2007 Northeast Regional Award Winners Honored

The Northeast Region recently presented its annual awards honoring individuals and laboratories for outstanding achievements in technology transfer. The award winners were recognized at a ceremony during the 2007 regional meeting in Natick, Massachusetts. Read more

Homeland Security Technology Focus of NE Region Meeting

The Northeast Region held its latest meeting September 24-26 in Natick, Massachusetts. Themed "Homeland Security Technologies from Northeast Labs," the three-day meeting was attended by technology transfer professionals from government, industry, and academia. Read more

Governor Patrick visits SSC

On June 15, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick visited the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center (SSC) to receive an overview and learn about the work done there. The governor was briefed on a number of topics, including body armor advances; uniform design and collaboration between the Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard and Special Operation Forces; Department of Defense combat feeding; and the collaboration with Massachusetts State Police on the Law Enforcement Advanced Protection System. Read more

Zinc Transporter Protein Structure Deciphered

Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have deciphered the atomic-level structure of a cell-membrane protein that regulates the movement of zinc ions into and out of cells. Details of the structure may help scientists better understand the crucial role zinc plays in many biological processes, from nerve cell communication to insulin regulation. The research was published online by the journal Science on August 23, 2007. Read more

USARIEM Researchers Test WPSM Capabilities During Training Exercises

Researchers from the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) in Natick, Massachusetts, recently got a chance to test one of the products they have been working on in an exercise scenario. The Warfighter Physiological Status Monitor (WPSM) lets an observer view heart rate, respiration and core temperature from a remote location. Although intended for medical personnel to monitor the critical vital signs of warfighters on the battlefield or in training, it also has other uses. Read more

Volpe Continues Railroad Tank Car Structural Integrity Research

The Volpe Center, Dow Chemical Company, Union Pacific Railroad, and the Union Tank Car Company are collaborating on a high priority, fast-track effort to improve the safety of railroad tank cars carrying hazardous materials (HAZMAT). The objective of this joint government/industry effort, called the Next-Generation Rail Tank Car (NGRTC) Project, is to design a rail tank car that will meet or exceed performance requirements while improving safety and security. This includes full-scale impact tests to evaluate the crashworthiness of rail tank cars under accident loading conditions. Read more