News

Idaho Office of Science & Technology September 2007

In this issue:

# NanoSteel Named One of 15 ‘Companies to Watch’

# Micron Advances 3G Video-Phone Calling

# Passion for Business Leads to Entrepreneurial Success

# 2nd Annual Idaho Innovation Awards Luncheon Set

# Grant Enhances ISU Research Capabilities

# ISU Wind Erosion Study May Help on Battlefields

# International Isotopes Signs Contract

# Washington Group Awarded China Nuclear Consulting Contract

# NitroSecurity Files for IPO

# NightHawk Radiology Seeks Customer Reviews

# Contract Awarded for Hoku Solar Plant

# Washington Group Adds $2.5 Billion to Chemical Weapons Contract

# Vistature Partners With PriceMyLoan

# MobileDataforce Named Microsoft Certified Partner

# Crucial Unveils Redesigned Web Site

# DocuTech Adds Upgrade to Mortgage Software

# Documentaries Focus on High-Tech Endeavors

# Ideas Innovations Idaho License Plates For Sale

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NanoSteel Named One of 15 ‘Companies to Watch’

(Idaho Falls) The NanoSteel Company, with research and development based in Idaho Falls, is one of 15 winners in Advanced Materials & Processes magazine’s "Companies to Watch in Materials Science and Engineering."
The competition recognizes contributors to innovation in the materials industry and an article appeared in the July 2007 issue.
NanoSteel was selected because of its patented Super Hard Steel iron-based alloy technology, the cornerstone of the company’s thermal spray and weld overlay coating products. The products mitigate wear and corrosion in general industry.
"Recognition as an innovative company by AM&P magazine is a high honor for NanoSteel," says Dave Paratore, president/CEO. "We are proud to be recognized for our efforts in advancing the technology and practical applications of iron-based alloys and continue to focus on using this technology to solve customer issues related to extending component life cycles."
More information is at nanosteelco.com.

Micron Advances 3G Video-Phone Calling

(Boise) Micron Technology has designed a receiver interface into one of its new mobile imaging sensors, helping to advance 3G video-phone calling.
The receiver allows for the image signal processor embedded in the sensor for the primary camera to be repurposed as the ISP engine for the secondary camera, reducing the second camera’s cost. Secondary cameras are gaining popularity as a key design feature in today’s handsets, allowing for 3G video-phone calling within designated networks.
The first sensor to feature the MIPI receiver is the recently announced 1/4-inch, 3-megapixel complete camera system-on-chip sensor (product number MT9T111). The sensor also features an industry-leading anti-shake capability, greatly reducing image blurring often found in camera phone pictures due to camera shake.
Micron manufactures and markets DRAMs, NAND flash memory, CMOS image sensors, other semiconductor components, and memory modules for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, and mobile products. More information is at micron.com.

Passion for Business Leads to Entrepreneurial Success

(Moscow) Scott Falconer and J.R. Pelkola shared the vision of blending passion and business into entrepreneur opportunities. Newly minted graduates of the University of Idaho, their mutual dream has been realized after getting a jump-start from the university’s entrepreneurship program, Vandal Innovation and Enterprise Works.
Falconer, who received a degree in psychology, and Pelkola, who earned a sociology degree, joined a team of innovators last year that started an online business directed to young travelers. The team won the 2007 VIEW annual business competition, earning a $5,000 first-place award, as well as additional funding from a venture capitalist. Now they are operating their e-commerce business, GoSleepGo.com, in Seattle. The travel Web site caters to voyagers searching for moment-to-moment activities around the world.
VIEW is a universitywide program that focuses on entrepreneurial learning, performance and commercialization. Its capstone project is an annual business plan competition, which combines multidisciplinary effort with entrepreneurial vision to create viable business plans and teach students how to promote a potentially successful business in the real world.
"Our involvement in the VIEW Business Plan Competition led us to our initial investors and enabled the formation of a board of advisors that holds many years of experience relating to the technology field and start-ups," said Falconer.
For the new academic year, VIEW will offer two entrepreneurial tracks – an innovative venture track and a social entrepreneurship track.
For more information, go to uidaho.edu.

2nd Annual Idaho Innovation Awards Luncheon Set

(Boise) Idaho’s top innovations for 2007 will be named at the 2nd Annual Stoel Rives Idaho Innovation Awards luncheon on Oct. 2 in Boise.
Winners and the top finalists in each of several categories will be recognized. Nominations were received from around the state.
Cost is $30 per person or $300 for a table of 10. The program runs noon to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 2 at the Boise Centre on the Grove.
Register by visiting http://www.stoel.com/idahoinnovations by Tuesday, Sept. 25.
For more information, please contact Tammie Brennan at (208) 387-4244.

Grant Enhances ISU Research Capabilities

(Pocatello) A $587,410 grant from the National Science Foundation will allow Idaho State University to build a new laboratory equipped with sophisticated measuring instruments. This will allow researchers from many disciplines to complete a myriad of new analyses that before ISU would have had to contract out.
The grant allows ISU to purchase mass spectrometers and to set up a new laboratory in the Pocatello Business Park.
The creation of this laboratory is an important step for ISU, said Larry Ford, PhD, interim ISU chief research officer. Ford said the instruments should allow ISU to be more competitive when applying for new grants.
Mass spectrometers are used to examine the elemental composition of rocks, soils, plants, minerals, bones, water and a broad spectrum of other items. Researchers in the biological sciences, anthropology, geology, chemistry, ecology and other disciplines will use the equipment in a broad range of applications.
A spectrometer can be used to examine minute amounts of elements, down to ratios of one part to trillions.
The spectrometers detect the ratios of the different isotopes of an element. Isotopes are molecules of an element, such as carbon, that vary in terms of the number of neutrons they have, but not electrons.
The laboratory is expected to be running by spring semester 2008. The ISU anthropology and biological sciences departments have each been able to attract and hire new faculty members who are experts in using the mass spectrometer.

ISU Wind Erosion Study May Help on Battlefields

(Pocatello) Idaho State University researchers have received a $360,515 grant from the Defense Department to study wind erosion and its effects on the environment.
Wind is a major concern on the battlefields of the Middle East where blowing sand and dust can impede visibility or lead to the transport of bacteria in soil.
"Three out of every four helicopter crashes in Iraq and Afghanistan are caused by helicopter brownout – where the rotors stir up dirt making visibility impossible," says project director and ISU-Boise geosciences associate research professor Nancy Glenn.
Glenn said the semiarid landscape of Southern Idaho is similar to the fragile, desert terrain of the Middle East, making Idaho an ideal location to conduct the research. She and her team will use remote-sensing technology – including light-detecting cameras attached to aircraft – to analyze Idaho’s soil, vegetation and topography without disturbing the Earth’s surface.
"It’s like taking a DNA fingerprint of soil or vegetation," she said.
On the ground, colleague and associate ecology professor Matt Germino will measure the rate at which soil is lost or re-deposited and why. Is it due to climate, moisture or vegetation cover?
The first area researchers will study is the Crystal Fire area north of American Falls Reservoir.
Glenn and her team hope to develop a model capable of predicting wind erosion and identifying the speed at which soil particles become airborne — a key to helping soldiers control dust on the battlefield or minimize damage to the landscape during training exercises.
That same model could be used to improve Idaho’s air quality, reduce traffic hazards caused by dust storms, and assist the Bureau of Land Management with re-vegetation efforts, said Glenn.
For more information, contact Nancy Glenn, 208-345-1994 or e-mail [email protected]

International Isotopes Signs Contract

(Idaho Falls) International Isotopes Inc. has entered into an agreement with Alpha Omega Services to be their exclusive worldwide distributor for a new family of Type B radioactive material transportation containers.
The containers will be the newest Type B package designed in the United States and will meet all of the most current International Atomic Energy regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material. The containers are intended to replace dozens of models of radioactive material containers currently used by U.S. government and commercial interests that will no longer be approved for use in the U.S. after Oct. 1, 2008.
The containers will be offered in a range of sizes and capacities that will permit them to meet a wide range of applications including transportation of radioisotopes, activated materials, and even irradiated fuel. The companies will be presenting the container at the Global Nuclear 2007 conference in Boise, Sept. 10-12 and at the PATRAM conference in Miami, Oct. 22-25.
International Isotopes Inc. manufactures a full range of nuclear medicine calibration and reference standards, high purity fluoride gases, and a variety of cobalt-60 products such as teletherapy sources. The company also provides a wide selection of radioisotopes and radiochemicals for medical devices, calibration, clinical research, life sciences, and industrial applications and provides a host of analytical, measurement, recycling, and processing services on a contract basis to clients.

Washington Group Awarded China Nuclear Consulting Contract

(Boise) Washington Group International has been selected by Nuclear Power Qinshan Joint Venture Co. to provide project management consulting services related to its nuclear power activities in China. NPQJVC owns and operates two commercial 650-megawatt pressurized water reactors in Zhejiang Province, China. In addition, the group is constructing two additional 650-megawatt units at the same site.
NPQJVC was formed in 1996 to construct and manage power generation business with nuclear technology.
Washington Group International provides services addressing the full nuclear life cycle including providing licensing, engineering, design, procurement, construction, startup, maintenance and modification, decommissioning, and waste storage services for nuclear power. Washington Group has provided services to virtually every U.S. nuclear power plant and is the engineer or constructor of record for 49 nuclear units worldwide.
The firm is headquartered in Boise.

NitroSecurity Files for IPO

(New Hampshire, Idaho Falls) NitroSecurity Inc., with research and development offices in Idaho Falls, has filed a proposed initial public offering of its stock.
The firm, based in Portsmouth, N.H., makes enterprise-grade network intrusion prevention software. The company expects to use proceeds to expand its sales and marketing activities as well as its research and technology development.
The firm was founded in 1994.

NightHawk Radiology Seeks Customer Reviews

(Coeur d’Alene) To learn what its customers think about its teleradiology services, NightHawk Radiology Services commissioned J.D. Power and Associates to administer customer satisfaction surveys.
"This study provides us with a comprehensive source of information about radiologists’ needs in an industry that is undergoing major change," said NightHawk Radiology founder and CEO Paul Berger, M.D.
Study results explore how radiologist customers perceive the quality of professional radiology services they receive from NightHawk and what determines their satisfaction. The results highlight opportunities for improvement in services, prioritized by those that are most important to
radiologists. The study also provides insights into how NightHawk’s services compare to others in the industry, along with an assessment of the overall value of its teleradiology services. Finally, the study reveals radiologists’ thinking about the industry’s hot topics.
NightHawk Radiology provides high-quality, cost-effective services to radiology groups and hospitals throughout the United States. NightHawk’s team of U.S. board-certified, state-licensed, and hospital-privileged physicians located in the United States, Australia, and Switzerland, provides services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for more than 700 radiology group customers and the 24 percent of all U.S. hospitals they serve.
For more information, go to http://www.nighthawkrad.com

Contract Awarded for Hoku Solar Plant

(Pocatello) The Shaw Group Inc. of Louisiana has announced that its Energy & Chemicals Group has been awarded a contract to perform engineering, procurement and construction management services for a 2,000 metric ton-per-year polysilicon manufacturing plant in Pocatello, Idaho.
The contract is with Hoku Materials, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc., which was established to manufacture and sell polysilicon for the solar market. The total installed cost target of the project, scheduled for completion in May 2009, is $260 million.
Hoku Scientific is a diversified clean energy technologies company with three business units: Hoku Materials, Hoku Solar and Hoku Fuel Cells. Hoku Materials plans to manufacture, market and sell polysilicon for the solar market from its plant currently under construction in Pocatello, Idaho. Hoku Solar is marketing and plans to install turnkey photovoltaic systems in Hawaii. Hoku Fuel Cells has developed proprietary fuel cell membranes and membrane electrode assemblies for stationary and automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cells. For more information, visit http://www.hokuscientific.com.

Washington Group Adds $2.5 Billion to Chemical Weapons Contract

(Boise) Washington Group International announced that negotiations with the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency have been completed for additions to Washington Group’s contracts at three U.S. chemical weapons demilitarization plants, with the value of the modifications totaling approximately $2.5 billion.
The contracts call for Washington Group to continue to destroy chemical warfare agent and weapons and to also close down operations and related facilities in Anniston, Ala., Umatilla, Ore., and Pine Bluff, Ark. The contract modifications are targeted at maximizing agent and weapons destruction by April 2012, with the closure of facilities to follow.
Washington Group has been performing chemical demilitarization operations in Anniston, Umatilla, and Pine Bluff for several years, successfully destroying more than 432,000 rockets, mortars, projectiles, landmines, and bulk containers of chemical agent and nearly 2,139 tons of chemical warfare material.
Washington Group is also on the team that will manage operations at neutralization-based chemical demilitarization plants in Pueblo, Colo., and Blue Grass, Ky. The United States came under the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention in April 1997. The treaty includes a destruction schedule for chemical weapons stockpiles and a system of regular inspections.

Vistature Partners With PriceMyLoan

(Idaho Falls) Vistature, a provider of data workflow interfaces for the financial industry, and PriceMyLoan, an automated underwriting and loan pricing technology company, have partnered to develop integrations of PriceMyLoan to various loan origination systems and third-party systems.
The Vistature integration takes advantage of service-oriented architecture technology to offer lenders a solution for the seamless transfer of PriceMyLoan data into existing LOS.
PML is an advanced automated underwriting and loan pricing system designed specifically for correspondent lenders. The web-based, private-label system generates highly-accurate loan eligibility and pricing results for conventional, Alt-A and non-prime loan products. Originators can upload loan file and credit data into PML.
The Vistature integration allows lenders to embed PML into their existing systems without having to endure manual import and export of data, a cumbersome and error-prone process.
Vistature Technologies Inc., founded in 2003, has created a variety of products and services to enhance business workflow and streamline operations for mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers.

MobileDataforce Named Microsoft Certified Partner

(Boise) MobileDataforce, a provider of mobile software applications for small and medium businesses, has earned certified status in Microsoft’s Partner Program, which recognizes MobileDataforce’s expertise and impact in the technology marketplace.
As a certified partner, the firm has demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and proven ability to meet customer needs. Microsoft Certified Partners receive a rich set of benefits, including access, training and support that give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
In addition to achieving certified status, MobileDataforce has declared the ISV/Software Solutions Competency. Microsoft Competencies are designed to help differentiate a partner’s capabilities with specific Microsoft technologies to customers looking for a particular type of solution. Each competency has a unique set of requirements and benefits, formulated to accurately represent the specific skills and services that partners bring to the technology industry.
The ISV/Software Solutions Competency recognizes the skill and focus partners bring to a particular solution set. Microsoft Certified Partners that have obtained this competency have a successful record of developing and marketing packaged software based on Microsoft technologies. More information is at mobiledataforce.com.

Crucial Unveils Redesigned Web Site

(Meridian) Crucial Technology has launched a redesigned Web site, located at crucial.com, crucial.com/uk, and crucial.com/eu. The new Crucial.com site offers customers improved functionality, more robust online tools, and an expedited order process.
The firm offers over 240,000 memory upgrades for more than 30,000 desktops, notebooks, servers, printers, routers, and other electronic devices.
The Crucial Memory Advisor tool, which takes the guesswork out of finding compatible memory upgrade options, now allows users to select their system’s manufacturer, product line, and model on a single page making it even easier for customers to find 100 percent-compatible memory upgrades. Additionally, a simplified order process saves customers valuable time during checkout.
Demand for Crucial upgrades has grown rapidly since the the company’s launch more than 10 years ago, and it has continued to expand its product line to include a variety of other products. Crucial’s consistent growth culminated in 2007, when its operations were combined with those of leading NAND flash provider, Lexar Media. Together, Lexar and Crucial deliver customers a wider range of products through an increased number of sales channels.
Crucial Technology and Lexar Media are subsidiaries of Micron Technology, based in Boise.

DocuTech Adds Upgrade to Mortgage Software

(Idaho Falls) DocuTech Corporation, a provider of mortgage documents and compliance technology for the mortgage industry, has released ConformX 3.10, which adds a new process for managing prepayment penalty configurations.
The upgrade manages more than 500 prepayment penalty configurations through an intuitive, direct interface with loan origination systems.
The addition of prepayment penalty compliance to ConformX will allow users to have updated prepayment penalties automatically added to the loan. Traditionally a difficult component to manage, prepayment penalties have been simplified with ConformX 3.10. It includes more than 500 prepayment configurations that meet all federal, state and investor requirements. A rules engine simplifies the management of the configurations by presenting the applicable configurations within the LOS.
In addition to the new prepayment penalty component, ConformX 3.10 offers a Web-based solution that turns any Internet connection into a loan origination or closing office. Automatic calculations and data safeguards ensure that loan documents meet state and vendor requirements. ConformX 3.10 provides print, e-mail and Web-posting options from any remote connection location.
More information is at docutechcorp.com.

Documentaries Focus on High-Tech Endeavors

(Boise) Two Treasure Valley technology projects of wide-ranging scope have been captured on high definition video and are being shown all over the world. Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker Ben Shedd and collaborators WideEye Productions in Boise produced a new video about designing and building the Banner Bank Building, one of the world’s most energy efficient, high performance buildings in their award-winning video "Green is the Color of Money." The team also produced "Behind the Scenes Making of PLEO," an online webisode series featuring Caleb Chung and his UGOBE team which has world-premiered on the Internet around the planet.
The "Green is the Color of Money" documentary tells the story of developer Gary Christensen and his team using integrated design on a private office building which achieved the US Green Building Council’s highest rating, LEED CS Platinum. The building was built for standard costs and its valuation is highly increased because of the extensive energy savings. The DVD, designed as a case study for use throughout the building industry and university classes, features local construction teams and Boise State University LEED students. It recently received a 2007 Best of Show from the Accolade Video competition which noted "the production illustrates the power of a documentary to foster technological change."
The PLEO webisodes – number 4 is now in production – show the many threaded creative design and production of the robotic PLEO project, which is also being developed in large part by local hardware and software experts through the UGOBE company. More is at http://www.pleoworld.com/home/videos.

Ideas Innovations Idaho License Plates For Sale
(Statewide) Specialty license plates that support Idaho’s science and technology industry are for sale through the Idaho Transportation Department.
A portion of the proceeds from each plate sold goes to a fund that is used to develop programs and market the state’s technology sector.
A picture of the license plate, and information on how to purchase one, can be viewed at technology.idaho.gov/license.

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

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."

2007 Events Calendar

September 7
SBIR Seminar
Boise
One-day workshop on the federal Small Business Innovation Research grant program. Participants will learn about the program and how to write a successful proposal. Program is sponsored by the Boise Valley Economic Partnership and the Idaho Office of Science & Technology.
For more information, call Rebecca Winston at (208) 472-5229.

September 18-19
Intermountain Conference on the Environment
Pocatello
The 2007 Intermountain Conference on the Environment will be held at Idaho State University. For information, go to isu.edu/departments/confsvcs/current.htm

September 20-21
Idaho Space Grant Consortium Research Symposium
Moscow
2007 NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium Research Symposium will be held at the University of Idaho. For information regarding the call for abstracts or registration, go to isgc.uidaho.edu/researchsymposium.

October 2
Idaho Innovation Awards Luncheon
Boise
2007 Stoel Rives Idaho Innovation Awards luncheon at the Boise Centre on the Grove. Register at http://www.stoel.com/idahoinnovations.

October 15-16
EPSCoR/SBIR Conference
Maine
Program will feature more than 50 national and regional presenters to assist in the development of research infrastructure in EPSCoR states. Conference highlights will include a focus on the National Science Foundation and USDA SBIR/STTR grants, state small business programs and finding seed and venture funds.
Information is at http://www.umaine.edu/epscor/conference.htm.

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

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

IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
PO Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720-0093
Tel: 208-334-2470; Fax: 208-334-2631
Web: technology.idaho.gov
08-62000-250

C.L. "BUTCH" OTTER, GOVERNOR
JIM ELLICK, DIRECTOR

Idaho Department of Commerce is an equal opportunity employer.
This document is available upon request in alternative formats for individuals with disabilities.
[email protected] • Idaho Department of Commerce

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