Idaho Office of Science & Technology December 2005

In this issue:

# Micron, Intel To Invest $5 Billion To Create New Company

# WGI Inks $10 Billion Contract With U.S. Air Force, Defense Department

# ‘Core Competency’ Directories Available

# Idaho’s Trade With China Grows

# Boise Part of Giant Agilent Spinoff

# Idaho Town Changes Name to SecretSanta.Com

# University Studies Bad Air in Airplanes

# Underwater Spy Robots Taught to Think and Talk

# Idaho Scientist Promotes Good Fungi

# Micron Develops Memory for Emerging Countries

# New Doctoral Engineering Program Launched at BSU

# Technology Measures Whether Advertising Works

# Saturn Moon Winds May Unlock Earth’s Weather Mysteries

# Boise Water Research May Help Rebuild Southern Wetlands

# Boise State University Receives Record Research Funding

# BSU Engineering Dean Receives Presidential Award

# Idaho Neurosciences Group Holds Inaugural Conference

# Idaho Firm to Use Patented Spray Technology

# Blackfin Expands Into Historic Building

# Energy Collaborative Seeks Participants

# Deadline Extended for World’s Best Technologies

Micron, Intel To Invest $5 Billion To Create New Company

(Boise, Idaho) Micron Technology and Intel Corporation have launched a $5 billion partnership to manufacture NAND flash memory for use in consumer electronics, removable storage and handheld communications devices.
The company will be called IM Flash Technologies, LLC, and includes an agreement by Apple to prepay $250 million for a significant portion of the product.
IM Flash will be 51 percent owned by Micron and production will initially take place in Micron’s manufacturing facilities located in Idaho, Virginia and Utah. Initial production is expected in early 2006.
The new company will benefit from Micron’s and Intel’s process technology expertise to aggressively convert to advanced 72 nanometer and 50 nanometer technology.

WGI Inks $10 Billion Contract With U.S. Air Force, Defense Department

(Boise, Idaho) Washington Group International will share in a $10 billion, 10-year contract to provide a wide range of services to the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Department of Defense worldwide.
The Boise engineering and construction firm will team with ITT Industries Systems Division to provide rapid global response in support of military operations, humanitarian aid, disaster relief and other missions.
"We have decades of experience supporting our armed forces dating back to World War II and continuing today with the current military action in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Stephen Hanks, WGI’s president and CEO. "Our ability to quickly mobilize large amounts of material, equipment, and people anywhere in the world fits well with the rapid response needs that are required to support the Air Force under this contract."

Core Competency Directory Available

(Statewide) Idaho’s strengths in science and technology are highlighted in a new directory created by Idaho Commerce & Labor’s Office of Science & Technology.
The "Idaho Core Competency Directory" lists companies, research organizations and universities that are actively involved in imaging, power and energy, ag/biosciences and nanotechnology/new materials.
The areas were identified earlier this year by the Governor’s Science & Technology Advisory Council as target areas the state should focus on to foster its science and technology industry.
The directory, which lists more than 200 companies, organizations and universities, will serve as a resource for Idaho researchers and companies seeking collaboration opportunities.
The 64-page directory provides brief summaries highlighting products and the ongoing research at each company, organization and university. Contact information is also provided.
The "Idaho Core Competency Directory" is available on the Office of Science & Technology’s Web site at technology.idaho.gov, under the menu item "expertise."

Idaho’s Trade With China Grows

(Statewide) Exports by Idaho businesses during the third quarter remained on a pace to exceed $3 billion for 2005, while sales to China, including Hong Kong, continued to surge upward.
"Trade with China has tripled in the last three years," Idaho Commerce & Labor Director Roger B. Madsen said, "Idaho companies are just beginning to tap this huge market."
An increase in sales to China from the spring to summer quarter drove the value of Idaho’s exports during the third quarter to $824 million. That pushed international sales for the first nine months of this year to nearly $2.4 billion, almost 10 percent higher than for the same period in 2004 when exports for the entire year fell just short of $3 billion.
High-technology products, primarily computer chips, accounted for nearly 75 percent of total third quarter sales to other countries. That sector was responsible for 70 percent of all exports through the first nine months of 2005.
Idaho products sold to customers in other countries include everything from fishing equipment to oil paintings to snow removal equipment, yachts and railroad cars.
Seven of Idaho’s top 10 customers are in Asia. The other three are Canada, Great Britain and Mexico.

Boise Part of Giant Agilent Spinoff

(Boise, Idaho) The world’s largest privately held chip company will continue operations in Boise.
Avago Technologies Inc., a recent spinoff of Agilent Technologies Inc., produces more than 5,500 types of electronic chips for everything from wireless communications to automotive applications.
The new company was formed when Agilent sold its chip operations to private investors. Agilent was spun off from Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2000. The company is based in San Jose and Singapore and has design, manufacturing or marketing centers in San Jose; Corvallis, Ore.; Boise, Idaho; and in Europe and Asia.

Idaho Town Changes Name to SecretSanta.Com

(Santa, Idaho) A northern Idaho town will change its name to SecretSanta.Com for one year, promoting the name of a Web site that manages gift exchanges for families and office workplaces.
In exchange, the town will receive half the proceeds from a movie documentary about Santa residents and the controversy surrounding the town’s renaming. The movie, now underway, has a working title of "Santa’s Little Secrets."
Other deal terms include two signs to be put up by Dec. 9, and a Web site for area residents that will link to SecretSanta.Com during the tenure of the one-year deal.
The name change is the brainchild of marketing guru Mark Hughes, author of the Penguin/Portfolio book "Buzzmarketing," and the architect behind Halfway, Ore.’s name change.
Santa is the latest in a lengthening list of rural communities selling naming rights to a brand of a company or service. Clark, Texas recently changed its name to Dish to promote EchoStar Communications Corp.’s Dish Network.
Halfway, Oregon mayor Gordon Kaesemeyer says his community set up a special non-profit corporation and transformed $20,000 of its money from the Halfway, Oregon deal through federal and state grants for a sum totaling almost half a million dollars.

University Studies Bad Air in Airplanes

(Boise, Idaho) Travelers might suspect recirculated air in airliners led to their latest head-cold. A new FAA Center of Excellence at Boise State University will look at ways to monitor just how many contaminants show up in airliner cabins, and assess the potential for biological or chemical threats.
BSU is partnering with Harvard University, Auburn University, the University of California-Berkeley, two other universities and a national laboratory on the FAA Center of Excellence for Airliner Cabin Environment Research.
BSU’s role involves the development of sensors and instrumentation to monitor air quality and detect contaminants. The research has applications for both health and security issues, said Sin Ming Loo, a BSU electrical and computer engineering professor.
Loo is working to design a wireless sensor network that could be used to detect and measure contaminants in airliner cabins. The system would include flexible circuitry that would allow an interchangeable number and type of sensors to be placed in the airliner cabins to measure contaminants such as smoke, ozone, bacteria, fungi and carbon monoxide.
Data collected by the sensors would then be transmitted to an onboard base station for processing and later retrieval. Further phases of the project would involve refining the network to provide real-time information about contaminants to the flight crew or to a ground station.
Loo hopes to test prototypes aboard a grounded airliner at the Boise Airport during 2006.

Underwater Spy Robots Taught to Think and Talk

(Moscow, Idaho) University of Idaho researchers are teaching underwater robots how to communicate and cooperate with one another.
The underwater vehicles could be used to conduct high-risk underwater spy operations such as detecting and destroying mines. The work is being conducted by Dean Edwards, Richard Wall and Michael Anderson, professors of engineering at the UI Center for Intelligent Systems Research, and Michael O’Rourke, UI professor of philosophy.
Teaching the robots language will allow a fleet to assess the loss of a vehicle, change formation and compensate for the loss, while gathering data and destroying mines that would otherwise be missed.
Peacetime applications of the emerging technology can include monitoring environmental quality, such as water temperature, salinity, pollutants and marine life. The more communicative robots also may provide underwater surveys for cable and pipeline inspections.

Idaho Scientist Promotes Good Fungi

(Moscow, Idaho) Some fungi growing on trees might actually protect forests from being attacked by disease.
University of Idaho forest resources scientist Rebecca Ganley works with a team studying endophytes, fungi that live specifically in trees and provide resistance to disease.
While the scientists are just beginning to understand the variety of interactions between fungi and their hosts, the team’s research has broken new ground in harnessing endophytes to effectively combat the spread of tree diseases like white pine blister rust.
As a follow up to Ganley’s work, forest resource scientists currently are conducting experiments to inoculate white pine seedlings and other conifers with endophytes for long term field trials.
Endophytes benefits trees in other ways, including making the host plant unpalatable to any creature that might want to eat it and hastening early tissue decomposition in fallen leaves.

Micron Develops Memory for Emerging Countries

(Boise, Idaho) Micron Technology, Inc., has developed a new electronic memory device designed for low-density, entry-level mobile handsets, the type most likely to be used as developing countries increase mobile usage.
The new device allows manufacturers to reduce costs within basic-feature handset designs.
"Micron’s ability to diversify in the dynamic mobile industry is once again demonstrated by the introduction of our enhanced CellularRAM memory," said Achim Hill, senior marketing director for Micron’s Mobile Memory Group. "The addition of this low-density, reduced pin count device further strengthens Micron’s unique industry position of offering the mobile market a complete set of innovative memory subsystem and imaging solutions."
Volume production is expected during the first quarter of 2006 to support emerging market demand for entry-level handsets.
Micron is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of computer memory.

New Doctoral Engineering Program Launched At BSU
(Boise, Idaho) A new doctoral program in electrical and computer engineering will begin next semester at Boise State University.
The new Ph.D. is the third doctoral program to be offered at the university, which also offers doctorates in geophysics and in curriculum and instruction.
The degree will provide new opportunities for partnerships with industry, government agencies and other Idaho universities, said Cheryl Schrader, dean of the College of Engineering.
The new Ph.D.is a research-intensive degree, and doctoral candidates will work with faculty on funded projects in areas such as sensors, advanced integrated circuitry, image processing, memory materials and robotics, said R. Jacob Baker, chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The projects are funded by the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and other agencies.
The research has many practical applications and could lead to everything from smaller iPods to ATMs that use fingerprint scans to identify users to the development of new materials for storing digital information, Baker said.

Technology Measures Whether Advertising Works

(Boise, Idaho) Boise firm BroadSign has teamed up with DS-IQ to measure consumer purchases triggered by advertising published on in-store digital networks.
"Being able to directly evaluate the results of their campaigns at the cash register is what advertisers have wanted for a long time, and now it’s possible, thanks to our alliance," said Cord Christensen, CEO of BroadSign. "Our integration will help the digital signage industry to upgrade its status as an ‘emerging medium,’ transforming it into an indispensable part of the media mix."
BroadSign’s product is a media seller-friendly system for operating digital signage networks of unlimited size. The new partnership allows retailers and advertisers to monitor exactly how each ad campaign affects sales, securely from any desktop computer.

Saturn Moon Winds May Unlock Earth’s Weather Mysteries
(Moscow, Idaho) University of Idaho’s David Atkinson and an international team of scientists have successfully measured the zonal – east-west – winds of Saturn’s moon, Titan. That data may provide valuable insights into the mysteries of earth’s own atmosphere.
Atkinson, a UI electrical and computer engineering professor, has measured the zonal winds on Titan from near the top of the atmosphere, about 160 kilometers, to the surface. His team’s Doppler Wind Experiment is one of the six scientific investigations comprising the payload of the Huygens Probe, released from the European Space Agency’s Cassini spacecraft last December.
Titan features the only other nitrogen-dominated atmosphere, aside from Earth, in the solar system. The second most abundant molecule in Titan’s atmosphere is methane. There is no oxygen. There are many hydrocarbons in the atmosphere, and it is thought that Titan’s atmosphere may resemble the atmosphere of Earth before life formed.
Titan’s surface temperatures are exceptionally cold, about 94 degrees above absolute zero.
It is thought that methane plays a similar role on Titan as water does on Earth, with a methane-type "hydrological" cycle of clouds, evaporation and precipitation, and with liquids pooling and flowing on the surface, as on Earth.
Atkinson’s and other Huygens Probe scientists’ findings may offer some insights into the origin of the Earth’s own atmosphere and the mechanisms of its weather.
As chair of the ESA/NASA Huygens Descent Trajectory Working Group, Atkinson co-investigated and co-authored "Huygen’s Descent and Landing on Titan: Mission Overview and Results Highlights."
The University of Bonn’s Michael Bird and UI’s Atkinson have co-authored a second paper revealing the findings of their team’s Doppler experiment titled, "The Vertical Profile of Winds on Titan." Both studies will be published in Nature magazine Dec. 8.

Boise Water Research May Help Rebuild Southern Wetlands
(Boise, Idaho) The University of Idaho’s Water Center, located in downtown Boise, is providing a central location for research that could help restore coastal wetlands ravaged by hurricanes and rising sea levels.
Peter Goodwin, who directs the Center for Ecohydraulics Research at the Idaho Water Center, is part of a group of experts who issued a report last month on how to save Louisiana’s coast.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck as the team completed its work, underscoring the need for a comprehensive coastal management plan. Rising relative sea level, sinking sediments and other factors drowned hundreds of square miles of Louisiana coast in recent decades, making the coastal communities in Louisiana more vulnerable to storm damage.
Goodwin said the massive scale of the Mississippi and its delta nearly overwhelmed the efforts of scientists and engineers to assess strategies to control the problems caused by human and natural changes.
His own expertise, how sediment moves through rivers and accumulates in places like wetlands, faces its greatest challenge in a massive river like the Mississippi, Goodwin said.
The UI Water Center, which was completed last year, provides Goodwin’s group with a new state of the art flume to study water flow and sediment transport.
The report issued by the group is available at http://national-academies.org.

Boise State Receives Record Research Funding
(Boise, Idaho) Boise State University received $13.6 million for research and sponsored projects during the first quarter of fiscal year 2006 – a new quarterly record for the university and a 27 percent increase over awards received during the first quarter of 2005.
The quarterly report follows a record-breaking year for research and sponsored projects at BSU. During fiscal 2005, BSU received $24.2 million in external awards, the largest one-year total in the university’s history.
While research funding normally slows during the last three quarters of each fiscal year, the $13.6 million quarterly report does underscore the continuing growth of BSU’s research programs, said Jack Pelton, interim vice president for research and dean of the Graduate College.
The largest single award received during the fiscal quarter that ended Sept. 30 was $1.5 million from the Environmental Protection Agency for a project headed by research professor Warren Barrash, who works at the university’s Center for Geophysical Investigation of the Shallow Subsurface. Barrash and colleagues and students in geophysics, hydrology and geology are developing new field and modeling methods for measuring and imaging subsurface properties, for predicting how contaminants move through the subsurface, and for designing subsurface clean-up systems.

BSU Engineering Dean Receives Presidential Award
(Boise, Idaho) Cheryl Schrader, dean of the College of Engineering at Boise State University, is one of 11 recipients nationwide of the 2005 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
Schrader received the national award at recent ceremonies at the White House executive office complex in Washington, D.C. The award, supported and administered by the National Science Foundation, includes a $10,000 grant for continued mentoring work.
The presidential award honors individuals and institutions that have enhanced the participation of underrepresented groups, such as women, minorities and people with disabilities, in science, mathematics and engineering at all levels. Since its inception in 1996, the program has recognized 97 individuals at 68 institutions nationwide.
The awards were presented by the chief of staff and director of the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, the director of the National Science Foundation, and other officials.

Idaho Neurosciences Group Holds Inaugural Conference
(Pocatello) The Snake River Association for Neurosciences held its inaugural conference in November, featuring research being done at Idaho State University.
"Holding this conference reflects the fact that we have reached a critical mass of neuroscientists working at ISU and in the region," said Dr. Chris Daniels, director of the ISU Biomedical Research Institute.
Presentations ranged from a study of the effects of the stimulant ephedrine on rats to the behavior of male Puerto Rican frogs.
Conference researchers came from a variety of backgrounds, including biological sciences, pharmaceutical sciences and psychology.
Dr. Leslie Devaud, ISU associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, said the new association promotes collaborative opportunities.
"You can compare what somebody finds out about frogs to what someone else is studying in human cellular systems," said Devaud. "This association is already fostering collaborations and communication that wasn’t present before."

Idaho Firm To Use Patented Spray Technology
(Boise, Idaho) NxEdge, Inc., a firm that specializes in advanced engineered coatings, precision manufacturing and revitalization, has licensed a coating technology for semiconductor customers in the U.S. and Europe.
NxEdge licensed the "Y203" technology from Tokyo Electron Limited. The ceramic coating extends chamber life and minimizes particulates, which improves device yields.
"Long term, we expect to see a significant increase in overall business as a result of this agreement and are well positioned for growth in our Boise facility," said Tom Schiers, vice president and general manager of NxEdge in Boise.
In addition to thermal plasma spray coatings, NxEdge also provides semiconductor-grade anodization, fluoropolymer coatings, machining, parts refurbishment and other services for leading original equipment manufacturers, original parts manufacturers, and integrated device manufacturers in the industry.
NxEdge, established in 2001, is a privately-held company of portfolio businesses serving global industrial customers in the semiconductor and glass industries.

Blackfin Expands Into Historic Building
(Boise, Idaho) Blackfin Technology is making the move to the historic King Building in downtown Boise.
The software and services company’s steady growth created the need for the nearly 4,000-square-feet space. Renovation is projected to be completed by the end of the year.
"The Idaho Corporate Headquarters Act helped make this project possible, and we appreciate the Legislature’s efforts on behalf of Idaho’s small businesses," said Jefferson Jewell, managing director, Blackfin Technology.

Energy Collaborative Seeks Participants
(Pacific Northwest) The Northwest Energy Technology Collaborative is extending an offer for new energy technology companies in the Pacific Northwest to attend and display their products at upcoming energy technology trade shows.
The collaborative’s objective of sharing its booth with regional companies is to highlight the broad volume of the players involved in the energy sector in the Northwest. The cost will depend on the exhibit fees for each trade show and the minimum/maximum of co-op partners.
The organization is currently looking for interested participants to participate in a regional marketing booth at the third annual "POWER-GEN Renewable Energy" trade show, April 10-11, Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada.
For more information, contact Karen Grieser at 206.543.1226 or [email protected].

Deadline Extended for World’s Best Technologies
The deadline to submit online applications for break-through technology to the World’s Best Technologies Showcase in March has been extended to Dec. 19.
Submissions have already been received from universities and federal labs based in the US, Canada, Germany, Singapore, Spain, Chile, and South Africa. Each is supported by numerous federal R&D grants or private funding and is now poised for venture capital or commercial licensing.
Now in its fourth year, the WBTshowcase offers venture investors and Fortune 500 licensees an opportunity to sample the "best of the best" technologies from universities, federal labs, and private companies from across the country and around the globe. Leveraging a screening panel of over 50 investors and licensing professionals, presenting technologies are selected solely on the merits of their innovation and the specific investment or licensing opportunity. Exhibit space is limited to selected presenting technologies and event sponsors only.
The event will be held March 27-29 at the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.
There is no cost to apply. Visit http://www.wbtshowcase.com for more details.

Read More Idaho Technology News
Miss last month’s Science & Technology newsletter? Find the complete newsletter archives at technology.idaho.gov and click on "news."

Have an Idea/Submission for this Newsletter?
Contact Julie Howard at the Idaho Commerce & Labor’s Office of Science & Technology at (208) 334-2650, ext. 2147, or at [email protected]

2005 Events Calendar
December 8
Kickstand
Boise
Kickstand’s monthly meeting brings together entrepreneurs and innovators. December’s speaker will be Bob Lokken, CEO and founder of ProClarity Corp. The topic is "The Five Dumbest Things I Have Done as an Entrepreneur (That You Don’t Want to Try)"
Group meets 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Ha’Penny in downtown Boise. RSVP requested at kickstand.org.

December 13 – March 28
TechHelp Lean Manufacturing Seminar Series
Boise, Idaho
TechHelp, in association with the University of Idaho, will offer several Principles of Lean Manufacturing workshops in Boise during December and January. The Lean Principles Workshop is the foundation course for the entire six-course Lean Certificate Series that will be offered in Boise during January through March. Details are available at http://www.techelp.org.

January 9, 2006
Idaho State Legislature Convenes
Boise, Idaho
The Idaho State Legislature convenes for its 2006 session.

January 12
Annual Technology Legislative Luncheon
Boise, Idaho
Christine King, President & CEO of AMI Semiconductor, Inc. will give keynote remarks at the Chamber’s Annual Legislative Forum. The luncheon event will be held 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at Boise Centre on the Grove.
The Chamber’s Annual Legislative Forum is the main opportunity for the business community to welcome members of the State Legislature to Boise. Register online at boisechamber.org, email [email protected], or call (208) 472-5237.

January 31- April 18
PE Review – Engineering
Boise, Idaho
PE Review Course for civil and mechanical engineering track helps engineers prepare for the PE exam. (Next PE exam in Idaho is April 21.) Course is 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday evenings. $600 per track. Register by emailing [email protected] or call (208) 364-6188.

February 4
Discover Engineering
Boise, Idaho
Free family day at Boise State University College of Engineering. Event will feature free workshops and displays.

February-June
Six Sigma Belt Courses
Boise, Idaho
Green belt and black belt certification programs offered throughout the spring. Instruction provided by ETI Group of Bellevue, Wash. For registration or information, email [email protected] or call (208) 364-6188.

February 20-25
National Engineering Week
Statewide
Events statewide.

For more calendar information, visit Conferences and Events at cl.idaho.gov

"We Create Jobs, Strengthen Communities and Market Idaho."

IDAHO COMMERCE & LABOR
PO Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720-0093
Tel: 208-334-2470; Fax: 208-334-2631
Web: cl.idaho.gov
06-62000-250

DIRK KEMPTHORNE, GOVERNOR
ROGER B. MADSEN, DIRECTOR
KARL TUELLER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR & OST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Idaho Commerce & Labor is an equal opportunity employer.
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