is far from a turnkey solution. Confi guring it and guiding it of the calendar generates a link to the next day or the next fails to recognize the more dynamic components of these pages. through cyberspace require nontrivial engineering mastery month, it will create new URLs for every date until eternity, So when Heritrix crawls sites heavy in rich media, it can miss and on-the-job innovation. It’s not at all like transferring your and “stupid Heritrix,” as the Internet Memory Foundation’s as much as 40 percent of their content. iTunes library from one computer to another. Masanès says, will ask for them all, one by one. A few developers, particularly those at the Internet “It’s more like playing, eh, you know the game Tetris?” Sites that intentionally spam, known as spam clusters, are Archive and the Internet Memory Foundation, are exper- says Annick Lorthios, who works with Illien at the French much more sophisticated. They involve heavily cross-linked imenting with ways to get around this problem and patch National Library. Part of her responsibilities is monitoring networks of content that’s often stolen or copied from other sites. the holes in their archives. They are building supplemen- Heritrix as it harvests things from cyberspace, which in order The pages of a spam cluster all cross-reference one another, cre- tal crawlers that act more like browsers, for example, or to crawl through all things French (stuff on the .fr domain, ating the illusion that a lot of people are linking to a site. The configuring Heritrix to work collaboratively with other mostly) takes about two months. It sounds fun, except in this upshot for the spammer is that if Google’s crawlers fall into this downloading programs, and they have had some success. game, if you lose, either your system crashes or you end up trap and index the site, its page rank improves dramatically, But most archivists lack the servers and funds to develop storing a lot of junk you don’t want, like 5 billion copies of a which makes Web surfers more likely to fi nd it and click on it. new tools and are simply doing the best they can with the credit card ad. Such crawler traps are an archivist’s nightmare. Let your ones they have. Getting Heritrix to fetch the things you do want, explains crawler fall into a few and your archive is quickly spammed “Right now, we’re 100 percent ready to archive the way Sara Aubry, who leads the two programmers on Illien’s crew, with billions of worthless fi les. Let your crawler fall into too the Web was 10 years ago,” Aubry says. “You know, plain is about making rules—“setting parameters,” she calls it. For many and the computing power needed to deal with such a HTML pages, nothing’s moving around, not a lot of video— example, she can order the crawler to “Stay inside this domain” large pool of URLs can overwhelm your servers and crash just images and text.” or “Don’t even think of downloading more than 80 terabytes your system. The traps are why Illien’s coworker Lorthios of data” or “For heaven’s sake, stay away from URLs that look thinks of monitoring Heritrix as like playing a round of Tetris: Early archivists nEvEr anticipatEd that their biggest like those!” Then she gives the robot a list of places to go—about Let too many blocks of the wrong shape stack up and your obstacle to building a comprehensive archive of the most acces- 1.6 million URLs purchased from the French domain regis- screen fi lls before you can win any rows. Game over. sible knowledge base in history would be providing access. tries, for example—and sends it on its way. For big crawls, it’s easy to miss noticing that your crawler In most countries, including the United States, legal Heritrix enters cyberspace through this seed list of URLs, is gathering spam; the software downloads so many URLs so deposit laws don’t apply to the Web. Copyrights, on the other which, like street addresses, tell the robot where documents quickly that you may simply overlook a chain of suspiciously hand, do. So in the strictest interpretation of copyright law, reside. In an ideal world, the crawling process happens like similar URLs in one of thousands of queues. Web archiving it’s illegal for anyone, even a national library, to make and this: Heritrix follows each URL to the server that’s storing the engineers can code special spam fi lters for Heritrix. Yet spam- share copies of an electronic document, whether it’s a music document and asks the server, “Do you have this document?” mers are always inventing new tricks, and no mathematical fi le or an online news brief. “Plenty of newspapers are earn- The server responds, in eff ect, “Yes. Here it is.” Heritrix down- method can warn Heritrix about them all. ing money from charging readers to access their archives,” loads the document, then scans it for more URLs. If those The variability of Web formats has become a big problem explains a lawyer for the Library of Congress. “They could URLs lead to real things and Heritrix hasn’t seen them before, for Heritrix, not just for avoiding traps but for capturing con- lose that money if we provide the content.” they go in a “things to be downloaded” queue—one for each tent. When Mohr designed the crawler’s original architec- “That said,” interjects Abigail Grotke, who leads the server the robot visits. ture in 2003, the Web consisted mostly of pages of HTML text. library’s Web-archiving team, “it really crimps our Web- As Heritrix downloads the documents in its queues, it “A Web page was just a fi le and everything was in the fi le,” says archiving style.” In respect of U.S. copyright law, Grotke’s parses them for still more URLs, zipping from server to server, Jérôme Thièvre, a software engineer at the French National team archives only government Web sites and several thou- diff using across the Web. Simultaneously, the crawler adds a Audiovisual Institute, in Paris, which archives French televi- sand select sites whose publishers have sent written consent. few notes about where it found the documents and when, then sion and radio, including Web broadcasts. The risk of inviting copyright lawsuits has driven other stuff s them in big “suitcase” fi les, which are themselves piled Heritrix had no problem fi nding documents in a fi le; that institutions to create “dark archives”—copies of their com- up, compressed, and stored on disks. was what it was built to do. But as the Web evolved, it grew plete national domain that no one can see—with the hope that Rarely, though, do things go so smoothly. The Web is into “a kind of jungle in terms of technology ,” Thièvre says, eventually the law will change. “I worked for six years put- a nasty place for a crawler, full of “crawler traps.” A Web and archivists are particularly worried about being able to ting things in the box without giving access to all that data,” site with a calendar, for example, can unintentionally stall a capture its newest design fad: rich media. says Aubry, who was hired at the French National Library

36 Na • IEEE SpEctrum • march 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

03.InternetArchiving.NA.indd 36 2/17/11 1:49 PM Rich media is pretty in 2002. “We used to call it the ‘black box.’ The fi rst day we much anything that moves opened our collection [in 2008] was a happy day.” when you interact with it. It Still, the French National Library’s Web archive isn’t can be a Flash animation, or accessible to everyone. In fact, the archive is open only to a streaming video clip, or an researchers and browsable only through the computers in the image rotator that changes library’s reading rooms. Illien worries that if he tries to make when you mouse over it. the archive publicly accessible through the Web, France’s The pages describing this personal data protection agency (Commission Nationale kind of media are coded in de l’Informatique et des Libertés), which hasn’t yet legis- such a way that your actions lated on Web archives, will step in and limit access even fur- within a browser—clicking ther—something that’s already happened in Denmark and a Play icon on a video player, Norway. The agency strives to help French citizens retain for example, or typing an control over their own information—to protect the teenager, address into Google Maps— say, who naively published pictures of herself on her Web site generate or trigger visible and doesn’t want future employers to see them. crawler and keep it from fetching useful things. If each page content. But Heritrix, because it looks for ordinary HTML fi les, Most Web archives are similarly restricted, which frus- of the calendar generates a link to the next day or the next fails to recognize the more dynamic components of these pages. trates idealists like Kahle. The Wayback Machine has month, it will create new URLs for every date until eternity, So when Heritrix crawls sites heavy in rich media, it can miss existed online without controversy since 2000, he points and “stupid Heritrix,” as the Internet Memory Foundation’s as much as 40 percent of their content. out. And although the Internet Archive will remove a site Masanès says, will ask for them all, one by one. A few developers, particularly those at the Internet from the Machine at the owner’s request, few people have Sites that intentionally spam, known as spam clusters, are Archive and the Internet Memory Foundation, are exper- asked. “If we don’t want to lose what it is we’ve built as much more sophisticated. They involve heavily cross-linked imenting with ways to get around this problem and patch humans—this enormous eff ort of putting knowledge on the networks of content that’s often stolen or copied from other sites. the holes in their archives. They are building supplemen- Internet—we’ve got to go and not only capture it but make The pages of a spam cluster all cross-reference one another, cre- tal crawlers that act more like browsers, for example, or it accessible again,” he insists. When he helped establish ating the illusion that a lot of people are linking to a site. The configuring Heritrix to work collaboratively with other the International Internet Preservation Consortium eight upshot for the spammer is that if Google’s crawlers fall into this downloading programs, and they have had some success. years ago, he had hoped the national libraries would lead the trap and index the site, its page rank improves dramatically, But most archivists lack the servers and funds to develop charge. “Frankly, they’ve failed,” he says. Indeed, while the which makes Web surfers more likely to fi nd it and click on it. new tools and are simply doing the best they can with the Wayback Machine receives an estimated 400 000 unique Such crawler traps are an archivist’s nightmare. Let your ones they have. visits a day, the Web archive at the French National Library crawler fall into a few and your archive is quickly spammed “Right now, we’re 100 percent ready to archive the way gets just 80 users a month. with billions of worthless fi les. Let your crawler fall into too the Web was 10 years ago,” Aubry says. “You know, plain Though Illien would like to see his archive go online some- many and the computing power needed to deal with such a HTML pages, nothing’s moving around, not a lot of video— day, he doesn’t see the point in rushing things. “Users will large pool of URLs can overwhelm your servers and crash just images and text.” come when the Web is dead,” he declares as he waves me your system. The traps are why Illien’s coworker Lorthios through a security desk and into the library’s reading room. thinks of monitoring Heritrix as like playing a round of Tetris: Early archivists nEvEr anticipatEd that their biggest It is dimly lit, with a lofty, arching ceiling, and creepily quiet. Let too many blocks of the wrong shape stack up and your obstacle to building a comprehensive archive of the most acces- Crouching over a computer terminal, he shows me an early screen fi lls before you can win any rows. Game over. sible knowledge base in history would be providing access. selection from one of his favorite collections, which consists For big crawls, it’s easy to miss noticing that your crawler In most countries, including the United States, legal of prototypical French weblogs. Illien loves how this archive is gathering spam; the software downloads so many URLs so deposit laws don’t apply to the Web. Copyrights, on the other distills the essence of the Web’s larger evolution. “Early on, quickly that you may simply overlook a chain of suspiciously hand, do. So in the strictest interpretation of copyright law, only computer geeks could write a blog,” he whispers, grin- similar URLs in one of thousands of queues. Web archiving it’s illegal for anyone, even a national library, to make and ning at the screen. “So the fi rst stories of the Web were sto- engineers can code special spam fi lters for Heritrix. Yet spam- share copies of an electronic document, whether it’s a music ries of the ordinary life of nerds. Then Web sites became mers are always inventing new tricks, and no mathematical fi le or an online news brief. “Plenty of newspapers are earn- more accessible, and you get love stories, travel diaries, peo- method can warn Heritrix about them all. ing money from charging readers to access their archives,” ple writing about their lives from the wildest parts of society.” The variability of Web formats has become a big problem explains a lawyer for the Library of Congress. “They could He selects the blog, from 1997, of a computer science student. for Heritrix, not just for avoiding traps but for capturing con- lose that money if we provide the content.” It’s titled “MöngôlO’s Diary (Almost).” The fi rst entry begins tent. When Mohr designed the crawler’s original architec- “That said,” interjects Abigail Grotke, who leads the “Une de mes grandes phobies est de ne pas être compris”: “One of my ture in 2003, the Web consisted mostly of pages of HTML text. library’s Web-archiving team, “it really crimps our Web- greatest fears is not to be understood.” You can almost picture “A Web page was just a fi le and everything was in the fi le,” says archiving style.” In respect of U.S. copyright law, Grotke’s MöngôlO, hunched like Illien over a boxy gray monitor, trust- Jérôme Thièvre, a software engineer at the French National team archives only government Web sites and several thou- ing that the Web would free him from oblivion and misunder- Audiovisual Institute, in Paris, which archives French televi- sand select sites whose publishers have sent written consent. standing. By 2001, his blog had vanished off -line. sion and radio, including Web broadcasts. The risk of inviting copyright lawsuits has driven other But it’s not gone for good. It still exists (almost), stored Heritrix had no problem fi nding documents in a fi le; that institutions to create “dark archives”—copies of their com- safely as electronic bits inside a whirring machine room in a was what it was built to do. But as the Web evolved, it grew plete national domain that no one can see—with the hope that library in Paris. J into “a kind of jungle in terms of technology ,” Thièvre says, eventually the law will change. “I worked for six years put- and archivists are particularly worried about being able to ting things in the box without giving access to all that data,” JOIN THE DISCUSSION at http://spectrum.ieee.org/ capture its newest design fad: rich media. says Aubry, who was hired at the French National Library webarchive0311.

spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org march 2011 • IEEE SpEctrum • Na 37

03.InternetArchiving.NA.indd 37 2/17/11 1:49 PM n The Hu t for the Biological Transistor How genetic circuits will unlock the true potential of bioengineering By Julius B. Lucks & Adam P. Arkin

n 1977, a small group of researchers in California changed the world when they wrangled a common gut bacterium into producing a human protein. Using every technique in the book—and inventing some I of their own—they scavenged, snipped, and glued together genetic components sources; e

to synthesize a tiny filament of ND A. They R lley a then inserted the new segment into some H sources e R

Escherichia coli cells, tricking them into lley a H ark/ ­making the human hormone somatostatin. l C eg r G makeup and hair: 38 NA • iEEE Spectrum • MARCH 2011 spectrum.ieee.org photo: dan saelinger; stylist: laurie raab/ spectrum.ieee.org

3.SynthBio.NA.indd 38 2/17/11 1:50 PM How genetic circuits will unlock the true potential of bioengineering By Julius B. Lucks & Adam P. Arkin sources; e R lley a H sources e R lley a H ark/ l C eg r G makeup and hair: spectrum.ieee.org photo: dan saelinger; stylist: laurie raab/ spectrum.ieee.org MC AR H 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 39

3.SynthBio.NA.indd 39 2/17/11 1:50 PM Developing the requisite cellular control mechanisms is How Genes Make Proteins A year later, these scientists had one of this century’s great technical challenges. The two of an E. coli strain that produced insulin, us belong to two of the largest academic groups pursuing this (& How to Control Them) an invaluable drug in the treatment goal: the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center, based at the University of California, Berkeley, and the BIOFAB: Transcription: DNA is converted into RNA. To accomplish this, an RNA- of diabetes. With that, the era of bio- International Open Facility Advancing Biotechnology, which polymerase molecule latches onto a DNA strand, reads its genetic sequence, and technology was born. A plethora of has its headquarters in nearby Emeryville, Calif. The goal of assembles a complementary RNA molecule. novel—or at least cheaper—drugs both projects is to help genetic engineers configure organisms the same way electrical engineers configure complex circuits. seemed to loom on the horizon. You could say we’re trying to put some honest-to-goodness engi- Thirty-odd years on, molecular biologists have delivered neering into the 30-year-old discipline of genetic engineering. on many parts of that early promise, engineering microbes to produce a wide range of pharmaceuticals, including experi- mental antimalarial medicines and antibiotics. A quick glance laborate Lego creations, skyscrapers, and integrated in the pantry or storage closet is likely to reveal other products circuits all have one fundamental feature in common: They of genetic engineering, too, including foods, food additives and Eare built from a multitude of simple constituent parts, colorings, and even laundry detergent. The list goes on and on. which interact with one another in predictable ways. Promoter sequence The economic impact of all this has been enormous. Genetic Take electronics. Cellphones, iPads, and similar gadgets engineering and other forms of biotechnology account for contain many millions of individual components, some highly some 40 percent of the recent growth in the U.S. gross domes- specialized, some more generic. The latter category includes tic product, for example. The biotech sectors in other countries their many resistors, capacitors, and transistors. To reduce have also made sizable contributions to their economies. And them to their bare essence, these generic parts take an input you can expect that trend to continue as genetically engineered signal, transform it, and spit out a result. The same elements 1 A gene is an information-packed organisms tackle even more diverse challenges, such as pro- are used over and over for all sorts of things, their function stretch of DNA. Near each ducing renewable fuels and cleaning up toxic waste. being a product of their particular arrangement. gene, a segment of DNA called a promoter sequence Genetic engineers have indeed accomplished a great deal, Curiously enough, the genetic machinery inside a cell controls where transcription but they’ve also run up against many obstacles in transform- works in much the same manner. It takes certain input sig- begins. A regulatory protein ing microbial cells into factories that churn out useful sub- nals—the concentration of one or more kinds of molecules— that lands on this promoter sequence can either repress stances. In a real-world factory, you need all your production processes them in some fashion, and produces an output sig- or activate the gene. machinery and employees operating in sync to run an efficient nal, the concentration of yet another kind of molecule. The business. A cell also has components that act like machines, problem for genetic engineers is to create the right processing Translation: A molecular machine called a ribosome reads an RNA sequence and producing complex biological molecules, and other parts that “circuitry” to get a particular job done. This is tougher than in gathers together a corresponding set of amino acids. The resulting chain of amino act like messengers, ferrying around information in the form electrical engineering because the necessary parts have gen- acids then folds up to form a protein. of chemical signals. Bioengineers have to do quite a bit of erally had to be handcrafted and assembled from scratch each 3 If RNA folds a certain way, it can prevent tricky fine-tuning to their cellular factories, manipulating the time by teams of Ph.D.s working at the cutting edge of molecu- a ribosome from assembling a protein. operation of many subcellular components so the cells don’t lar biology. Someone trying to engineer a cell to do something die as they crank out the desired product in copious amounts. new can’t just mix and match standard components from a For the bioengineers who do that tuning, a more apt anal- library of well-characterized parts the way electrical engi- ogy than the factory is that of an electronic circuit. We essen- neers generally can. tially want to make a cell programmable. We’d like to give it a We and other synthetic biologists hope to change that. If we command and have it perform a new function, just as if it were are successful, genetic engineers will one day be able to draw on a tiny computer. To gain this power, we first need to amass a set of industry-standard tools for design and simulation. They a collection of well-characterized biological circuit elements will then combine widely available and well-characterized com- that we can arrange however we like. This is one core focus of ponents to fashion organisms that produce valuable molecules. a subset of bioengineers, known as synthetic biologists, who So just how would you do that? To start with, you need are trying to revamp how genetic engineering is done. hardy and prolific cells, typically bacteria or yeast, to serve Synthetic biologists take their circuit analogy quite seri- as biological factories. These cells are easy enough to come by. ously, despite the fact that a cell is a whole lot squishier than But in most cases, you won’t get them to crank out the mol- a silicon wafer or circuit board. A cell is basically a little bag ecule you want without first manipulating the machinery full of biomolecular signals that cause cellular machinery to inside them. It’s their genes that determine the nature of the read chunks of DNA and with that information produce other molecules they make, so their genes are what you need to alter. useful biomolecules, typically proteins. Millions of different As you may recall from high school biology class, a kinds of proteins are found in nature, and they participate in gene is a segment of DNA containing a set of instructions countless cellular processes, including the very ones that gov- for producing something (typically a protein) along with ern their production. other bits and pieces that help control when that particular In a cell, certain proteins can influence pieces of DNA that something gets made. When biologists talk about express- code for something else. Those gene products can in turn ing a gene, they’re referring to the many things that have affect other stretches of DNA and so on, forming complex to happen for those genetic instructions to be carried out.

webs of biochemical interaction. Think of these as the genetic Cells use sophisticated means to control their genes, turn- r circuits making up the cell’s CPU. If you want to program a ing individual ones on and off as needed. They have to be e cell to do something specific, you need a way to build—or at sophisticated, because the process of switching a gene on

least ­control—these genetic circuits. is complicated. Coop Emily

40 NA • iEEE Spectrum • MARCH 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

3.SynthBio.NA.indd 40 2/17/11 1:50 PM Developing the requisite cellular control mechanisms is How Genes Make Proteins one of this century’s great technical challenges. The two of regulators us belong to two of the largest academic groups pursuing this (& How to Control Them) can be combined goal: the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center, based in one way to at the University of California, Berkeley, and the BIOFAB: Transcription: DNA is converted into RNA. To accomplish this, an RNA- International Open Facility Advancing Biotechnology, which polymerase molecule latches onto a DNA strand, reads its genetic sequence, and create genetic has its headquarters in nearby Emeryville, Calif. The goal of assembles a complementary RNA molecule. logic gates and both projects is to help genetic engineers configure organisms 2 RNA can fold in on itself as it the same way electrical engineers configure complex circuits. forms. In bacteria, a particular fold in another way You could say we’re trying to put some honest-to-goodness engi- near the RNA-polymerase molecule can stop transcription. to propagate neering into the 30-year-old discipline of genetic engineering. RNA the signals in genetic circuits laborate Lego creations, skyscrapers, and integrated RNA polymerase circuits all have one fundamental feature in common: They Eare built from a multitude of simple constituent parts, First, a small section of the which interact with one another in predictable ways. Promoter sequence double-stranded DNA spi- Take electronics. Cellphones, iPads, and similar gadgets ral must be made to peel open, contain many millions of individual components, some highly exposing the gene’s sequence specialized, some more generic. The latter category includes DNA strand of nucleotide bases—the alpha- their many resistors, capacitors, and transistors. To reduce bet soup of As, Cs, Gs, and Ts them to their bare essence, these generic parts take an input you probably remember from signal, transform it, and spit out a result. The same elements 1 A gene is an your school days. This enables information-packed are used over and over for all sorts of things, their function stretch of DNA. Near each the gene’s DNA sequence to be being a product of their particular arrangement. gene, a segment of DNA converted into RNA, a close called a promoter sequence Curiously enough, the genetic machinery inside a cell controls where transcription molecular cousin of DNA. This works in much the same manner. It takes certain input sig- begins. A regulatory protein RNA strand is said to be com- nals—the concentration of one or more kinds of molecules— that lands on this promoter plementary to the original DNA sequence can either repress processes them in some fashion, and produces an output sig- or activate the gene. strand because the new RNA’s nal, the concentration of yet another kind of molecule. The As are matched with the origi- problem for genetic engineers is to create the right processing Translation: A molecular machine called a ribosome reads an RNA sequence and nal DNA’s Ts; its Cs are matched “circuitry” to get a particular job done. This is tougher than in gathers together a corresponding set of amino acids. The resulting chain of amino with Gs. (In truth, RNA uses a electrical engineering because the necessary parts have gen- acids then folds up to form a protein. nucleic acid denoted by the let- erally had to be handcrafted and assembled from scratch each ter U to match up with DNA’s A, 3 If RNA folds a certain way, it can prevent time by teams of Ph.D.s working at the cutting edge of molecu- a ribosome from assembling a protein. Ribosome Protein but that’s a minor complication.) lar biology. Someone trying to engineer a cell to do something Because DNA and RNA share new can’t just mix and match standard components from a essentially the same nucleic- library of well-characterized parts the way electrical engi- 5 and 6 acid language, biologists call the A cell has a neers generally can. built-in clean-up process of converting DNA into We and other synthetic biologists hope to change that. If we crew in the form RNA transcription. are successful, genetic engineers will one day be able to draw on of specialized Some of these RNA molecules proteins that a set of industry-standard tools for design and simulation. They can degrade are the end product of the gene, will then combine widely available and well-characterized com- RNA molecules serving the cell with a unique ponents to fashion organisms that produce valuable molecules. and proteins. function. But most are just chem- So just how would you do that? To start with, you need ical messengers, which carry hardy and prolific cells, typically bacteria or yeast, to serve Amino acids instructions for the later construc- as biological factories. These cells are easy enough to come by. tion of proteins. So usually the 4 RNA has But in most cases, you won’t get them to crank out the mol- its own “stop next step is to convert the genetic ecule you want without first manipulating the machinery sequence” sequence now coded in messenger inside them. It’s their genes that determine the nature of the that can tell RNA into a string of amino acids, a ribosome molecules they make, so their genes are what you need to alter. when to cease the building blocks of proteins. As you may recall from high school biology class, a making Because there are only 5 nucleo­ gene is a segment of DNA containing a set of instructions a protein. tide bases and about 20 amino for producing something (typically a protein) along with acids in cells, the language of DNA other bits and pieces that help control when that particular and RNA is fundamentally differ- something gets made. When biologists talk about express- ent from the language of proteins, ing a gene, they’re referring to the many things that have which is why biologists call this to happen for those genetic instructions to be carried out. RNA strand next stage translation.

Cells use sophisticated means to control their genes, turn- r Cells use certain molecu- ing individual ones on and off as needed. They have to be e lar clues to tell them when to sophisticated, because the process of switching a gene on begin and end the transcription is complicated. Coop Emily of particular genes into messen- spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org MC AR H 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 41

3.SynthBio.NA.indd 41 2/17/11 1:50 PM cuits. A group of transistors in an AND gate will thus func- Genetic Circuitry genetic tion without affecting a different cluster of identical transis- engineers tors forming an OR gate, for example. To electrical engineers, will be well this degree of independence is so basic they take it for granted. Molecular regulators are more difficult to work with. Let’s DNA strand positioned say you want to use one to control the creation of a particular to solve kind of messenger RNA. Transcription of a DNA sequence into that RNA starts when a molecule called RNA polymerase some of binds to a special region of the DNA upstream of the genetic the world’s sequence to be transcribed. This special chunk of DNA is called a promoter sequence. After an RNA-polymerase mole- Promoter sequence Coding sequence biggest cule lands on a promoter sequence, it marches along the DNA strand, grabbing nucleotides floating nearby and assembling Transcription process problems a complementary RNA sequence. The simplest way to block this process is to prevent the ger RNA. Other molecules can RNA-polymerase molecule from moving along the DNA The simplest logic gate: RNA trigger the breakdown of RNA strand. Indeed, cells make lots of repressor proteins that an inverter molecule after it’s made. That creates bind to DNA near promoter sequences and simply sit there, three potential points of control. preventing the movement of RNA polymerase. Such a mole- Turning on the gene above triggers transcription of a complementary RNA Particular molecular cues like- cule makes a perfect switch—except that it’s floating around sequence, which is then translated into wise start and stop translation. the cell in the presence of millions of other molecules. Even a protein. Here that protein is a repressor, a regulator that latches onto the promoter Other molecules can degrade if the regulator molecule recognizes perfectly where it is sequence of the gene below, blocking its proteins. That gives three more, supposed to latch onto the DNA, it still must find its target, transcription and turning it off. for a total of six distinct knobs for which can take several minutes. How would you like to have adjusting how a gene is expressed. to work with switches, transistorized or otherwise, that take The special biomolecules that minutes to turn off? Cells can’t tolerate such delays either, Protein twiddle these six knobs in the cell so they use many copies of a repressor molecule, increasing are called regulators. With the the probability that at any given time one of them is bound DNA strand right ones turned up full blast, a to the target, turning off the gene. cell will start making a particular This creates a problem for genetic engineers. Let’s say kind of RNA and possibly pro- we want to turn off one gene right now and another gene tein continually, basically gen- later on. We can’t just splice in the target sequence for a erating a steady ­current of this ­repressor “switch” near each gene. The presence of multiple cellular stuff. But the buildup repressor molecules in the cell would turn off both. To con- Transcription process blocked of a different kind of regula- trol them independently, we’d need to use different switches— tor molecule, called a repressor, regulator molecules that work with different target sequences. could then halt the process, act- Nature has devised thousands of different regulator-target But those circuits are a tangled mess. All the elements involved in expressing genes ing like a switch and cutting off pairs over billions of years of evolution. Unfortunately, most of and controlling the process bounce around in the dense molecular soup inside the cell. that current. If this repressor is those are very difficult to apply more generally. Synthetic biol- later removed, a steady current of ogists have, however, used some of them as building blocks for protein molecules can once again their genetic circuits and have made some intriguing biologi- flow into existence. cal devices with them. For example, by engineering DNA so that two differ- ent repressor-target sequences sit side by side on a single Ribosomes n electronics, currents usu- gene, bioengineers have created a situation where that gene ally travel through channels is expressed only when neither regulator—that is, neither Proteins Iof solid metal or semiconduc- input signal—is present. This is the biological equivalent of tor, in a direction dictated by the a NOR gate: If one signal or the other is present at the input, directional push of an electric the output is not on. field. In the cellular world, mol- You can also wire up regulators so that different genes ecules aren’t so neatly localized. become interdependent, the presence of one gene product s

For the most part, they just diffuse r controlling a second gene and so on. If you arrange those e

RNA h

through the watery cell interior. c ­regulators—some of which repress genes and some of which DNA strand r a e

Electronic circuits and cells s activate them—so that there is feedback, you can make genetic e differ in an even more funda- circuits that work like flip-flops or even as oscillators, where the oto r oto h

mental way. Consider the tran- P concentration of some molecule ebbs and flows in a regular way. l/ l

sistors on a chip. As long as e These genetic circuits were some of the early successes of s d ;

they are located a modest dis- r synthetic biology. But their functioning is rudimentary. In e Goo

tance apart, they don’t affect one d the future, synthetic biologists will be able to construct far another. So you can easily wire more interesting genetic wetware. Trying to do so using only them together to construct logic the natural regulators known to biologists would, however, ttom: Davi ttom: o

gates and other important cir- Coop Emily top: b be like trying to build sophisticated electronic circuits from

42 NA • iEEE Spectrum • MARCH 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

3.SynthBio.NA.indd 42 2/17/11 1:50 PM cuits. A group of transistors in an AND gate will thus func- a grab bag of unlabeled parts, where you’d have to ponder genetic tion without affecting a different cluster of identical transis- over and account for the poorly documented characteristics engineers tors forming an OR gate, for example. To electrical engineers, of every single component. will be well this degree of independence is so basic they take it for granted. For this reason, we’ve decided to build our own regulators. Molecular regulators are more difficult to work with. Let’s For each of the six gene-expression knobs, we want regula- positioned say you want to use one to control the creation of a particular tors that differ in the target sequences (or target molecules) to solve kind of messenger RNA. Transcription of a DNA sequence they work on but are otherwise identical. To construct them, into that RNA starts when a molecule called RNA polymerase we’ve identified promising natural molecules to use as start- some of binds to a special region of the DNA upstream of the genetic ing points. With these molecules, we hope to come up with the world’s sequence to be transcribed. This special chunk of DNA is a whole family of standardized, independently acting com- called a promoter sequence. After an RNA-polymerase mole- ponents that genetic engineers can use over and over again. biggest cule lands on a promoter sequence, it marches along the DNA problems strand, grabbing nucleotides floating nearby and assembling a complementary RNA sequence. hile other synthetic biologists have focused their The simplest way to block this process is to prevent the efforts on manipulating proteins, we have concen- ger RNA. Other molecules can RNA-polymerase molecule from moving along the DNA Wtrated on engineering RNA. Far from being just an trigger the breakdown of RNA strand. Indeed, cells make lots of repressor proteins that intermediary in gene expression, RNA can adjust five of the six after it’s made. That creates bind to DNA near promoter sequences and simply sit there, knobs of gene expression, with its ability to start and stop tran- three potential points of control. preventing the movement of RNA polymerase. Such a mole- scription, start and stop translation, and in some cases trigger Particular molecular cues like- cule makes a perfect switch—except that it’s floating around its own degradation. So it’s a very powerful molecule. Also, from wise start and stop translation. the cell in the presence of millions of other molecules. Even an engineering perspective, RNA is much simpler than protein Other molecules can degrade if the regulator molecule recognizes perfectly where it is to work with because its alphabet consists of only four letters, proteins. That gives three more, supposed to latch onto the DNA, it still must find its target, meaning there are fewer variables. Biologists also have a bet- for a total of six distinct knobs for which can take several minutes. How would you like to have ter grasp of how RNA molecules fold into the complex shapes adjusting how a gene is expressed. to work with switches, transistorized or otherwise, that take that define their function. The special biomolecules that minutes to turn off? Cells can’t tolerate such delays either, For a long time, synthetic biologists focused on protein twiddle these six knobs in the cell so they use many copies of a repressor molecule, increasing repressors to make genetic circuits. The problem is that each are called regulators. With the the probability that at any given time one of them is bound of these protein repressors comes from a messenger RNA mol- right ones turned up full blast, a to the target, turning off the gene. ecule, which adds an extra middleman in the flow of the cir- cell will start making a particular This creates a problem for genetic engineers. Let’s say cuit. But recently we found an RNA regulator that controls its kind of RNA and possibly pro- we want to turn off one gene right now and another gene own transcription based on whether or not another RNA mol- tein continually, basically gen- later on. We can’t just splice in the target sequence for a ecule is present, allowing us to build circuits without proteins. erating a steady ­current of this ­repressor “switch” near each gene. The presence of multiple So now we can operate solely with RNA. Only a couple of such cellular stuff. But the buildup repressor molecules in the cell would turn off both. To con- molecules exist in nature, but by introducing changes in their of a different kind of regula- trol them independently, we’d need to use different switches— nucleotide sequences, we’ve created several versions that don’t tor molecule, called a repressor, regulator molecules that work with different target sequences. affect one another’s actions. We’ve also shown that these regu- could then halt the process, act- Nature has devised thousands of different regulator-target lators can be combined in one way to create genetic logic gates ing like a switch and cutting off pairs over billions of years of evolution. Unfortunately, most of and in another way to propagate the signals in genetic circuits, that current. If this repressor is those are very difficult to apply more generally. Synthetic biol- reminiscent of the electrical transistors that inspired our goals. later removed, a steady current of ogists have, however, used some of them as building blocks for Our work, and that going on in other synthetic biology protein molecules can once again their genetic circuits and have made some intriguing biologi- laboratories, will slowly build up families of regulators for flow into existence. cal devices with them. adjusting the six knobs of gene expression. These families, For example, by engineering DNA so that two differ- accompanied by a set of design principles for how to wire ent repressor-target sequences sit side by side on a single them together (figuratively speaking), will eventually give n electronics, currents usu- gene, bioengineers have created a situation where that gene bioengineers the means to manipulate gene expression with ally travel through channels is expressed only when neither regulator—that is, neither great precision and flexibility. Iof solid metal or semiconduc- input signal—is present. This is the biological equivalent of It’s likely that the work synthetic biologists are doing will tor, in a direction dictated by the a NOR gate: If one signal or the other is present at the input, at first simply add to our collective grasp of the underlying directional push of an electric the output is not on. science. And that’s okay. But we’re optimistic that given field. In the cellular world, mol- You can also wire up regulators so that different genes enough time, we will be able to create and control complex ecules aren’t so neatly localized. become interdependent, the presence of one gene product genetic circuits that function as designed. After that, we can s

For the most part, they just diffuse r controlling a second gene and so on. If you arrange those start to tackle other challenges, such as constructing more e h through the watery cell interior. c ­regulators—some of which repress genes and some of which specialized components to accompany our transistor-like r a e

Electronic circuits and cells s activate them—so that there is feedback, you can make genetic building blocks. At that point, genetic engineers will be well e differ in an even more funda- circuits that work like flip-flops or even as oscillators, where the positioned to solve some of the world’s biggest problems— oto r oto h

mental way. Consider the tran- P concentration of some molecule ebbs and flows in a regular way. including those of food production, land use, pollution, and l/ l sistors on a chip. As long as e These genetic circuits were some of the early successes of health. That’s because we’ll finally be using standardized s d ;

they are located a modest dis- r synthetic biology. But their functioning is rudimentary. In parts and design tools, just as other kinds of engineers have e Goo

tance apart, they don’t affect one d the future, synthetic biologists will be able to construct far been doing for a great many years. o another. So you can easily wire more interesting genetic wetware. Trying to do so using only them together to construct logic the natural regulators known to biologists would, however, give us a piece of your mind at http://spectrum. ttom: Davi ttom: o gates and other important cir- Coop Emily top: b be like trying to build sophisticated electronic circuits from ieee.org/biotransistor0311. spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org MC AR H 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 43

3.SynthBio.NA.indd 43 2/17/11 1:50 PM Good things in small packages

S martphones and tablets will increasingly owe their prowess to better chip packaging

By Pushkar Apte, W.R. Bottoms, William Chen & George Scalise

44 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

3.Packaging.NA.indd 44 2/17/11 1:50 PM Smartphones and tablets will increasingly owe their prowess to better chip packaging harry campbell spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org M onth 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 45

3.Packaging.NA.indd 45 2/17/11 1:50 PM We rely on our mobile devices for an almost comically long list of functions: cuitry, it has memory—both dynamic RAM and flash— ­talking, texting, Web surfing, navigating, listening to music, taking photos,­w atching as well as passive compo- and making videos. Already, smartphones monitor blood pressure, pulse rate, nents like resistors and capac- itors sitting on top of a single and oxygen concentration, and before long, they’ll be measuring and reporting miniature circuit board, and air-­pollutant concentrations and checking whether food is safe to eat. the whole pile goes inside one And yet we don’t want bigger devices or decreased battery life; the latest Android package. With smart design integration, an SiP may con- phones, with their vivid 4.3-inch screens, are already stretching the definition of tain multiple and radically pocket size, to say nothing of the pockets themselves. The upshot is that the ­electronics different functions—incor- porating, for example, micro- inside the devices have to do more, but without getting any larger, using more power, electromechanical systems, or costing more. optical components, sensors, biochemical elements, or other devices within that package. It can even contain multiple sys- Transistor density on state-of-the-art with transistors and inter­connections. technology, which basically means that the tem-on-a-chip units that com- chips continues to double at regular inter- Sliced apart, those individual rect- smallest features of the devices on that chip bine some of these functions. vals, in keeping with the semi­conductor angles are what specialists call die. measure roughly 180 nm across. A digital Basically, SiP lets design- industry’s decades-old defining para­ Properly packaged, each die becomes a processor chip, on the other hand, would ers mix and match com- digm, Moore’s Law. Today there are chip. These days, many people use the use a silicon substrate with 32-nm technol- ponents to get higher per- chips with billions of transistors at a terms chip and die interchangeably, but ogy. Power and noise considerations also formance and get their price per chip that has headed steadily traditionally, the word die referred to a vary tremendously; the analog chip might product to market quickly down for decades. Innovations that pack naked integrated circuit without pack- require a much higher voltage, and noise while spending less on R&D, more and more circuits onto a chip will aging. We’ll stick to that traditional ter- from the digital circuitry could interfere because they’re using exist- indeed continue, as will the more recent minology here so that we can succinctly significantly with the performance of the ing components. They don’t trend of putting very different functions make it clear whether we mean a pack- analog sections. have to go through a long and on a single chip—for example, a micro- aged chip or an unpackaged die. The upshot is that integration of all expensive design cycle every processor with an RF signal generator. Inside your smartphone, you don’t see those functions onto a single die requires time they need to add a func- If we want to teach our smartphones naked die, of course. You see little plastic compromises in every circuit type in tion; they can simply change new tricks, however, we’ll have to do slabs of varying sizes, with scores of tiny order to use the same process and mate- part of the collection of die more than equip them with denser chips. metal prongs sticking out like insect legs, rial, thus lowering performance and within the package. What we will need more than ever are soldered onto a circuit board. The plas- increasing power consumption. A pro- The SiP approach can breakthroughs in an area not previously tic slabs are the exterior of the packages. cess that works for multiple types of also enable smaller prod- considered a major hub of innovation: The fragile die are inside them, protected functions is optimal for none. ucts. We all remember the the packaging of those chips. Packaging from damage during manufacture or use So why bother to cram all those bulky, single-­function video refers loosely to the conductors and other and connected to other chips through things onto one die? The main advantage cameras that tourists lugged structures that interconnect the circuits, those prongs and the traces on the cir- is proximity, which eliminates the sig- around years ago. As those feed them with electric power, discharge cuit boards. nal-propagation delays that can degrade cameras got smaller, the sizes their heat, and protect them from damage These circuit boards are critical, of performance. However, that advantage is of some components—the bat- when dropped or otherwise jarred. But course, to any electronic system, but often negated by other ­factors: Incredibly tery, the lens, and the LCD today, the drive to pack more functions they don’t actually occupy all that much long and complex combinations of pro- display, for example—didn’t into a small space and reduce their power space inside those systems. In fact, if cesses often increase costs and power really change much; people requirements demands that chip packages you open up a smartphone today, you’ll consumption, while decreasing perfor- want big displays and lots of do much more than they ever have before. find that the amount of space allocated mance and yields. These trade-offs make power. And the size of a lens to electronics is rather small, so efficient combining disparate functions on a sin- is set by its aperture, image A packaged chip is a sort of puz- use of that space is key. gle chip economically unfeasible in many sensor, and focal length. So zle, with certain fixed and well-defined Starting in the mid-1970s, designers cases. Another barrier to this kind of the burden of miniaturiza- pieces. Before we talk about how pack- trying to pack more functionality into integration is that hardly any companies tion falls on the electronics: aging designers are putting those pieces a small space created systems on chips. have the necessary expertise to make When a device shrinks by together in new ways, it will help to What that means is that they designed every single type of circuitry needed in 66 percent, for example (from review the standard ones. digital and analog circuitry, memory, logic, such a highly variegated die. 450 cubic centimeters in 2006 The astoundingly complex manu- communication, and power elements that So, starting about a decade ago, design- to 300 cm3 today), the elec- facturing process that leads to a chip were manufactured by a single process on ers began taking another approach— tronics must shrink to a third starts with a wafer, a dinner-plate-size a single die. This integration wasn’t easy, the system-in-a-package (SiP). or less of their original size. circle of a semiconductor material, typi- because the processes, materials, and tech- An SiP is a combination of integrated SiP technology brings cally silicon. Manufacturers etch, print, nologies optimal for each of these ­functions circuits, transistors, and other compo- another benefit. Data paths george retseck george implant, and perform all sorts of other tend to be very different. For example, nents (like resistors and capacitors) on between the processor chip operations to turn a blank wafer into a a communication or analog chip might two or more die installed within a single and the memory chip are grid of rectangles, each about the size of ­ideally use gallium arsenide as the sub- package. A graphics processor is a good shorter in comparison with a fingernail and mind-bogglingly dense strate. It might be built in 180-nanometer example. Along with the processing cir- those on a circuit board, so

46 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

3.Packaging.NA.indd 46 2/17/11 1:50 PM We rely on our mobile devices for an almost comically long list of functions: cuitry, it has memory—both dynamic RAM and flash— ­talking, texting, Web surfing, navigating, listening to music, taking photos,­watching SiP, PoP, PiP as well as passive compo- Designers have many methods of creating a system-in-a-package (SiP). and making videos. Already, smartphones monitor blood pressure, pulse rate, nents like resistors and capac- The single-package SiP incorporates diverse components; multipackage and oxygen concentration, and before long, they’ll be measuring and reporting itors sitting on top of a single variations like package-on-package (PoP) and package-in-package (PiP) miniature circuit board, and incorporate additional packages into the mix. air-­pollutant concentrations and checking whether food is safe to eat. the whole pile goes inside one And yet we don’t want bigger devices or decreased battery life; the latest Android package. With smart design integration, an SiP may con- Single- phones, with their vivid 4.3-inch screens, are already stretching the definition of tain multiple and radically package SiP pocket size, to say nothing of the pockets themselves. The upshot is that the ­electronics different functions—incor- porating, for example, micro- O a rigin ted early 1990s Advantages: Can contain inside the devices have to do more, but without getting any larger, using more power, electromechanical systems, the largest number of or costing more. optical components, sensors, different component types biochemical elements, or other Disadvantages: The devices within that package. It complexity may make can even contain multiple sys- testing more difficult technology, which basically means that the tem-on-a-chip units that com- Typical uses: smallest features of the devices on that chip bine some of these functions. Microcontrollers, graphics measure roughly 180 nm across. A digital Basically, SiP lets design- processors, high-end processor chip, on the other hand, would ers mix and match com- networking products use a silicon substrate with 32-nm technol- ponents to get higher per- ogy. Power and noise considerations also formance and get their vary tremendously; the analog chip might product to market quickly require a much higher voltage, and noise while spending less on R&D, from the digital circuitry could interfere because they’re using exist- significantly with the performance of the ing components. They don’t analog sections. have to go through a long and Package-on- The upshot is that integration of all expensive design cycle every those functions onto a single die requires time they need to add a func- package (PoP) compromises in every circuit type in tion; they can simply change O a rigin ted MID-2000s order to use the same process and mate- part of the collection of die Advantages: Components rial, thus lowering performance and within the package. easier to test before stacking increasing power consumption. A pro- The SiP approach can Disadvantages: Hard cess that works for multiple types of also enable smaller prod- to test after stacking functions is optimal for none. ucts. We all remember the Typical uses: Digital still So why bother to cram all those bulky, single-­function video cameras, high-end smart- things onto one die? The main advantage cameras that tourists lugged phones, tablet computers is proximity, which eliminates the sig- around years ago. As those nal-propagation delays that can degrade cameras got smaller, the sizes performance. However, that advantage is of some components—the bat- often negated by other ­factors: Incredibly tery, the lens, and the LCD long and complex combinations of pro- display, for example—didn’t cesses often increase costs and power really change much; people consumption, while decreasing perfor- want big displays and lots of mance and yields. These trade-offs make power. And the size of a lens Package-in- combining disparate functions on a sin- is set by its aperture, image gle chip economically unfeasible in many sensor, and focal length. So package (PiP) cases. Another barrier to this kind of the burden of miniaturiza- O a rigin ted MID-2000s integration is that hardly any companies tion falls on the electronics: Advantages: Can give the have the necessary expertise to make When a device shrinks by best possible performance every single type of circuitry needed in 66 percent, for example (from for some applications at such a highly variegated die. 450 cubic centimeters in 2006 the lowest cost, using a So, starting about a decade ago, design- to 300 cm3 today), the elec- small number of chips ers began taking another approach— tronics must shrink to a third Disadvantages: Less the system-in-a-package (SiP). or less of their original size. ability to combine An SiP is a combination of integrated SiP technology brings components from different circuits, transistors, and other compo- another benefit. Data paths suppliers; difficult to test george retseck george nents (like resistors and capacitors) on between the processor chip Typical uses: High- two or more die installed within a single and the memory chip are end smartphones package. A graphics processor is a good shorter in comparison with example. Along with the processing cir- those on a circuit board, so spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org Ma rch 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 47

3.Packaging.NA.indd 47 2/17/11 1:50 PM data flow is faster and noise is reduced. manufacturers will worry about possible like memory chips, from different suppli- the package to 1.5 to 5 times that of a wire- With less distance to travel, it takes less warping of the miniature circuit boards ers. It’s also hard to test. In some mobile bond version. Not surprisingly, this tech- power to get there—another plus. This and die, which would reduce the yield applications—for example, the most nology has also gravitated toward indus- reduction in size and increase in perfor- during assembly. advanced smartphones—manufacturers tries that need high performance and will mance are the driving forces behind the So PoP systems are a little pricey and gladly accept these drawbacks because pay for it. It is now standard for high- continued evolution of SiP architectures. therefore used only for products whose PiP designs can cram even more into a speed and high-bandwidth microproces- prices can include a premium for bet- smaller space. But they haven’t caught on sors and graphics processors because of There’s more than one way to build ter performance in a smaller, low-power as widely as the PoP approach. its shorter delay time. a system-in-a-package. One of them package. Manufacturers of high-end net- In all these packaging schemes, the A newcomer to the package scene is called package-on-package (PoP). working products were early adopters of most important consideration is the elec- is the wafer-level chip-scale package. Remember that circuit board crammed this approach; manufacturers of digital trical connections between the multiple This technology is essentially a package with chips? It looks a little like a suburban still cameras and cellphones have since die and the miniature circuit boards that without a package—the naked die has office park seen from the air. Well, what joined them. Smartphones and, more link them. The traditional and cheap- extremely tiny solder balls on its active better way to cram in more office space recently, tablet computers are using PoPs est technology used for these connec- side, allowing it to connect directly to a tions is wire bonding, which is in about circuit board. These die are fragile, so 80 percent of the packages produced to date this process can be used only today. Wires connect terminals on an for very tiny die, and even these typi- individual chip to the little circuit board cally need to be further protected with inside the package. Then electrical paths a coating on one side. The vast majority on that circuit board route signals among of smartphone manufacturers are begin- chips and to the leads that extend from ning to embrace this approach. the package, enabling it to be connected Designers have found another way to to other devices within a system. make SiP devices as small as possible— Despite repeated predictions that wire- one that might seem obvious. They simply bond technology has reached its practi- make the wafer thinner—taking a wafer cal physical limit, it continues to reinvent that is, say, a little over 700 μm thick and itself: In the past few years, manufactur- reducing it to perhaps 100 or even 50 μm ers reduced the wire diameter to 15 micro­ or less. Because the size of the wafer even- meters to enable them to cram more wire tually determines the size of the package, terminals onto the precious real estate of a and therefore the size of that device you’re chip’s surface. They also began changing carrying in your pocket, that change can the wire materials from gold to copper, in make a big impact. response to the skyrocketing cost of gold. Mechanical grinding is the most pop- In a conventional wire-bond connec- ular way to thin a wafer. It’s just what tion between two chips, the electrical you’d expect: Manufacturers physically path runs from the closely spaced termi- grind the wafer down, typically by roll- nals at the edge of the chip to terminals on ing it through a slurry of water and abra- Ties that BIND: Fanning wires out from all sides of a chip and making the substrate. As the chip shrinks, so does sive particles or rubbing it with diamond those wires thinner gives designers more electrical paths to choose from. the distance between the individual termi- particles embedded in a resin. There are nals, and it becomes tricky for designers to lots of other ways to thin a wafer, includ- avoid short circuits and to keep the wires ing chemical mechanical polishing, than to swap out some one-story build- mainly to integrate application-specific far enough apart to minimize cross talk. which smooths surfaces with the com- ings for multistory replacements? That’s ICs with memory. PoP continues to Nevertheless, many innovations are bination of chemical and mechanical what ­package-on-package designers are evolve and will likely migrate into other extending the life of this technology. Some forces, and chemical etching, which uses doing. They pack a lot of circuitry into a products further down the consumer- manufacturers, for example, are replacing chemical liquids or vapors to remove small volume by stacking one set of con- electronics food chain. single rows of wires with multiple rows on some of the wafer material. nected die on top of another set—flash and the four edges of the chip to give designers With the trend toward smaller pack- DRAM components, for example, on top of Package-in-package (PiP) is more options for electrical paths. ages, manufacturers are making die thin- an ­application-specific IC—and then put- another variant of SiP. Instead of just Alternatively, some designers have ner than was ever thought possible. For ting them inside a single package so that naked die and other components piled eliminated the wires altogether and example, one manufacturer recently pri- product designers and ­manufacturers can onto miniature circuit boards inside a sin- replaced them with “bumps” of solder, vately demonstrated a flash memory die deal with them as single units. The sets gle package, PiP adds packaged die—in gold, or copper. This approach earned 10 μm thick and a tiny RF device measur- stack like Lego blocks, typically with logic other words, chips—into the mix. So PiP the name flip-chip, because the side of ing 50 by 50 by 5 μm. on the bottom and memory on top. Such puts chips within chips. Semiconductor the chip with the bumps must be flipped structures are adaptable—­manufacturers, companies choose this option for busi- face down to connect with the bumpy side SiPs are the best way to pack very when necessary, can vary the memory ness reasons as much as for technical of the chip below or the underlying cir- different functions into a single elec- density by swapping out the piece of the ones—it forces product manufacturers to cuit board. As you can imagine, a small tronic device. In the future, the individ- stack that holds the memory components, buy multiple subsystems from the same bump of metal is smaller and shorter than ual pieces in an SiP could be as diverse harry campbell harry for example. And each of the sets within chip manufacturer. PiP integrates more a long wire and therefore can conduct a as RF antennas, photodiodes, and drug the package can be tested individually functions and can improve performance signal much faster and at higher band- delivery tubes—perhaps even a protein r

before stacking. After stacking, how- beyond that of PoP systems, but it is less widths. However, this advantage comes G layer that could allow the chip to connect

ever, testing becomes more difficult. And flexible in combining different devices, at a cost—increasing the overall price of ase oup with human tissue.

48 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

3.Packaging.NA.indd 48 2/17/11 1:50 PM like memory chips, from different suppli- the package to 1.5 to 5 times that of a wire- ers. It’s also hard to test. In some mobile bond version. Not surprisingly, this tech- Repackaging the Semiconductor Business applications—for example, the most nology has also gravitated toward indus- advanced smartphones—manufacturers tries that need high performance and will abless design firms and foundries gladly accept these drawbacks because pay for it. It is now standard for high- that don’t design their own chips— PiP designs can cram even more into a speed and high-bandwidth microproces- Fthat split has become more and more distinct in the semiconductor industry. smaller space. But they haven’t caught on sors and graphics processors because of But recent advances in packaging as widely as the PoP approach. its shorter delay time. technology that have made the package In all these packaging schemes, the A newcomer to the package scene as important as the individual die are most important consideration is the elec- is the wafer-level chip-scale package. about to bridge this chasm. trical connections between the multiple This technology is essentially a package Going fabless made a lot of sense for design companies unable to keep up with die and the miniature circuit boards that without a package—the naked die has the bleeding edge of process evolution. link them. The traditional and cheap- extremely tiny solder balls on its active A new state-of-the-art digital fab may est technology used for these connec- side, allowing it to connect directly to a cost US $6 billion to $9 billion, and it tions is wire bonding, which is in about circuit board. These die are fragile, so may cost several hundreds of millions of dollars for process development at the 80 percent of the packages produced to date this process can be used only 45-nanometer and 32-nm feature sizes, today. Wires connect terminals on an for very tiny die, and even these typi- typical in today’s processor and memory individual chip to the little circuit board cally need to be further protected with chips. These costs will only increase more inside the package. Then electrical paths a coating on one side. The vast majority as the industry moves to sub-22-nm on that circuit board route signals among of smartphone manufacturers are begin- feature sizes. Simply designing such a chip is enor­ chips and to the leads that extend from ning to embrace this approach. mously expensive: A digital integrated the package, enabling it to be connected Designers have found another way to circuit with billions of transistors costs in packaging, whether it be by hiring to other devices within a system. make SiP devices as small as possible— $50 million to $100 million to design. packaging specialists, getting involved in Despite repeated predictions that wire- one that might seem obvious. They simply A large part of this cost is incurred in partnerships, or funding start-ups. verifying that the billions of little transistors As a result, we in the semiconductor bond technology has reached its practi- make the wafer thinner—taking a wafer and all their interconnections actually do business are seeing a virtual reintegration, cal physical limit, it continues to reinvent that is, say, a little over 700 μm thick and what they are supposed to do. This high reversing nearly two decades of itself: In the past few years, manufactur- reducing it to perhaps 100 or even 50 μm design cost affects all semiconductor atomization, during which an integrated ers reduced the wire diameter to 15 micro­ or less. Because the size of the wafer even- companies regardless of their business industry split up into fabless design houses, meters to enable them to cram more wire tually determines the size of the package, model, be it integrated or fabless. process foundries, packaging houses, Packaging technology may allow toolmakers, and so forth. terminals onto the precious real estate of a and therefore the size of that device you’re semiconductor companies to continue This reintegration is definitely virtual. chip’s surface. They also began changing carrying in your pocket, that change can to innovate affordably.I t is easier to That is, the various companies are working the wire materials from gold to copper, in make a big impact. separately verify die that perform different much more closely together, trusting response to the skyrocketing cost of gold. Mechanical grinding is the most pop- functions than to verify a single complex each other, collaborating, and sharing die. So packaging different die together in information across company and national In a conventional wire-bond connec- ular way to thin a wafer. It’s just what a compact and power-efficient manner boundaries, but it is not likely that the tion between two chips, the electrical you’d expect: Manufacturers physically makes good business sense, given the functions will reassemble again under path runs from the closely spaced termi- grind the wafer down, typically by roll- lower cost and shorter time to market. one corporate roof, at least for most of nals at the edge of the chip to terminals on ing it through a slurry of water and abra- Companies are investing increasingly the industry.  —P.A., W.R.B., W.C. & G.S. the substrate. As the chip shrinks, so does sive particles or rubbing it with diamond the distance between the individual termi- particles embedded in a resin. There are nals, and it becomes tricky for designers to lots of other ways to thin a wafer, includ- avoid short circuits and to keep the wires ing chemical mechanical polishing, But we’re not quite there yet. Putting real world—and how they will change far enough apart to minimize cross talk. which smooths surfaces with the com- such complex devices into a single pack- society. Electronics are woven into the Nevertheless, many innovations are bination of chemical and mechanical age will require new materials and con- fabric of our lives and are beginning to be extending the life of this technology. Some forces, and chemical etching, which uses trol of their interactions on the nano- woven, literally, into the clothes we wear. manufacturers, for example, are replacing chemical liquids or vapors to remove meter scale—and perhaps even on the Increasingly, they will be implanted in our single rows of wires with multiple rows on some of the wafer material. molecular scale. It won’t be easy. There bodies as well. Pacemakers, defibrillators, the four edges of the chip to give designers With the trend toward smaller pack- will be tough competition as consumers and microfluidic pumps for drug delivery more options for electrical paths. ages, manufacturers are making die thin- demand smaller and smaller devices that are in use; biosensors and other implant- Alternatively, some designers have ner than was ever thought possible. For do more and more. Designers are now able devices that can send data to exter- eliminated the wires altogether and example, one manufacturer recently pri- investigating taking packageless pack- nal computers are on the way. Devices that replaced them with “bumps” of solder, vately demonstrated a flash memory die aging beyond simply attaching naked may allow control of epilepsy, Parkinson’s gold, or copper. This approach earned 10 μm thick and a tiny RF device measur- die to circuit boards; they are beginning disease, and migraines are already in clin- the name flip-chip, because the side of ing 50 by 50 by 5 μm. to attach naked die directly to each other ical trials. Future forms of packaging will the chip with the bumps must be flipped in three dimensions. Some manufactur- not only have to protect the elec­tronics face down to connect with the bumpy side SiPs are the best way to pack very ers are already making simple versions from the environment but also shield of the chip below or the underlying cir- different functions into a single elec- of these 3-D modules, but this technol- a sensitive environment—the human cuit board. As you can imagine, a small tronic device. In the future, the individ- ogy has a long way to evolve before it can body—from the electronics. These inno- bump of metal is smaller and shorter than ual pieces in an SiP could be as diverse become a staple of the manufacture of vations will improve our work, our health, harry campbell harry a long wire and therefore can conduct a as RF antennas, photodiodes, and drug high-volume commercial products. our play, and even our longevity. o signal much faster and at higher band- delivery tubes—perhaps even a protein All these packaging innovations are r

widths. However, this advantage comes G layer that could allow the chip to connect remarkable, but the real impact has to tell us what you think at

at a cost—increasing the overall price of ase oup with human tissue. be measured by what they enable in the http://spectrum.ieee.org/packaging0311 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org Ma rch 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 49

3.Packaging.NA.indd 49 2/17/11 1:50 PM SUPERCONDUCTIVITY’S FIRST CENTURY

in tHe 100 years since superconductivity Was discovered, onLy one Widespread By appLication Has pradeep HaLdar eMerGed & pier aBetti

50 NA • iEEE SpEctrum • mArch 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

03.Superconductivity.NA.indd 50 2/17/11 1:50 PM Proof #8 LAYOUT FINAL 02/16/11 @ 4:22 pm MS NA

OHM KILLER: A winding machine weaves superconducting niobium- titanium wire into multiple-strand cable. phoTo: peTer ginTer/geTTy iMages spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org mArch 2011 • iEEE SpEctrum • NA 51

03.Superconductivity.NA.indd 51 2/17/11 1:50 PM A bsolute zero, as the name suggests, is as cold as it gets. In 1848, Lord Kelvin, the great British physicist, pegged it at –273 °C. He thought that bringing some- thing to this temperature would freeze electrons in their tracks, making what is normally a conductor into the perfect resistor. Others believed that elec- trical resistance would diminish gradually as a con- ductor cooled, so that by the time it reached absolute zero, all vestiges of resistance would disappear. It turns out that everybody was wrong. Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, professor of physics at Leiden University, in the Netherlands, found the answer early in 1911 by measuring the resistance of mercury that was frozen solid and chilled to within a few degrees of absolute zero. He found that the resis- tance declined in proportion to the temperature all the way down to 4.3 kelvins (4.3 °C above absolute zero), at which point it fell abruptly to zero. Onnes first thought he had a short circuit. It took him a while to realize that what he had was, in fact, the makings of a Nobel Prize—the discovery of superconductivity. Since then, physicists have sought to under- stand the quantum-mechanical origins of super- conductivity, and engineers have tried to make use of it. While scientific efforts in this area have been 2006: World’s largest superconducting magnet, a component in CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, is powered up. rewarded by no fewer than seven Nobel prizes, all commercial applications of superconductivity have pretty much fizzled except one, which came out of the blue: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 100 years of superconductivity Why did MRI alone pan out? Can we expect to The technology languished for a half century and then see a second widespread application anytime soon? found only one widespread use—MRI. What’s next? Without a crystal ball, it’s hard to know, of course, but reviewing the evolution of superconductivity’s first century offers some interesting clues about 1911: Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh what we might expect for its second. Onnes discovers superconductivity.

nnes himself expected that superconductiv- on i

ity would be valuable because it would allow t Ofor the transmission of electrical power with- ing materials that could remain superconducting while carrying at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, in the United Kingdom, ;

out a loss of energy in the wires. Those early hopes appreciable amounts of current. But that was not the only require- l Founda improved it by adding copper cladding. At the time, the most n e b ER o were, however, dashed by the observation that there ment for practical devices. The people working on them also needed C promising application appeared to be in the giant magnets phys- N were few materials that became superconducting to find superconducting materials that weren’t too expensive and icists use for particle accelerators, as superconducting magnets r: The

at temperatures above 4 K and that those materials that could be drawn into thin, reasonably strong wires. e were able to offer much higher magnetic fields than ones made t lien Brice/ i m

stop superconducting if you try to pass much current In 1962 researchers at Westinghouse Research Laboratories, in cen from ordinary copper wire.

m o

through them. This is why for the next five decades Pennsylvania, developed the first commercial ­superconducting t With this and other similar applications in mind, one of us t Bo most of the research in this field was centered on find- wire, an alloy of niobium and titanium. Soon after, other ­researchers, MaxiTop: (Abetti) and his fellow scientists and engineers at the General

52 NA • iEEE Spectrum • march 2011 spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

03.Superconductivity.NA.indd 52 2/17/11 1:50 PM 2006: World’s largest superconducting magnet, a component in CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, is powered up.

1962: Westinghouse devel- ops the first commercial 1980: The first com- 1987: Four MIT ­professors 100 years of superconductivity superconducting wire of mercial MRI scanners found American niobium and titanium. are constructed, using SUPERconductor Corp. to The technology languished for a half century and then Others use this alloy to make superconducting take advantage of the new high- found only one widespread use—MRI. What’s next? ­superconducting magnets. magnets. temperature superconductors.

1961: niobium-tin is found 1986: Physicists at IBM Research–Zurich devise 2011: The Tokyo Electric Power Co. will to remain superconducting a ceramic that displays super­conductive test a superconducting power with high currents. ­properties at relatively high temperatures. cable at its Asahi substation. on i t ing materials that could remain superconducting while carrying at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, in the United Kingdom, Electric Co. location in Schenectady, N.Y., succeeded within ; appreciable amounts of current. But that was not the only require- l Founda improved it by adding copper cladding. At the time, the most months in building the world’s first 10-tesla magnet using n e b ER o ment for practical devices. The people working on them also needed C promising application appeared to be in the giant magnets phys- superconducting wire. Although a scientific and technical tri- N to find superconducting materials that weren’t too expensive and icists use for particle accelerators, as superconducting magnets umph, that magnet was a commercial failure. Development r: The that could be drawn into thin, reasonably strong wires. e were able to offer much higher magnetic fields than ones made costs ran to more than US $200 000, well above the fixed-price t lien Brice/ i m

In 1962 researchers at Westinghouse Research Laboratories, in cen from ordinary copper wire. contract of $75 000 that Bell Telephone Laboratories had paid

m o

Pennsylvania, developed the first commercial ­superconducting t With this and other similar applications in mind, one of us GE for this magnet, which was to be used for basic research in t Bo wire, an alloy of niobium and titanium. Soon after, other ­researchers, MaxiTop: (Abetti) and his fellow scientists and engineers at the General materials science. spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org m arch 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 53

03.Superconductivity.NA.indd 53 2/17/11 1:50 PM Around this time, engineers at GE That seemingly left only one niche at GE wouldn’t take no for an answer. In and elsewhere demonstrated some other open: superconducting cables for power 1971, Carl Rosner created an indepen- practical applications for superconduc- transmission in areas where overhead dent spin-off, Intermagnetics General tors, such as for the windings of large lines could not be used—over large bod- Corp., or IGC, in Latham, N.Y., which generators, motors, and transformers. ies of water and in densely populated made and sold laboratory-size magnets But superconducting versions of such areas, for example. While the promised and received government research-and- industrial machinery never caught on. gains in efficiency were attractive, the development grants. The new company The problem was that the existing equip- need for expensive and unreliable cool- was immediately profitable. ment was technologically mature, hav- ing vessels for the cables made them a At about this time, Martin Wood, a ing already achieved high electrical effi- dicey proposition. senior research officer at the University ciencies. Indeed, motors, generators, and GE’s management considered the of Oxford’s Clarendon Laboratory, and transformers were practically commod- market for superconductivity’s one his wife, Audrey, also decided to try ities, with reliability and low cost being proven product—magnets—too small to turn ­superconductivity into a busi- what customers most cared about. and uncertain. But one of the ­researchers ness. In addition to design and consult- ing work, their newly hatched company, Oxford Instruments, developed and marketed magnets for research pur- Massachusetts Institute of Technology poses, building the first high-field super- conducting magnet outside the United States in March of 1962. By 1970, Oxford LEARN FROM EXPERTS AT MIT Instruments had 95 employees. The 1970s saw the emergence of a few other start-ups that used superconductiv- Register for a 2 – 5 day intensive course and ity for building such things as sensitive magnetometers. And various research gain critical knowledge to help advance your efforts were spawned to explore other career and impact your company’s success. applications, including superconductive magnets for storing energy and for levi- Earn an MIT certificate and CEUs. tating high-speed trains. But GE, Philips, Siemens, Westinghouse, and other big players still showed little interest in superconductivity, which, in the view m

of the managements of these companies, riu a

Short Courses – Summer 2011 t seemed destined to remain a sideshow. ane l They were, however, proved very wrong P Topics include: toward the end of the decade, when a -Bueche

› Astrophysics › Leadership & Teaching for Faculty stunning new use for superconducting s t ui

magnets appeared on the scene: MRI. S › Biotechnology / Pharmaceutical › Lean Enterprise / Healthcare / MRI was an outgrowth of an analysis m › Computing / Networks / › Mechanical Design & Engineering technique chemists had long been using

Communications › Nanotechnology Museudy called nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a t › Data Modeling & Analysis › Supply Chain / Marketing which itself has since created a significant henec

market for superconducting magnets. c › Energy / Transportation S › Systems Design & Engineering : There were hints as far back as the 1950s T

› Engineering Systems IGH › Technology / Organizations that the NMR signals emanating from dif- R › High-Speed Imaging ferent points within a magnet could be dis- chives; r

tinguished, but it wasn’t until the late 1970s A

Use Code MITPe-04 ANd sAve 10% rp.

that it became apparent that medically rel- o C when you register and pay fees by April 15. evant images could be made this way. neral e G cs

he advent of medical imagers that i To learn more about the 50+ courses offered this summer, or to inquire about t required a person to be immersed gne a

having a course customized and delivered at your company location, visit: in an intense magnetic field brought m r e

T t n

a swift change in the business calculus at I http://shortprograms.mit.edu/ieee2011 GE, where managers suddenly smelled a wer/ o

billion-dollar market. They knew that the P

technical risk involved in making the super- uper S

: t

conducting magnets required for MRI was f e low—after all, GE’s spin-off IGC had already L fabricated comparable products. They knew also that GE could take advantage of its long-

established presence Continued on page 56 previous page:

54 NA • iEEE Spectrum • march 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03.Superconductivity.NA.indd 54 2/17/11 1:50 PM DISCOVER ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING TEXTBOOKS BY Wiley and Wiley-IEEE Press AUTHOR: CLAYTON R. PAUL

Transmission Lines in Digital and Electromagnetics for Engineers Analog Electronic Systems With Applications to Digital Systems and Signal Integrity and Crosstalk Electromagnetic Interference Clayton R. Paul Clayton R. Paul 9780470592304 • Cloth • 298pp • $99.95 • Aug 2010 9780471271802 • Cloth • 403pp • $185.95 • Aug 2003 Wiley Wiley A complete but concise description of all the skills Fundamental principles of electromagnetics with required to analyze modern high-speed digital and emphasis on practical engineering applications. high-frequency analog electronic systems are given. Vector algebra, static (DC) fields, Maxwell’s equations Waves, time delay, phase shift, wavelength and electrical dimensions, as simplified, uniform plane waves, transmission lines and fundamentals of well as the Fourier series and bandwidth of digital signals are covered. antennas. Numerous worked-out example problems and review problems Time-and frequency-domain methods for the solution of lossy and lossless are given after each important concept. An abundance of end-of-chapter two-conductor and multiconductor (MTL) transmission lines are discussed. A problems with answers are also given. Each chapter concludes with CD is included that contains the PSPICE computer program (along with a brief numerous examples of the practical applications of the theory. PSPICE tutorial) and numerous MATLAB and MTL codes to assist the reader in understanding the reader.. Analysis of Multiconductor Transmission Lines, 2nd Edition Inductance Clayton R. Paul Loop and Partial 9780470131541 • Cloth • 783pp • $180.00 • Oct 2007 Clayton R. Paul Wiley-IEEE Press 9780470461884 • Cloth • 379pp • $115.00 • Nov 2009 A complete discussion of the methods for analyzing Wiley-IEEE Press two-conductor and multiconductor transmission lines. The basic circuit components are the resistor, the All aspects of the analysis methods are covered both capacitor and the inductor. Of these three elements, analytical and numerical. Numerous worked-out inductance is the least understood element. Students example problems and review problems are given after each important have considerable difficulty understanding this concept concept. An abundance of end-of-chapter problems with answers are also as well as the computation of the inductance value. Without the ability to given. The PSPICE code and various transmission line programs can be compute the value of an inductance, the analysis cannot be completed. downloaded from a Wiley FTP site (along with a brief PSPICE tutorial). Introduction to Electromagnetic Fundamentals of Electric Circuit Compatibility, 2nd Edition Analysis Clayton R. Paul Clayton R. Paul 9780471755005 • Cloth • 983pp • $145.00 • Dec 2005 9780471371953 • Paper • 501pp • $128.95 • May 2000 Wiley-Interscience Wiley Fundamental principles of electromagnetic compatibility A complete and concise description of all analysis skills (EMC). All “digital” electronic devices today emit for lumped electric circuits: KVL and KCL, DC circuits, unwanted electromagnetic fields that may cause AC (phasor) circuits and complex algebra, time domain interference. These emissions are regulated by circuits and the Laplace transform, is given. This book contains all the basic governmental agencies and the devices must comply analysis skills that all electrical and computer engineers must master to with these or else the device cannot be sold in any country in the world. become successful. Numerous worked-out example problems and Quick Hence the product must be designed to limit these emissions or the product Review problems are given after each important concept. An abundance of will be useless. Numerous worked-out example problems and review end-of-chapter problems with answers are also given. problems are given after each important concept. An abundance of end-of- chapter problems with answers are also given. A CD containing the PSPICE program (along with a brief PSPICE tutorial) and various transmission line programs is included. Textbooks for undergraduate and early graduate electrical and computer engineering students as Essential Math Skills for Engineers well as industrial practitioners. Clayton R. Paul 9780470405024 • Paper • 211pp • $52.95 • Mar 2009 Wiley-IEEE Press Electrical and computer engineers require a complete and working knowledge of certain mathematical skills. This book discusses these and only these concepts in order to focus the reader on these fundamental skills. ORDER INFORMATION 1 (877) 762-2974 North America + 44 (0) 1243 843294 in Rest of World Log on to www.wiley.com/IEEE Enter Promotion Code PAU11 to receive 20% off featured titles at checkout.

03a.p55.NA.indd 55 2/17/11 1:35 PM Superconductivity’s First Century WebCampus Continued from page 54 GRADUATE STUDIES ONLINE

STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Fully accredited, award-winning graduate programs in engineering, the sciences and technology management.

Since its founding in 1870 as the nation’s first college of mechanical engineering, Stevens Institute SCAN FANS: General Electric rolled out its fi rst magnetic resonance of Technology has simultaneously defined and imaging scanners in the early 1980s. those and other makers’ mri expanded the frontiers of American technological systems required powerful electromagnets, a perfect application for superconductivity. phoTo: schenecTady MuseuM/suiTs-Bueche planeTariuM innovation and entrepreneurship. in the medical-imaging market, for which it had produced X-ray The Stevens legacy of innovation and academic machines and, more recently, computerized axial tomography excellence is manifested in WebCampus, a ten- scanners. Also, by this time GE had a more entrepreneurial cli- year leader in Internet-based, instructor-led mate, which encouraged the company’s operating units to take risks. education. Students studying through WebCampus This really was superconductivity’s golden moment, and GE benefit from the same faculty, course design, and seized it. In 1984 the company rolled out its fi rst MRI system, requirements as those studying on campus, but can and by the end of the decade, GE could boast an installed base pursue their coursework with greater flexibility. of over 1000 imagers. Although it constructed its MRI magnets in-house, GE used niobium-titanium wire manufactured by IGC. Meanwhile, IGC learned to build MRI magnets of its own, which it sold to GE’s competitors. And with a budget of only $5 million, IGC succeeded in building MRI scanners that were functionally equivalent to those GE, Hitachi, Philips, Siemens, and Toshiba were then selling. IGC, however, lacked the mar- keting clout and reputation within the health-care industry to compete with these multinational giants. So it fell back on its main business, manufacturing superconducting MRI magnets, which it sold primarily to Philips. Although there were a few attempts at the time to find other commercial uses for superconductivity—in X-ray photo- lithography or for separating ore minerals, for example—MRI provided the only substantial market. It was around this time, though, that yet another scientific breakthrough put super- conductivity back on everyone’s radar.

n 1986, Karl Alexander Müller and Johannes Georg Bednorz, researchers at IBM Research–Zurich, concocted a barium- WebCampus offers 67 four-course graduate lanthanum-copper oxide that displayed superconductive prop- certificates, 18 graduate programs, and an MBA in I erties at 35 K. That’s 12 or so kelvins warmer than any other Technology Management. For a complete program superconductive material known at the time. What made this listing, and for more information, visit the website. discovery even more remarkable was that the material was a Appy now for Fall 2011. ceramic, and ceramics normally don’t conduct electricity. There had been hints of superconducting ceramics before, but until webcampus.stevens.edu this time, none of them had shown much promise. Müller and Bednorz’s work triggered a fl urry of research around the world. And within a year scientists at the University of Alabama at Huntsville and the University of Houston found a similar ceramic compound that showed superconductivity at temperatures they could attain using liquid nitrogen. Before, all superconductors had required liquid helium—an expensive, hard-to- produce substance— for cooling. Liquid nitrogen, however, can Continued on page 58

56 NA • iEEE SpEctrum • mArch 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03.Superconductivity.NA.indd 56 2/17/11 1:50 PM Discover a Smarter Research Experience

With advanced search capabilities and insightful Experience better results research tools, the new IEEE Xplore digital library with the New IEEE Xplore: makes fi nding the trusted research you need Easy-to-Navigate Interface easier and faster. Discover more than 2 million journal articles, conference proceedings and Improved Search Capabilities standards—or simply fi nd exactly the one you’re New Personalization Features looking for. Expanded Browse Options

IEEE Xplore® Digital Library Delivering innovative research better than ever

www.ieee.org/ieeexplore

09-PIM-0325-Xplore-Ad-7x10-Final.indd 1 1/8/10 1:57:24 PM

03a.p57.NA.indd 57 2/17/11 1:35 PM Superconductivity’s First Century Continued from page 56 be made from air without that much effort. So the new high-­ temperature superconductors, in principle, threw the door wide open for all sorts of practical uses, or at least they appeared to. The discovery of high-­temperature superconductors sparked tremendous publicity—which in retrospect is easy to see was hype. Newsweek called it a dream come true. The cover of Time magazine showed a futuristic automobile controlled by supercon- ducting circuits. BusinessWeek declared, “Superconductors! More important than the light bulb and the transistor” on its cover. Many sober scientists and engineers shared this enthusiasm. Among them were Yet-Ming Chiang, David A. Rudman, John B. Vander Sande, and Gregory J. Yurek, the four MIT professors who founded American Superconductor Corp. during this time of feverish excitement over the new high-temperature materials. Despite all the hoopla, ­managers at Oxford Instruments, one of the few companies with any real experience using super- conductivity at that point, had a dim view of the prospects for the high-­temperature ­ceramics. For the most part, they decided to stick to their former course: working to improve the ­company’s low-­temperature ­niobium-titanium wire and mak- ing incremental improvements in its MRI magnets. Oxford Instruments put only a small effort into studying the new high-­ temperature superconductors. The management at IGC, which at the time included one of us (Haldar), saw more promise in the new materials and worked hard to see how they could ­commercialize them for such things Whitepaperad_1-4:Layout 1 9/12/08 1:17 PM Page 1 as electrical transmission cables, ­industrial-scale current lim- iters, energy-storage coils, motors, and generators. American Superconductor, which went public in 1991, did the same. It took more than a decade to do, but IGC eventually devel- oped a high-­temperature superconducting wire and in collab- Download free oration with Waukesha Electric Systems, in Wisconsin, built a transformer with it in 1998. In 2000, IGC and Southwire, of Carrollton, Ga., demonstrated a superconducting transmission white papers on cable. Soon after, Haldar and his IGC colleagues established a subsidiary, called IGC-SuperPower, to develop and market electrical devices based on high-temperature superconductivity. In 2001, American Superconductor tested a superconduct- ing cable for the transmission of electrical power at one of Detroit Edison’s substations. In 2006, SuperPower connected a 30-meter superconductive power cable to the grid near Albany, N.Y. American Superconductor carried out an even more impressive demonstration of this kind in 2008, when it threw the switch for a 600-meter-long superconducting Expert Information from Experts. power cable used by New York’s Long Island Power Authority, part of a program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. While all these projects were technically successful, they were Download a free merely government-sponsored demonstrations; ­electric utilities are hardly clamoring for such products. The only commercial ini- white paper today! tiative now slated to use superconducting cables is the proposed Tres Amigas Superstation in New Mexico, an enterprise aimed at tying the eastern, western, and Texas power grids together in one spot. Using superconducting cables would allow the station www.spectrum.ieee.org/whitepapers to transfer ­massive amounts of power, and because these lines can be relatively short, they wouldn’t be prohibitively expensive. But Tres Amigas is an exception. For the most part, the electric power industry has shown a stunning lack of interest in super-

® conductors, despite the many potential benefits over conven- tional copper and aluminum wire: three to Continued on page 60

58 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03.Superconductivity.NA.indd 58 2/17/11 1:50 PM Are you keeping up with technology— Or falling behind?

With Proceedings of the Where today’stechnology gurus converge. IEEE, it’s easy to stay up- The brightest minds discussing the biggest topics. to-date with cutting-edge Earn CEUs and PDHs by attending a Tech Insider Webinar! technology breakthroughs, from new uses for existing UPCOMING MARCH WEBINARS technology to innovations Effectively Managing Autostar Development • 8 March In this webinar learn how a model-driven system engineering approach based on the in a variety of disciplines. IBM Rational software platform for automotive systems can help your organization get the best out of AUTOSAR. spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1787377 A Smart Approach to Maximizing ROI in Consumer Electronics Innovation • 24 March Learn how CE companies can better analyze data, generate insights and improve customer relationships while increasing revenue and reducing marketing and R&D costs. spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1787366 Best Practices for Delivering Value through Quality Management • 29 March This webcast explores quality management strategies that can deliver a positive return on investment while improving delivered quality and reducing risk. spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1786186 Kinetis ARM Cortex-M4 MCUs — The Inside Story • 31 March This webinar will provide an in-depth look at the technical capabilities of Kinetis MCUs. spectrum.ieee.org/webinar AVAILABLE ON DEMAND WEBINARS RF and Microwave Heating Learn simulation of RF and microwave heating in antennas, circuit boards, living tissue, or any device that has a combination of lossy dielectric and metallic domains. spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1761757 Proceedings of the IEEE. Changing the Direction of Embedded Design Subscribe today. This presentation will provide an overview of the Kinetis portfolio, and how this combination can get your pro duct to market quickly and cost effectively. www.ieee.org/proceedings spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1762156

SPONSORS:

Sign up today! www.spectrum.ieee.org/webinar

spectrum.ieee.org March 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 59

09-PCEED-0207o-Proceedings-Third-Page-Ad-Final.indd10/21/09 1 2:52:53 PM

03a.p59.NA.indd 59 2/17/11 1:36 PM Superconductivity’s Q+A: Nobelist Ivar Giaever P ier Abetti: You received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 First Century for your theoretical work on the origins of superconductivity. Continued from page 58 The only major commercial use of superconductivity so far has been MRI. Why is that? five times as much capacity within a given Ivar Giaever: Because there were no other practical ways to conduit size, half the power losses, no need obtain the high magnetic fields needed (up to 7 tesla). for toxic or flammable insulating materials. Looking toward the future, say, within the next 20 years, With all those advantages, you might well do you foresee any new industrial breakthroughs with wonder why this technology hasn’t taken ­superconductivity? In what fields? the electric-power industry by storm over Superconducting tunnel junctions are faster than transistors, but superconductive computers would require expensive cooling. Because of that, the first applications the past two decades. will probably be for supercomputers. But those would be exceedingly difficult One reason (other than cost) may stem to build. They might never happen. Research work should continue on high- from the changing nature of electric util- temperature superconductive materials. ities, which in many countries have lost their former monopoly status. These nacelles, an application that American been put to any real use. A magnetically companies are by and large reluctant to Superconductor is working toward. levitated train that can top 580 kilome- make substantial investments in infra­ A better bet in our view, though, is that ters per hour? Japanese engineers built structure, especially for projects that don’t superconductivity will remain limited to one in 2003; yet few rail systems are giv-

promise a quick return [see “How the Free applications like MRI, where it’s very dif- ing up on wheels. A supercooled micro- m riu

Market Rocked the Grid,” IEEE Spectrum, ficult to build something any other way. processor that can run at 500 gigahertz? a t

December 2010]. So the last thing many of What will those applications be? A Perhaps: IBM and Georgia Tech captured ane l them desire is to assume the risk of adopt- ship that cuts through the waves using that speed record in 2007, but it would be P ing anything as radical as super­conductive superconducting magnetic propulsion hard to make such a setup practical. -Bueche s

cables, generators, or transformers. instead of propellers? Unlikely: Japanese We certainly don’t know what’s ahead. t ui S

engineers built such a vessel in 1991, and But we suspect that the next big thing for / t may be that superconductivity just it’s long since been mothballed. An anti­ superconductivity, whatever it is, will, m needs time to mature. Plenty of technol- gravity device that can make living crea- like MRI, take the world by surprise. o dy Museudy a I ogies work that way. Perhaps the next tures float? Probably not: The 2010 Nobel t generation of wind turbines will sport laureate Andre Geim demonstrated that write to us at http://spectrum.ieee. c

superconducting generators in their this could be done in 1997, and it hasn’t org/­superconductivity0311. S henec

Save some energy. Let us do some thinking for you.

Get the latest energy tech news, developments and opinions in your email, all written and reviewed by the world’s foremost technology experts from the award-winning publication IEEE Spectrum!

Subscribe to this FREE newsletter today and you’ll always stay ahead of the technology curve in your industry. EnergyWise Newsletter Get the freshest news, perspectives and analyses on power, climate change, alternative energy, conservation and green technology. Biweekly.

Learn more at spectrum.ieee.org/newsletters

EXPERTNEWSFORTECHNOLOGYEXPERTS

60 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03.Superconductivity.NA.indd 60 2/17/11 1:50 PM vcf_print_2011_7x10:employer_7x10 2/9/11 6:07 PM Page 1

Virtual Career Fair Connect with top technology employers online! Register to attend the IEEE Job Site Career Webinar - 4 March 2011 - 11:25 a.m. EST

Held in conjuction with the IEEE Job Site Virtual Career Fair and co-sponsored by IEEE USA, the Career Webinar will be presented by two leading organizations - CDM and Vestas Wind Systems.

Sign up for the IEEE Job Site Career Webinar today!

These employers will present the key benefits of working at their companies – from compensation & benefits to work-life balance opportunities.

Get more information about the IEEE Job Site Career Webinar at http://careers.ieee.org/vcf/careerfair.php Co-sponsored by • 4 March 2011 at 11:25 a.m. EST - Sponsored by CDM and Vestas Wind Systems

Don’t miss out on this exclusive opportunity brought to you by the IEEE Job Site.

Register today at http://careers.ieee.org/vcf/careerfair.php

®

03a.p61.NA.indd 61 2/17/11 1:36 PM Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Drexel University is seeking outstanding candidates at any rank in all areas of computer engineering for tenure-track positions. Areas of special emphasis include high-performance computing, bio-informatics, computer and network security, embedded systems and multimedia. Candidates must have a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering or computer science with outstanding academic creden- tials that clearly demonstrate their ability to conduct independent and successful research in their areas of expertise and develop a graduate research program leading to peer-reviewed publications and external funding. Candidates must have excellent communication skills with a commitment to engage in high-quality undergraduate and graduate education in areas of computer engineering. The ECE department offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in computer engineering with several areas of specialization including computer networks, computer architecture, computer-aided design, VLSI systems and operating sys- The Aerospace Corporationon tems (see http://www.ece.drexel.edu). The department also has a very active PhD program with many outstanding students enrolled in it. has codified a set of coree processes and supporting disciplines Applications should include a cover letter, complete resume, research and teach- ing statements and the names and addresses of three references. Copies of key to ensure successful development, deployment publications may also be submitted. All application materials should be submitted and operation of space systems, ranging in type electronically as a single pdf document via e-mail to: Moshe Kam, Department and complexity. In other words, you won’t have Head, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, at the following e-mail ad- dress: [email protected]. Only online applications will be accepted. Review to reinvent the wheel. Just fasten your seatbelt — of applications will begin immediately and continue until the positions are fi lled. you’re in for quite a ride. Drexel University is a private, urban university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA and is recognized for its traditionally strong technological focus and career-in- We’re looking for talented men and women tegrated education. Eligibility to work in the United States at the time of appointment with M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in the scientific and is required. Drexel University is an equal opportunity/affi rmative action employer. engineering disciplines listed below. Please apply online at www.aero.org/careers by creating a profile and uploading or cutting and pasting your resume. In the Source category, please reference this R&D Engineers publication or Job Code ZJ9-0745. We also have similar openings in Washington, DC and surrounding Creare, a leader in cutting-edge R&D since 1961, conducts applied areas. research, develops new technologies, and provides analysis, design, experimental, computational, product, and consulting services to Avionics Systems Engineering Bearing/Mechanical industry and government. Project teams are small and engineer-led, and individuals have signiicant opportunity to pursue areas of techni- Drives Circuit Design & Simulation Communications cal interest. Systems Component Engineering Computer AAt Creare’s location in Hanover, NH, we have over 80 active R&D Systems Engineering Digital Image Processing projects which span the following areas: Electronic Systems Design Failure Analysis • Fluid Mechanics/Heat Transfer • Signal/Image Processing Engineering Flight Mechanics Engineering Mass • Analog/Digital Electronics • Biomedical Properties Product Assurance Engineering Product • Structures • Combustion Engineering Radar Systems Engineering Reliability • Cryogenics • Applied Mechanics • Software Development • Manufacturing Processes Analysis Engineering Satellite Integration & Test Satellite Propulsion Systems Signal Processing We are looking for exceptional engineers with the passion, cre- ativity, and skills to pursue varied technical research in a multi- Software Engineering/System Test Spacecraft disciplinary environment. Development Survivability/Vulnerability System Professional requirements: Ph.D. with exceptional academic Analysis System Safety Engineering Technical Cost/ achievement and/or Masters with the same plus 5 or more years Schedule Analysis Upper State Flight Operations of relevant industrial experience. Engineering degree majors include: Aeronautical, Biomedical, Chemical, Electrical, Ieee SpectrumMechanical, and Nuclear. www.aero.org is position requires U.S. Citizenship or U.S. Permanent Residency. 03/01/2011 Applicants are subject to a security investigation for access to classified 1271251-PHPC55210 information. Equal Opportunity Employer. © 2011 The Aerospace Corporation. AEROSPCelebrating 50 Years of Engineering Excellence All rights reserved. 3.25” x 10” Jenna Philkill v.5 Apply at www.creare.com For assistance, email [email protected]

(Krē • är’ • ē : from Latin “to create”). Creare is an equal opportunity employer F/M/D/V.

62 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03a.p62.NA.indd 62 2/17/11 1:36 PM CAREERS AT THE N ATIONAL S ECURITY A GENCY

Make a critical difference with what you know.

You already know that intelligence is vital to national security. But here’s something you may not know.

The National Security Agency is the only Intelligence Community agency that generates intelligence from foreign signals and protects U.S. systems from prying eyes.

If you have the professional skills or technical expertise to support this important mission, then explore NSA. At NSA you can experience a variety of opportunities throughout your career as you work on real-world challenges with the latest technology. You’ll also enjoy a collaborative work environment with flexible hours that will enable you to strike a balance between work and life.

You won’t find this kind of experience anywhere else. KNOWINGMATTERS

Excellent Career Opportunities in the Following Fields:

n Computer/Electrical Engineering n Intelligence Analysis n Computer Science n Cryptanalysis n Information Assurance n Signals Analysis n Mathematics n Co-op Opportunities n Foreign Language >> Plus other opportunities

Search NSACareers Watch the Video. Get the free App for your camera phone at gettag.mobi and then launch the App and aim it at this tag. where intelligence goes to work® Download NSA Career Links

U.S. citizenship is required. NSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants for employment are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or status as a parent.

10CNS-02_7.875x10.5.indd 1 2/8/11 12:45:52 PM 03a.p63.NA.indd 63 2/17/11 1:37 PM tion to have a strong commitment both to research and to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels while candidates for research track faculty positions would focus primarily on research.

The department is primarily seeking individuals for fac- The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineer- ulty positions at the Assistant Professor rank; however, ing at Carnegie Mellon has faculty (both research under unusual circumstances and commensurate with and tenure track) openings. Exceptional candidates the qualifi cations of the individuals, appointments may in all areas of Electrical and Computer Engineering will be made at the rank of Associate Professor or Profes- be given serious consideration, but especially those sor. Applicants must have earned a doctorate in a re- that broaden the department in emerging areas or that lated area by the date of appointment. strengthen existing areas. Applications should include a comprehensive resume, a The College of Engineering and the Department of Elec- list of three to fi ve professional references, a statement of trical and Computer Engineering are both ranked among research and teaching interests (less than 2 pages each), the top ten programs in the United States both at the un- and copies of two research papers (journal or confer- dergraduate and graduate level. The faculty have strong ence papers). The applicant is responsible for soliciting ties with many multidisciplinary centers and institutes the reference letters to be sent directly to the address such as the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems below. All applications including letters of reference may (graduated NSF ERC), Software Engineering Institute, be sent electronically to [email protected] or to: Human Computer Interaction Institute, The Robotics Institute, and the Information Networking Institute. The T.E. (Ed) Schlesinger department is home to several multidisciplinary centers Department Head and and laboratories such as the Data Storage Systems Schramm Professor Center (Graduated NSF ERC), Center for Silicon Sys- Electrical and Computer Engineering Delivered via the IEEE LMS tem Implementation, Microelectromechanical Systems Hamerschlag Hall Laboratory, Distributed Robotics Laboratory, the Paral- Carnegie Mellon University lel Data Laboratory, and the Computer Architecture Lab Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 IEEE eLearning at Carnegie Mellon. Faculty in the Department of Electri- Evaluation of applications will begin immediately and cal and Computer Engineering also have ties and col- continue throughout the academic year until available Library laborations with colleagues around the world through a positions are fi lled. Candidates are encouraged to ap- number of formal research and educational programs. ply early. Carnegie Mellon is building a culturally di- A moderate teaching load allows time for quality re- verse faculty and encourages applications from female search and close involvement with students and other and minority candidates. Carnegie Mellon is an Equal The premier online faculty. We expect candidates for a tenure track posi- Opportunity Employer. collection of short courses and conference workshops Institute of Network Coding Institute of Network Coding The IEEE eLearning Library Postdoc Fellows & Research Associates presents a better way to learn Positions of Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Postdoctoral Fellows for technology professionals, Associates are open at the Institute of Network students and any organization Coding (INC) of The Chinese University of Hong and Research Associates Kong (CUHK). Initial appointments are typically for who wants its team to strive, two years, and the commencing date is flexible. Positions of Postdoctoral Department of Electrical Engineering, Northern excel and stay competitive. Applicants should have a strong research record in Fellows and Research Associ- network coding related areas, including theory, Illinois University invites applications for a full- ates are open at the Institute of ■ applications, or implementation. time tenure track Assistant Professor position in Advanced technology Network Coding (INC) of The the area of computer engineering. The department’s For further information please visit the INC home courses, written and Chinese University of Hong ABET accredited program currently has approxi- page at http://www.inc.cuhk.edu.hk or contact Prof. peer-reviewed by experts Raymond Yeung at [email protected] Kong (CUHK). Initial appoint- mately 300 undergraduate and 70 master students. NIU is located approximately 60 miles west of Chi- ■ ments are typically for two cago and anchors the western end of the East-West Earn CEU and PDH years, and the commencing Research and Development Corridor. continuing education credits date is flexible. Requirement: Must have a B.S. in electrical or ■ Relaxed, self-paced, online Applicants should have a computer engineering, earned Ph.D. in electrical or computer engineering by the time of appointment; a strong research record in IEEE is a certifi ed continuing strong interest in teaching at the undergraduate and education provider network coding related areas, graduate levels; have the ability to develop a funded including theory, applications, research program and willingness to interact with local industry. Teaching responsibilities will include or implementation. delivery of the department’s required courses, as www.ieee.org/go/elearning For further information please well as elective courses in the specifi c area. visit the INC home page at Send application letter, resume, names and tele- http://www.inc.cuhk.edu.hk or phone numbers of three current references to: Chair, Search Committee, Department of Electrical contact Prof. Raymond Yeung Engineering, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL at [email protected] 60115. Complete applications must be received by March 4, 2011.

Northern Illinois University is an Affi rmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Institution. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

64 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

10-PIM-0300c-eLearning-Ad-Updates-Final.indd 1 9/9/10 2:31 PM

03a.p64.NA.indd 64 2/17/11 1:37 PM ABB is a leader in power and Hardware Engineers! automation technologies that enable Software Engineers! Principal Engineer (NB50798405): Principal Engineer utility and industry customers Must have a proven track record of (NB50789055): Must have a proven leadership in hardware architecture to improve performance while track record of leadership in software for real-time embedded system with a lowering environmental impact. architecture for real-time embedded strong background in analog and digital The ABB Group of companies system with a strong background in system design. Experience with PowerPC, operates in around 100 countries driver design. Experience with PowerPC, Coldfi re and DSP/FPGA is desirable. Coldfi re and DSP/FPGA system is desirable. Must be able to defi ne and enhance the and employs about 117,000 people. Excellent communication knowledge hardware architecture of new and active including TCP/IP, IEC61850 and other products. Over fi fteen years of hands ABB has a large team of R&D protocols. XML knowledge is a must. on experience with a Masters or Ph.D. Engineers in China, Finland, Must be able to defi ne and enhance the in Electrical/Computer Engineering. India and USA in the Distribution software architecture of new and active products. Over fi fteen years of hands Lead Development Engineer Automation (DA) product group. DA on experience with a Masters or Ph.D. (NB50789050): Must have a proven R&D professionals collaboratively in Electrical/Computer Engineering. track record of leadership in power develop products for global market supply and UPS design for real–time while meeting local needs. We are Senior Development Engineer embedded system with a strong expanding our US DA R&D center (NB50798397): Must have a proven track background in analog system design. record for software design and coding for Knowledge of digital design is a plus. in 2011 after a successful growth real-time embedded system with a strong Must be able to defi ne and enhance new in 2010. Please explore our state- background in script design. Experience and active products. Over ten years of of-the-art Relion® products at with PowerPC, Coldfi re and DSP/FPGA hands on experience with a Masters or www.abb.com/relion based system is desirable. Excellent Ph.D. in Electrical/Computer Engineering. communication knowledge including TCP/ IP, IEC61850 and other protocols. XML Development Engineer (NB50789047): Please bring your innovative ideas knowledge is a must. Over fi ve years of Must have a strong background in to our state-the-art Distribution hands on experience with a Masters or analog and digital hardware design for Automation R&D Center at the Ph.D. in Electrical/Computer Engineering. real–time embedded system. Hardware center of Lehigh Valley in Eastern testing and related ANSI/IEC standards knowledge is a plus. Three years of hands Pennsylvania, USA. Lehigh Valley on experience with a Masters or Ph.D. offers a high quality of lifestyle at Project Managers! in Electrical/Computer Engineering. an affordable cost and close to the Project Managers cities of New York and Philadelphia. (NB50606421 and NB50798404): Must have a passion for project All positions require excellent management and a proven track record for communication skills – both written developing embedded system products and verbal, along with strong within budget and schedule. Must be analytical skills, and ability to work a leader with ability to keep and get effectively in a team environment. commitments. Must have a good knowledge of risk management techniques. Microsoft Please send cover letter Project management tool knowledge is a and resume to: must along with TOC knowledge. Pro-chain [email protected] plug-in knowledge is a plus. Application quoting the ‘reference number and job or hardware/software development title (Bethlehem, PA)’ in the subject line. background for embedded system is a Opportunities also exist at plus. Must be a certifi ed project manager. Bethlehem, PA for windows based More description about these jobs Over ten years of project management experience with a Masters or Ph.D. in software developers with a strong and other jobs around the world are available at Electrical/Computer Engineering. background in C# and .Net. www.abb.com – ‘careers’

03a.p65.NA.indd 65 2/17/11 1:37 PM tionships, networking, strategic planning, and public relations. QUALIFICATIONS: The candidate must have a Ph.D. degree in Optical Engineer- ing, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related fi eld. The successful Department of Engineering candidate should have a strong record of Intel-NTU Connected Context Computing Center Tenure-Track Faculty Position and Chair research accomplishments. Applicants with industrial experience and/or docu- Open Post-doctoral and Senior Researcher Positions POSITION: The College of Science, mented college-level teaching experience Engineering and Technology at Norfolk are strongly preferred. Intel-NTU Connected Context Computing Center (Intel-NTU Lab) is a world- State University invites nominations and class research center sponsored by Intel Corporation, National Science Council, applications for the position of Depart- SALARY/RANK: Commensurate with Taiwan and National Taiwan University. We are now opening 8 post-doctoral ment Chair in Engineering. qualifi cations and experience and 4 senior researcher positions to candidates specialized in Machine-to- Machine technology, with a special interest in any of the following fi elds: RESPONSIBILITIES: The successful EFFECTIVE DATE: Spring 2011 candidate will manage the Engineer- APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Candidate Smart Sensing and Applications (SSA): Computer Vision/Signal Pro- ing Department, including oversight of should submit a letter of interest outlining cessing, Sensor Fusion/Integration, Pervasive/Ubiquitous Comput- undergraduate and graduate programs in qualifi cations and related experience, a ing, Wireless Sensor Networks, Intelligent Transportation Systems Electronics and Optical Engineering. The statement of your teaching philosophy, a Context Analysis and Management (CAM): data mining/machine learning for search committee will seek out candidates current curriculum vita, and three letters context analysis, embedded system programming, hardware prototyping, cryp- that possess outstanding communications of reference to: tography and cryptanalysis, programming language design/implementation skills, experience in the management and Dr. Frances Williams oversight of academic programs and re- Autonomous Reconfi gurable Connectivity (ARC): M2M networking & Chair, Engineering Search Committee implementations, vehicular networking and wireless communications, cogni- search activities and academic faculty and Norfolk State University tive radio and dynamic spectrum access, data/information fusion/analysis, staff, a working knowledge of on-going 700 Park Avenue statistical signal processing, communication and information theory. innovations in engineering education, Norfolk, VA 23504 and the potential to inspire students. Green Sensing Platform (GSP): Video coding/analysis/communica- E-mail - [email protected] Candidates should also be knowledgeable tion, DSP and communication, distributed/parallel architecture, FPGA/IC about funding structures in engineering APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications design fl ow, low-power digital/analog circuit design, computer graphics education, including avenues for the will be accepted until position is fi lled. All positions require a Ph.D degree in electrical engineering, computer sci- realization of research funding through Individuals with disabilities and requiring ence, or related areas. Those interested can apply by sending a cover letter, government and private organizations. Ap- accommodations in curriculum vitae, and two references with both postal and e-mail addresses plicants should anticipate a signifi cant role the application process to: Prof. Shey-Shi Lu, Associate Director— Intel-NTU Connected Context in organizing and implementing revenue should call the Offi ce Computing Center, BL-7c, No.1, Section4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, generating strategies for the Engineering of Human Resources Taiwan (e-mail: [email protected]). Review of applications will commence in Department, including cultivating and (757) 823-8160 (Voice) March 2011 and continue until all positions are fi lled. For more information managing industrial and government rela- (757) 823-2876 (TDD). about the center, please visit our website at www.intellab.ntu.edu.tw.

Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering New Mexico State University

The Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at New Mexico State University invites applications for a 9-month, tenure-track College of Science and Engineering faculty appointment at the assistant professor rank. Applicants should have a School of Engineering Ph.D. in electrical engineering or a closely-related fi eld. Successful candidates Ref: E20019 are expected to establish a nationally-recognized, funded research program and Chair of Energy Engineering demonstrate a strong commitment to teaching at both undergraduate and graduate A candidate of appropriate stature and reputation will be considered for appointment to the prestigious Rankine or Mechan Chair. levels. The open faculty position is targeted towards computer engineering, broadly defi ned including emerging areas such as: sensory systems, medical/ You will play an instrumental leadership role in continuing to develop the School profi le in which Energy Engineering is a dynamic focus of biological applications, and distributed and parallel systems. We are particularly academic concern by conducting and promoting internationally-leading interested in applicants that can compliment existing strengths in the department, research, and delivering research-led education. conduct interdisciplinary research within the department and who have the potential to work with other academic disciplines across the college and university. Chair of Biomedical Engineering Ref: E20020 You will lead a new research theme in one of the UK’s leading Centres The Klipsch School has 20 tenure-track faculty positions and an in Biomedical Engineering in, for example, rehabilitation engineering, enrollment of 307 undergraduate students, and 164 graduate regenerative technologies, neurotechnologies, functional imaging or students. Externally-funded research programs are sponsored by signal processing. national laboratories, federal, state, and commercial agencies. Playing an instrumental, leadership role, you will continue to develop the School profi le in which Biomedical Engineering is a dynamic focus of Applicants for the positions must submit (1) cover letter indicating area academic concern. You will conduct and promote internationally-leading of interest, resume, and research and teaching statements and (2) names research, deliver research-led education and contribute to academic and contact information for at least three references. Send applications developments in the School, College and University. to Dr. Vojin G. Oklobdzija, Department Head ECE, Box 30001, Dept. 3-0, For more information on both posts, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003. Screening of visit www.gla.ac.uk/schools/engineering/chairs/ applications will begin 03.01.2011 and continue until the position is fi lled. Apply online at www.glasgow.ac.uk/jobs NMSU IS AN EEO/AA EMPLOYER. All offers of employment, oral and Closing date: 12th April 2011. written, are contingent on the university’s verifi cation of credentials, www.glasgow.ac.uk individual’s eligibility for employment in the United States and other The University is committed to equality of opportunity in employment. information required by federal law, state law, and NMSU policies/ The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401. procedures, and may include the completion of a criminal history check.

66 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03a.p66.NA.indd 66 2/17/11 1:38 PM ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP IN ELECTRIC ENERGY SYSTEMS Professor of Mechatronics The University of Oklahoma School of Electrical and Computer Engineering invites applications for the OG&E Professorship. Candidates are sought in the area of electric energy School of Engineering and Advanced systems, including but not limited to generation portfolio optimization Technology and risk valuation, power system operation including smart grid, generation technologies including renewable resources, power electronics, as well as other areas of power systems. Salary and startup Albany will be highly competitive based on qualifi cations. The position requires an earned doctorate in electrical and/or computer engineering, or a You will undertake teaching and research in the closely related discipline, and a record of professional achievement mechatronics and related areas and develop suffi cient for tenured or tenure-track appointment to an endowed position at the rank of Professor. Exceptional candidates with a record internationally recognised research and postgraduate of professional achievement suffi cient for tenured or tenure-track activities, and will assist with senior leadership of the appointment to an endowed position at the rank of Associate Professor will also be given serious consideration. Mechatronics Cluster. The successful candidate will be expected to (a) provide leadership in establishing an externally funded and nationally recognized research Closing date: 31 March 2011 program; (b) teach at both the undergraduate and graduate levels; (c) contribute to an academic program with thrust in preparing students Reference number: A281-10Z for the emerging competitive environment in the energy industry; (d) create and maintain strong working relationships with local energy- related industries. Emphasis will be given to applicants with strong interest in commercial application of academic developments. For further information and to apply online, visit: http://jobs.massey.ac.nz Established in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a comprehensive public research university offering a wide array of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and extensive continuing education and public service programs. Its 2000 acre Norman Campus houses 15 colleges with approximately 1300 faculty serving more than 26,000 students. The new 277 acre adjacent Research Campus houses more than 750,000 square feet among nine buildings constructed since 2003, including the National Weather Center, Stephenson Research and Technology Center, Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center, and several Partners Place buildings that co-locate University offi ces with more than 350 private PROGRAM OFFICER sector employees across more than a dozen companies. The newly HUMAN SYSTEMS INTEGRATION completed Devon Energy Hall, a 100,000 square foot state-of-the-art (Cognitive Scientist, Computer Scientist, or General Engineer) building containing research laboratories, offi ces, and classrooms, is The Office of Naval Research is seeking a qualified individual to the new home to the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. manage sponsored basic/applied research, and advanced technology Energy has long been a cornerstone of the economy of Oklahoma, and the development programs and projects in the broad areas of human University has long-term, energy-related research programs ongoing. systems integration (HSI), psychology, human factors science and technology, and cognitive science. The sponsored efforts are Confi dential review of nominations, indications of interest and conducted principally at U.S. universities and industry or Federal applications will begin March 1, 2011 and continue until the position is laboratories. This is a Civil Service position at the NP-IV level fi lled. Candidates are invited to submit a letter of interest describing their ($105,211 - $155,500) depending on individual qualifications. research vision and demonstrating how they fulfi ll the qualifi cations noted above, a detailed curriculum vitae, and the names of fi ve The position requires knowledge and experience in the fundamental references who will be contacted only upon approval by the applicant. theories, concepts, and current-state-of-the art research and/or Minorities and women are especially encouraged to apply. Electronic technology development in the broad areas of human systems submission in PDF format is preferred, and all application information integration (HSI), psychology, human factors science and technology, and inquiries should be directed to the search committee chair: and cognitive science, including but not limited to, human decision- making, HSI engineering design, intelligent systems, training, Dr. Musharraf Zaman, Associate Dean performance support, human-computer interaction, and HSI c/o School of Electrical and Computer Engineering modeling and simulation. 110 W. Boyd St., Rm. 150 Norman, OK 73019-1102 For information on qualifications and how to apply, Voice: 405.325.2621 see the links to our Job Announcements at Fax: 450.325.7066 http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/career-job-opportunity/job-listing.aspx. E-mail: [email protected] Applications must be submitted by close of business or postmarked as of the closing date noted in the job announcement. The University of Oklahoma is an Affi rmative Action/Equal Opportunity U.S. CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED • AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Employer and encourages diversity in the workplace.

spectrum.ieee.org March 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 67

03a.p67.NA.indd 67 2/17/11 1:38 PM The Missouri University of Science and Technology TENNESSEE TECH UNIVERSITY (TTU)

The Missouri University of Science and Technology Wunsch, Mary K. Finley Missouri Distinguished Pro- The Center for Energy Sys- (formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla), Depart- fessor, [email protected]. Applications should go to tems Research (CESR), ment of Electrical & Computer Engineering invites Human Resources per the instructions below. a state of Tenn. Center of Excellence, invites nominations and applications for the Cynthia Tang applications for a 9-month tenure-track posi- Applicants please submit a current curricu- Missouri Distinguished Professor in Computer Engi- tion at the Assist. or Assoc. Prof. level with an lum vitae, statement of research and teach- neering. The position is tenured at the Full or Associate expected starting date of Aug. 1, 2011. Appli- ing interests and goals, and contact informa- Professor rank. The endowment provides unrestricted cants must hold an earned doctorate in electri- tion for fi ve professional references using research funds and the salary is commensurate with cal or mechanical engr. or closely related fi eld. Reference Number R00030895. All application mate- the excellence of the candidate being sought. Candidates are required to have expertise and a rials must have a position reference number in order to demonstrated record of research activities and The ECE department has 33 faculty and research be processed. archival publications related to one of the fol- awards of about $9M in the last fi scal year. More lowing areas: (1) “Smart” electric grids (power All application materials must be electronically sub- information about the department and campus can system electronics, analysis, controls, commu- mitted to the Missouri University of Science and Tech- be found at http://ece.mst.edu. The Computer En- nications, cyber-security, economics, reliability, nology’s Human Resource Offi ce using the following gineering program has research strengths in trust- etc.); (2) Renewable and/or alternative energy address: [email protected]. Acceptable electronic worthy systems, computational intelligence, critical systems (solar, wind, modular nuclear reactors, formats include PDF and Word. infrastructure, cyber-physical systems, smart grid, etc.). Candidates are required to possess effec- emerging technologies in memory and VLSI, embed- The fi nal candidate is required to provide an offi cial tive communication skills. ded systems, and electromagnetic compatibility. We transcript showing completion of the terminal degree The primary duties of the successful candidate seek a candidate with the capability to complement listed in the application materials submitted. Copies will include developing a nationally-recognized, and enhance the above strengths, particularly as they of transcript(s) must be provided prior to the start of externally funded research program, and su- relate to computer security. Exceptional candidates employment. In addition, the fi nal candidate may be pervising graduate student research projects. in other areas of Computer Engineering are also wel- required to verify other credentials listed in application Additional duties may include instructional and come to apply. materials. Failure to provide the offi cial transcript(s) or service assignments as appropriate. The com- other required verifi cation may result in the withdrawal A Ph.D. in Computer Engineering or closely related disci- plete position announcement and the on-line ap- of the job offer. pline is required along with an international reputation for plication process can be found at research excellence, a commitment to fi rst-rate teaching, Missouri S&T participates in E-Verify. For more informa- http://www.tntech.edu/jobs/. and strong mentorship and leadership qualities. tion on E-Verify, please contact DHS at: 1-888-464-4218. If you have questions regarding this position, Applications will be reviewed as they are received, but Missouri University of Science and Technology is an please contact CESR at 931-372-3615. Screening the search will remain open until the position is fi lled. AA/EEO employer. Females, minorities, and persons date is April 1, 2011, open until fi lled. Questions and nominations can be directed to Donald with disabilities are encouraged to apply. AA/EEO

Tenure Track Faculty Position www.ece.cmu.edu

The Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Engineering and at Carnegie Mellon have a joint tenure track faculty opening for an excep- Public Policy The Department of Electrical and Computer tional candidate in the area of health informatics who has both technical and policy inter- Engineering at the University of California, Davis ests and skills. We seek a candidate who will build a program of collaborative resaearch invites applications for multiple faculty positions at that applies information and communication technolgy to improve dramatically the efficacy all levels with a research focus on either: and efficency of healthcare delivery. 1) physical electronics related to novel materials, The College of Engineering and the ECE and EPP Departments are ranked among the top structures and devices, particularly nanoscale, bio- ten programs in the U.S. both at the undergraduate and graduate level. Our faculties have molecular and self-assembled approaches related to strong ties with many multidisciplinary centers and institutes such as the Carnegie Mellon biology/medicine, information processing and ener- gy; or 2) microwave, millimeter-wave and terahertz CyLab (including its Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory), Institute for Complex Engi- electronics related to devices, circuits and systems. neered Systems, Software Engineering Institute, Human Computer Interaction Institute, For the second area we are particularly interested in and Information Networking Institute. The departments are also home to several multidis- semiconductor electronic devices, MEMS, electro- ciplinary centers and laboratories such as the Data Storage Systems Center, Carnegie magnetics, antennas, circuits and systems related Mellon Electricity Industry Center, Center for Silicon System Implementation, the Parallel to chemical/biological spectroscopy, biomedical im- Data Laboratory, and the Computer Architecture Lab at Carnegie Mellon. aging/detection, gigabit wireless communications, remote sensing, energy harvesting and sensors. A moderate teaching load allows time for quality research and close involvement with students and other faculty. We expect candidates for a tenure track position to have a Candidates must have a Ph.D. or equivalent, a com- strong commitment both to research and to teaching. The departments are primarily seek- mitment to teaching and service and a potential for attracting signifi cant extramural research support. ing individuals for a position at the Assistant Professor rank; however, with appropriate For full consideration, applicants should apply qualifications, appointments may be made at a higher rank. Applications should include a by February 28, 2011. The positions remain open comprehensive resume, a list of 3 to 5 professional references, a statement of research until fi lled. Additional information and application and teaching interests (less than 2 pages), and copies of 2 research papers (journal or instructions can be found at conference papers). The applicant is responsible for soliciting the reference letters to be sent to the address below. Send applications to: http://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/ T. E. (Ed) Schlesinger UC Davis is an affi rmative action/equal opportunity Professor and Head Carnegie Mellon is building a culturally diverse employer and is dedicated to recruiting a diverse Electrical and Computer Engineerig faculty and encourages applications from female faculty community. We welcome all qualifi ed appli- Carnegie Mellon University and minority candidates. Carnegie Mellon is an cants to apply, including women, minorities, indi- Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 Equal Opportunity Emplloyer. viduals with disabilities and veterans.

68 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03a.p68.NA.indd 68 2/17/11 1:39 PM • Multimedia data mining • SoC micronetwork design

ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY (ZJU), founded Responsibilities of these positions in 1897, is one of the few top-rank including teaching undergraduate/ research institutions of higher learning graduate courses, undertaking in China. It is a center excellence for government/industry funded research Program Manager - Autonomous Aerial teaching and research, where renowned projects, supervising graduate students, Cargo Utility System (AACUS) academics work together contributing and professional/institutional services. Naval Air Warfare & Weapons Department to the economic development and social For these positions, ZJU offers Office of Naval Research progress of China and the world. For more competitive compensation package and The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is seeking an outstanding individual to information about ZJU, please go to research fund accordingly. For details, serve through a detail assignment or through an Intergovernmental Personnel http://www.zju.edu.cn/english/. please refer to http://tr.zju.edu.cn/. Assignment (IPA). The incumbent of this position will serve as the Program The Department of Information Science Candidates must have a Ph.D. in a Manager for the Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) Innovative and Electronic Engineering (ISEE) of ZJU relevant fi eld of research, and good track Naval Prototype (INP). INPs are high risk, high payoff demonstration (http://www.isee.zju.edu.cn/english) is record of having attained academic achieve- programs to deliver transformational warfighting capabilities to the Navy and seeking outstanding candidates for faculty ments commensurate with the position. Marine Corps. The AACUS INP will develop and demonstrate an autonomous positions at Chair Professor, Professor air vehicle system for resupply and casualty evacuation missions. The and Associate Professor levels. Positions Interested applicants are invited to program will emphasize autonomous operations and associated software are available in all areas of information provide a detailed resume, certifi cate of development, and is expected to use an existing/legacy aircraft platform. technology and communication engineer- academic degrees, innovative research ing, including but not limited to achievements and representative works, The position requires knowledge and demonstrated competence in S&T and and may send these documents by RDT&E management as well as acquisition experience pertinent to the Navy • Wireless communications and networks email to: • Information theory and information and Marine Corps. Strong technical background (advanced degree and/or Ms. Lei Huang security significant time) in areas of aircraft-related software development, autonomy, Human Resource Assistant • Video and audio processing, coding and and UAV guidance and control is required. Candidates must be able to Department of Information Science and communication demonstrate systems engineering experience, having managed large, Electronic Engineering complex, multi-performer technology development and integration programs. • Underwater acoustic detection and Zhejiang University communication networks The process with ONR may include an interview and a technical Hangzhou 310027, China Robotic vision and navigation presentation on a recent, related program management experience • Email: [email protected] and/or research efforts. For information on contacts, qualifications, and how to apply, see the Job Announcement at http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/career-job-opportunity/job-listing.aspx.

U.S. CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED • AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

There’s nothing artificial about this intelligence.

Get the latest robotics tech news, developments and opinions in your email, all written and reviewed by the world’s foremost technology experts from the award-winning publication IEEE Spectrum! Subscribe to this FREE newsletter today and you’ll always stay ahead of the technology curve in your industry. Robotics News All the latest advances in robotics, automation, control systems and related areas with news, analysis, interviews with leading roboticists, and more! Biweekly.

Learn more at spectrum.ieee.org/newsletters

EXPERTNEWSFORTECHNOLOGYEXPERTS

spectrum.ieee.org March 2011 • IEEE Spectrum • NA 69

03a.p69.NA.indd 69 2/17/11 1:39 PM IEEE Spectrum

University of Cincinnati Information Systems Chair Professor National Institute of Sr. Specialist, Telephony & Network: Standards and Technology ohio eminent sCholar in Design voice & data environments. Installa- nano/BioDeviCes (210UC0958) U.S. Department of Commerce tion, mgmt, maintenance of AVAYA, VOIP & The University of Cincinnati is currently accepting The National Institute of Standards and Technology PBX sys. Diagnose & resolve voice & network applications for an endowed ChairProfessor with a (NIST), Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) is issues. Resp. for voice, wireless, WAN, LAN tenured Joint Faculty appointment in the School of seeking a highly qualifi ed individual for the position of technol. Implem. data & voice sol’ns (PBX, Electronics and Computing Systems and the Depart- Division Chief for the Information Access Division. The VOIP). Work w/ site admins, coord. w/ cust. ment of Chemistry. . Division carries out interdisciplinary collaborations with & consumer svc. to develop & enhance call Job Description: Ohio Eminent Scholar in Nano/Bio industry, academia, and other government agencies to center capabilities. Travel as needed to various Devices. The Scholar will have a dual appointment in the accelerate the research development, and adoption company facilities. MS CS, IS or related +3 yrs. College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) and of standards and testing tools that improve access to relevant exp or BS+5 yrs. in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. The suc- multimedia and other complex information in topic ar- cessful candidate will establish a research program that eas such as Human Language Technology, Biometrics Kwikset Corp., 19701 DaVinci, Lake Forest CA promotes the development of new nanoscale devices at Technology, Identifi cation and Verifi cation Technol- 92610. Resume to [email protected] the intersection of electronics, chemistry, and biomedi- ogy, Multimedia Technology, Usability Engineering, cine, and to foster and strengthen entrepreneurial and w/ “Job #SSTN” in subj line. EOE. academic partnerships with industry. Data Preservation, and Human-System Interaction. Min. Quals.: The candidate must have an earned doc- Title of Position: toral degree in electrical engineering or chemistry (or Supervisory Computer Scientist, ZP-1550-V; equivalent) with an outstanding research record at a Supervisory Electronics Engineer ZP-0855-V; university or research laboratory. Supervisory Mathematician, ZP-1520-V. The Ohio Eminent Scholar must be a new hire to Ohio Salary Range: $123,758 - $155,500 universities or colleges and may not currently be em- Geographic Location of Position: Gaithersburg, MD ployed within the State of Ohio. Tenure: Permanent Work Schedule: Full Time The ideal candidate will have an established research Relocation expenses: Find the right candidate program and demonstrated ability to attract funding Relocation Expenses are authorized. - right now! and productive collaborations. For further information and to apply for this position, To apply for position (210UC0958), visit the website http://www.usajobs.opm.gov. The Visit the IEEE Job Site at please see www.jobsatuc.com Job announcement number associated with this posi- www.ieee.org/jobs/hrpromo The University of Cincinnati is tion is NISTITL-2011-0015. The vacancy opens Feb- an affirmative action/equal ruary 16, 2011 and closes March 16, 2011. opportunity employer. U.S. Citizenship is required. The Department of UC is a smoke-free Commerce is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ® work environment.

Keep your “edge” in tech knowledge.

Get the latest tech news, developments and opinions in your email, all written and reviewed by the world’s foremost technology experts from the award-winning publication IEEE Spectrum! Subscribe to this FREE newsletter today and you’ll always stay ahead of the technology curve in your industry. Tech-Alert Newsletter Don’t get left behind on the latest ground-breaking technology and science news. Have it emailed directly to you! Weekly.

Learn more at spectrum.ieee.org/newsletters

EXPERTNEWSFORTECHNOLOGYEXPERTS

70 NA • iEEE Spectrum • March 2011 spectrum.ieee.org

03a.p70.NA.indd 70 2/17/11 1:39 PM Members share fascinating fi rst-person stories of technological innovations. Come read and contribute your story.

IEEE Global History Network www.ieeeghn.org

09-HIST-0382b-GHN-7x10-Final.indd 1 2/10/11 11:03 AM

03a.p71.NA.indd 71 2/17/11 1:40 PM the data Proof #7 LAYOUT FINAL 02/15/11 @ 4:16 pm MS NA

BEIJING–SHANGHAI US $12 billion (est.)

YICHANG–WANZHOU $3.41 billion (actual)

CHINA Speeding Ahead The Yichang–Wanzhou line opened on 22 December 2010. The 377-kilometer line took seven years and 50 000 workers to build. It spans 159 tunnels and 253 bridges. And a nearly complete $12 billion project will soon cut the 1318-km trip between China’s two biggest cities from 14 to 5 hours. Source: The Times of India

UNITED STATES SPAIN SEATTLE– MADISON– PORTLAND MILWAUKEE Getting $590 million $810 million Europe’s Into Gear High- US $8 billion in Speed stimulus money CALIFORNIA CHICAGO–ST. LOUIS $1.1 billion MADRID–VALENCIA will kick-start $2.3 billion Leader ¤6.6 billion (actual) a nationwide The Madrid– program of high- Valencia line RALEIGH– speed rail service. CHARLOTTE opened on Sources: Whitehouse. $520 million 19 December gov; National Conference 2010. The of State Legislatures; SilverRail Technologies; 438-km O ce of the White journey takes House; ABC News TAMPA–ORLANDO $1.3 billion 90 minutes. Source: AFP

Technologies, a system integra- 3469 km are in the works. Still, such development is High-Speed tor in Wakefi eld, Mass., that The industry’s taking o˜ even dwarfed by growth in China, specializes in high-speed rail. in the United States, where which is in the midst of a Rail Is in Around the world, some 40 000 a half century of highway $500 billion, 20-year program kilometers of high-speed rail subsidies has long sidelined rail to connect the entire country, High Gear track are under construction. development. Last year, as part from Harbin in the northeast In Europe, where the of the so-called economic stimu- to Hong Kong to Urumqi in N 2009, high-speed rail length of high-speed rail is lus, the Obama administration the remote northwest. One garnered more than twice expected to quadruple in the awarded an initial $8 billion seven-year project, which Ias much investment as air next decade, Spain is the for high-speed passenger rail crossed the Yunnan–Guizhou travel, a total of US $200 bil- leader. A newly completed link projects. Major links include Plateau, required 159 tunnels, lion, $88 billion of which was between Madrid and Valencia Tampa–Orlando, Chicago– 253 bridges, and $3.4 billion. in China, according to Aaron gives the country 2056 km St. Louis, and Sacramento– High-speed rail is not for the

Gowell, CEO of SilverRail of high-speed rail. Another San Francisco–Stockton. faint of heart. —Steven Cherry COOPER EMILY

72 NA • IEEE SPECTRUM • MARCH 2011 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

03.DataInfographic.NA.indd 72 2/17/11 1:44 PM You prepare the world for tomorrow.

We work to help secure it.

You provide the innovations that shape our The IEEE Group Disability future, but what if you were suddenly unable Income Insurance Plan to provide for your own future? To learn more about plan features, costs, According to the Social Security Administration’s Disability Benefits Brochure, “studies show that a 20-year-old has a 3-in-10 chance of eligibility, renewability, limitations, plan becoming disabled before reaching retirement age.”1 That’s not the kind availability and exclusions, visit of future you like to envision, but a possibility you should be ready for. www.ieeeinsurance.com/disability.

If you rely on your income to pay the bills, you may want to prepare for an unexpected illness or accident that could leave you unable to earn IEEE Member Group Insurance Program: a paycheck. The IEEE Group Disability Income Insurance Plan, available to For peace of mind beyond calculation. IEEE members in the U.S. and Canada, could help you pay those bills by replacing a portion of your income to protect you and your family’s future from significant debt.2

The IEEE Group Disability Income Insurance Plan. Designed to help protect the future of the professionals who design our future.

Visit www.ieeeinsurance.com/disability or call 1.800.493.IEEE(4333)

1 SSA publication No. 05-10029: www.ssa.gov/dibplan/index.htm 2 This coverage is only available for residents of the U.S. (except VT and territories), Puerto Rico and Canada (not available to residents of Quebec). This plan may vary or may not be available in all states. ©Seabury & Smith, Inc. 2011 This program is administered by Marsh U.S. Consumer, a service of Seabury & Smith, Inc., d/b/a in CA Seabury & Smith Insurance Program Management. 50483 (3/11) CA Ins. Lic. #0633005. AR Ins. Lic. #245544. The Group Disability Income Insurance Plan is underwritten by New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010 on Policy Form GMR-FACE/G-12150-0. IEEE prohibits discrimination, harassment and bullying. For more information, visit http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/whatis/policies/p9-26.html.

50483 IEEE Spectrum Ad.indd 1 2/10/11 11:39 AM 03a.Cov3.NA.indd 3 2/17/11 1:24 PM 50483 IEEE (3/11) Full Size: 7.875" x 10.75" Bleed: na" Live: 7" x 10" Folds to: na Perf: na Colors: 4C Stock: na Postage: na

MARSH Misc: na ® m Find it at mathworks.com/accelerate datasheet video example trial request

Run Matlab PRogRaMs in PaRallel

with Parallel Computing Toolbox™

if you can write a FoR-loop, you can write a Matlab parallel program for high-performance computing. Parallel Computing Toolbox lets you quickly adapt MATLAB programs to run on your multicore computer, GPU or cluster, with features for task-parallel and data-parallel programs.

®

® ©2010 The MathWorks, Inc. ©2010 The MathWorks,

03a.Cov4.NA.indd 4 2/17/11 1:25 PM Client Name: The Mathworks Cosmos Communications 1 Q1 Q2 REQ #: 090110B C M Y K js Title: MW Parallel_7.875” x 10.75” 16892a 09.01.10 133 4 Page 4/c Size: 7.875” x 10.75”

This advertisement prepared by: Magnitude 9.6 345 W. 13th Street New York, NY 10014 240-362-7079 [email protected]