Techno-Doc Booster was an innovative postgraduate course I participated in Nov. 2010, offered by Small Business Center (Helsinki School of Economics) and GETA Graduate School of Finland. The course was aimed at technical doctoral students to brush up their basics on subjects usually most foreign to them- such as economics, corporate strategy and soft skills like team-work. There was also a fascinating talk about use of social media and internet as a marketing tool.
Each of the subjects was dealt for one day and provided enough possibilities for interaction between the trainers and participants. First day, we were coached on economics, I found this a great lesson for a technical student to get familiarized with the basics of business studies. Day two on soft skills was perhaps lesser demanding, but no less revealing. Subjects such as team work, identifying your personality type and time management led to a lot of discussion and pertinent insight.
On day three we had lectures on strategy. Last but not the least, day four had broad ranging talks on use of internet as a tool for marketing. Internet opens up possibilities to reach buyers which were earlier either inaccessible or scattered, causing a dynamic shift in the way products and services are now segmented and marketed online.
Decibels during lunch breaks at the HSE main building cafeteria were pleasantly high and are surely unmatched elsewhere in Aalto University.
Hereafter, the course would be organized annually.
--
I would like to thank GETA for accepting me to their prestigious National graduate School in Electronics Telecommunication and Automation.
Visit GETA: http://geta.tkk.fi/en/
Course was offered at HSE - http://www.hse.fi/EN/frontpage
Course Flier - http://geta.tkk.fi/en/courses/technobooster-002.pdf
Venue - Aalto University School of Economics, Small Business
Center, Arkadiankatu 28, 00100 Helsinki
November 23, 2010
Optical Science
Optical Science has been at the forefront of in-numerous technological and scientific leaps, yet I sometimes wonder if it is accorded corresponding importance vis-a-vis traditional disciplines like mechanical, chemical engineering etc.
Optical instruments, looking light years away (telescope) or looking at cells (optical microscope) or more commercial ones like spectacles and binoculars, have created scientific disciplines.
General purpose lighting from lamps, enabled us humans to make progress at night. Which is now becoming cheaper and more efficient with LED's. An even more sophisticated light source, laser, is one of the most significant enablers of industry and medicine as well.
Why just history, a peek into future and it is abundantly clear that- use of solar energy must be more large scale and efficient. In that direction the research in the field of solar cells has produced remarkable results and is still marching ahead.
An even more humongous contribution has come from optical fibres, which are the physical backbone of the internet age. These fibres extend for thousands of kilometres under the surface to provide us almost seamless bandwidth and information all around the globe.
Optical Sciences have led to such revolutionary products and solutions which have transformed human life from light bulb to Hubble telescope, from IT revolution to solar cells and we have not even touched the subjects as cameras, movies, projectors, laser cutting in industry to laser guided weapons, DVD, blue-rays discs. In fact little would we know that the entire electronic industry (mobile phones, laptops etc.) owes its beginnings to a humble finding by an optical-material scientist that certain polymers change behaviour when exposed to UV light, this process is used in the electronic industry by the name of photo-lithography, one of the defining steps in electronic chip manufacturing!
In all of the above examples, in no way does it imply that optical science is above all, however, that it has not received similar attention as other so-called traditional disciplines of science and technology is troubling.
This is felt most during interaction with students undertaking PhD's and MSc. around the world. The most fundamental and almost unique challenge before an Optical Scientist/Engineer or Designer is to 'get-over-the-eye'. Our eyes, one of the most sophisticated optical systems in nature, provide vision and enable us to see. However, the limitations of the human eye are gigantic -
Scale - The human eye can only see from the scale of millimetres to kilometres, therefore we use binoculars, telescopes and microscopes.
Wavelength - The human eye can only process signals of the wavelength range 380nm (violet light) to 750nm (red light). Therefore we cannot see anything in the ultra violet range (less than 380nm) or infra-red (higher than 750nm).
The solar spectrum on the other hand is in the range 250nm to 2500nm. Thus we need to protect ourselves from UV and infra-red light, for example we use UV protective eye wear when we are in the sun.
Lets explore an even more fundamental aspect of optics. Optical Science is almost as vast and critical as all other sciences put together. Atoms are the building blocks of all matter. Even more fundamentally electrons are the fundamental building block of all atoms. The electronic behaviour and configurations determine all material properties, hardness, reactivity, colour ..everything.
Movement of electrons from their default positions often requires release or absorption of optical energy. This is where optics is born. If electrons is where all things material owe their existence then changes in electron is where all things optical come to life, for the past 200 years we have focussed our energy towards every aspect ground-state-electron induced and so little to most things electron-transition (optics) induced!
Given that there are no specific optical engineering departments in most science schools and technological universities there is still lots of room for improvements and advancements. One of the most significant hurdles is inter-disciplinary nature of optics, thus often lending itself accessible to senior students and researchers. But if that were sincerely the cause, the traditional disciplines would not have become traditional. There is enough breadth and depth in optics to be taught at undergraduate level and at the advanced stage. We do though have a dearth of entrepreneurs from the optics field or perhaps even fewer pop-sci articles reporting their success. Our realization of our limitations, as in the case of the eye, may be a good beginning.
Some of the most interesting schools offering studies and research in optics are -
College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, USA (http://www.optics.arizona.edu/)
Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, USA (http://www.optics.rochester.edu/)
European Masters Program (http://www.master-photonics.org/ )
Photonics Group, Helsinki (http://nano.tkk.fi/en/research_groups/photonics/)
In India, IIT Delhi offers M.Tech in Applied Optics (http://web.iitd.ac.in/~mtechao/)
International Institute of Photonics, Cochin, (http://www.photonics.cusat.edu/index.html)
Optical instruments, looking light years away (telescope) or looking at cells (optical microscope) or more commercial ones like spectacles and binoculars, have created scientific disciplines.
General purpose lighting from lamps, enabled us humans to make progress at night. Which is now becoming cheaper and more efficient with LED's. An even more sophisticated light source, laser, is one of the most significant enablers of industry and medicine as well.
Why just history, a peek into future and it is abundantly clear that- use of solar energy must be more large scale and efficient. In that direction the research in the field of solar cells has produced remarkable results and is still marching ahead.
An even more humongous contribution has come from optical fibres, which are the physical backbone of the internet age. These fibres extend for thousands of kilometres under the surface to provide us almost seamless bandwidth and information all around the globe.
Optical Sciences have led to such revolutionary products and solutions which have transformed human life from light bulb to Hubble telescope, from IT revolution to solar cells and we have not even touched the subjects as cameras, movies, projectors, laser cutting in industry to laser guided weapons, DVD, blue-rays discs. In fact little would we know that the entire electronic industry (mobile phones, laptops etc.) owes its beginnings to a humble finding by an optical-material scientist that certain polymers change behaviour when exposed to UV light, this process is used in the electronic industry by the name of photo-lithography, one of the defining steps in electronic chip manufacturing!
In all of the above examples, in no way does it imply that optical science is above all, however, that it has not received similar attention as other so-called traditional disciplines of science and technology is troubling.
This is felt most during interaction with students undertaking PhD's and MSc. around the world. The most fundamental and almost unique challenge before an Optical Scientist/Engineer or Designer is to 'get-over-the-eye'. Our eyes, one of the most sophisticated optical systems in nature, provide vision and enable us to see. However, the limitations of the human eye are gigantic -
Scale - The human eye can only see from the scale of millimetres to kilometres, therefore we use binoculars, telescopes and microscopes.
Wavelength - The human eye can only process signals of the wavelength range 380nm (violet light) to 750nm (red light). Therefore we cannot see anything in the ultra violet range (less than 380nm) or infra-red (higher than 750nm).
The solar spectrum on the other hand is in the range 250nm to 2500nm. Thus we need to protect ourselves from UV and infra-red light, for example we use UV protective eye wear when we are in the sun.
Lets explore an even more fundamental aspect of optics. Optical Science is almost as vast and critical as all other sciences put together. Atoms are the building blocks of all matter. Even more fundamentally electrons are the fundamental building block of all atoms. The electronic behaviour and configurations determine all material properties, hardness, reactivity, colour ..everything.
Movement of electrons from their default positions often requires release or absorption of optical energy. This is where optics is born. If electrons is where all things material owe their existence then changes in electron is where all things optical come to life, for the past 200 years we have focussed our energy towards every aspect ground-state-electron induced and so little to most things electron-transition (optics) induced!
Given that there are no specific optical engineering departments in most science schools and technological universities there is still lots of room for improvements and advancements. One of the most significant hurdles is inter-disciplinary nature of optics, thus often lending itself accessible to senior students and researchers. But if that were sincerely the cause, the traditional disciplines would not have become traditional. There is enough breadth and depth in optics to be taught at undergraduate level and at the advanced stage. We do though have a dearth of entrepreneurs from the optics field or perhaps even fewer pop-sci articles reporting their success. Our realization of our limitations, as in the case of the eye, may be a good beginning.
Some of the most interesting schools offering studies and research in optics are -
College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, USA (http://www.optics.arizona.edu/)
Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, USA (http://www.optics.rochester.edu/)
European Masters Program (http://www.master-photonics.org/ )
Photonics Group, Helsinki (http://nano.tkk.fi/en/research_groups/photonics/)
In India, IIT Delhi offers M.Tech in Applied Optics (http://web.iitd.ac.in/~mtechao/)
International Institute of Photonics, Cochin, (http://www.photonics.cusat.edu/index.html)
August 24, 2010
Energy Harvesting
Recently we have published a series of posts on clean energy, green power and bio-fuel cells, these alternatives are essential to diminish our over-arching dependence on fossil fuel and to move further towards greener options. In the same vein a generic subject, energy harvesting promises to explore even more avenues for producing low power.
Q. What is 'Energy Harvesting'?
Q. What is 'Energy Harvesting'?
A. Energy harvesting is a term associated with capture and storage of energy for small power requirements. It is frequently used for power capacity in milliwatt, microwatt, nanowatt to picowatt power range. For a gauge of scale of power-producers, solar panels are easily able to produce tens of watts of power on a sunny day. A typical device like a light bulb consumes 60W of power.
Q. Then why do we need small power 'Energy Harvesting'?
A. There are lots of markets. For example, present day medical problems like diabetes, pacemakers, and other implantable biomedical devices can benefit from such small 'Energy Harvesting Devices'. Another example is live-patient monitoring chips. These chips with sensors implanted within the body can provide the medical examiner with live heartbeats, pulses, sugar, blood pressure, even fats and cholestrol, haemoglobin levels, remotely, i.e. the patient need not be in the clinic.
Another potential markets is electronics. The capacity to produce extremely small electronics also opens the door to extremely low power electronics. Although so far the benefit of scaling (reducing the size of transistor) has led to more computation-efficient and capable hardware, the power scaling with size scaling is yet to see its full potential. Lot of wireless technologies are focussing on this aspect (see here).
An interesting example is the Contact lens LED projector and sensor (here).
Q. What are the typical 'Energy Harvesting Devices'?
A. We dont call Solar panels as energy harvesters in the conventional sense, although literally they are. However, more interesting concepts involve use of microwave, radio wave and other electromagnetic energy that surrounds us all the time in the modern world because of cell-phone towers, TV towers, radio waves etc.
Another dimension of energy harvesting is through human being themselves. We daily produce a large amount of energy to enable us to do many tasks. However, there is potential to harvest part of this energy by transduction (conversion of energy).
Consider a person wearing a body suit which has flexible solar panels and at every human body joint there is a piezo. Thus while walking in the sun one could be harvesting solar energy, and motion of the limbs producing extra energy through the piezo. But this is just the tip, there is lot of effort dedicated to harnessing the chemical energy from within our bodies (see our post here) and thermal energy our body generates throughout the day.
Q. Is Energy Harvesting green?
A. Yes, and thats the whole point. To harvest energy from what is around us and within us. It embodies the concept of traditional rural farming (hence the term harvesting) by using available resources (electromagnetic waves, solar energy, body heat, internal chemicals within the body, small mechanical motions) and by energetically favourable simple transduction (conversion) process yield a produce (power).
The research community has already demonstrated tools like solar panels, piezos, low power sensors, GBFC's (glucose bio-fueld cells), most of which are highly commercial. So its a matter of time.
The research community has already demonstrated tools like solar panels, piezos, low power sensors, GBFC's (glucose bio-fueld cells), most of which are highly commercial. So its a matter of time.
Q. What are the challenges for 'Energy harvesting'?
A. The biggest challenge is low power devices, the entire electronic and technical industry is focussed on highly complex and more processing capacity whereas, the most useful products to humanity require low power, small size, moderate computation-ability. Consistent effort is needed in this direction.
Another critical thing is that the lifetime of energy harvesting products. If energy harvesting products are to become BIG then they must provide the advantage of longer life of products even if they have low power capacity. Further, a critical requirement is small size rechargeable batteries so that the power produced may be stored. And there is a lot of room for system level innovation at this stage.
August 9, 2010
Bio-Fuel Cells, Batteries not required
"So, how long do you live? I mean, last?"
"My fuel cell lasts for 120 years."
While killer cyborgs with long-lasting fuel cells is uber cool (unless you are the one they are after), one doesn't require a Terminator to be a cyborg or claim long-lasting fuel cells.
Most of us are anyway part human part machine using spectacles, hearing aids, cochlear implants, pacemakers, deep-brain stimulation devices, urinary sphincters, insulin pumps and so on. Apart from making us cybernetic organisms (cyborgs in vernacular) it also adds to us something in common with the terminators.
Batteries.
All these devices require power to work. Power provided by cells which are usually implanted within the body. The best of these run out of juice in 5-8 years, after which one must undergo a surgery to replace them or wait around while you plug yourself in to recharge with wires penetrating the skin and connected to an external battery.
While its an acceptable alternative to death, all masochism aside, it is inconvenient.
They are also something of a dweeb as to the amount of power they can provide, so that power-hungry, artificial, implantable kidneys and hearts are still in the dark.
A team of scientists seem hell-bent on correcting this disparity between humans and terminators. But rather than simply use batteries, which must be charged up, they have invented fuel cells which generate their own power, like a mini generator.
Cells which run off the glucose found naturally in the blood!
The Glucose bio-fuel cell or GBFC has graphite discs for electrodes, wrapped in semipermeable-biocompatible plastic used in dialysis machines. The plastic packs the enzymes- Glucose Oxidase (GOX), Catalase and Urease, Ubiquinone at anode and Quinhydrone at cathode. The semi-permeable plastic allows glucose molecules to seep in while keeping most other things out. GOX strips electrons from glucose molecules locally and reduces the pH while Urease increases the pH, the difference driving electron exchange. These electron displacement occurs to and from the electrodes via electron-shuttles Ubiquinone and Quinhydrone, respectively. This leads to electric current. Catalase breaks down the toxic hydrogen peroxide generated as a consequence of GOX activity also providing additional oxygen for GOX to work with.
The breakthrough can be attributed to a change of approach, where instead of chemically attaching the enzymes with the electrodes (which the enzymes don't like) they are just tightly packed within a plastic sheath. The enzymes used are immune to interference from the ions in the body and can work stably at physiological pH. Earlier ones used needed acidic conditions.
The electrodes take up around 0.266 mL in a merely 5 mL cell. The present device can generate around 24.4 µW per mL of peak power and a stable power of 7.52 µW/mL, while a typical pacemaker requires 10 µW.
The scientists claim they have made a 50 fold improvement in the power characteristics of the cell since the paper was published.
While this fuel cell has shown a great improvement in peak power output and actively integrates the device with glucose from the body, the reliability and lifetime of such a new technology still needs various medical certifications/approvals before we benefit from a revolution in biomedical technology.
"So, how long do you live? I mean, last?"
"My fuel cell lasts for 120 years."
While killer cyborgs with long-lasting fuel cells is uber cool (unless you are the one they are after), one doesn't require a Terminator to be a cyborg or claim long-lasting fuel cells.
Most of us are anyway part human part machine using spectacles, hearing aids, cochlear implants, pacemakers, deep-brain stimulation devices, urinary sphincters, insulin pumps and so on. Apart from making us cybernetic organisms (cyborgs in vernacular) it also adds to us something in common with the terminators.
Batteries.
All these devices require power to work. Power provided by cells which are usually implanted within the body. The best of these run out of juice in 5-8 years, after which one must undergo a surgery to replace them or wait around while you plug yourself in to recharge with wires penetrating the skin and connected to an external battery.
While its an acceptable alternative to death, all masochism aside, it is inconvenient.
They are also something of a dweeb as to the amount of power they can provide, so that power-hungry, artificial, implantable kidneys and hearts are still in the dark.
A team of scientists seem hell-bent on correcting this disparity between humans and terminators. But rather than simply use batteries, which must be charged up, they have invented fuel cells which generate their own power, like a mini generator.
Cells which run off the glucose found naturally in the blood!
The Glucose bio-fuel cell or GBFC has graphite discs for electrodes, wrapped in semipermeable-biocompatible plastic used in dialysis machines. The plastic packs the enzymes- Glucose Oxidase (GOX), Catalase and Urease, Ubiquinone at anode and Quinhydrone at cathode. The semi-permeable plastic allows glucose molecules to seep in while keeping most other things out. GOX strips electrons from glucose molecules locally and reduces the pH while Urease increases the pH, the difference driving electron exchange. These electron displacement occurs to and from the electrodes via electron-shuttles Ubiquinone and Quinhydrone, respectively. This leads to electric current. Catalase breaks down the toxic hydrogen peroxide generated as a consequence of GOX activity also providing additional oxygen for GOX to work with.
The breakthrough can be attributed to a change of approach, where instead of chemically attaching the enzymes with the electrodes (which the enzymes don't like) they are just tightly packed within a plastic sheath. The enzymes used are immune to interference from the ions in the body and can work stably at physiological pH. Earlier ones used needed acidic conditions.
The electrodes take up around 0.266 mL in a merely 5 mL cell. The present device can generate around 24.4 µW per mL of peak power and a stable power of 7.52 µW/mL, while a typical pacemaker requires 10 µW.
The scientists claim they have made a 50 fold improvement in the power characteristics of the cell since the paper was published.
While this fuel cell has shown a great improvement in peak power output and actively integrates the device with glucose from the body, the reliability and lifetime of such a new technology still needs various medical certifications/approvals before we benefit from a revolution in biomedical technology.
"So, how long do you live? I mean, last?"
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