| NEWS & IDEAS |
February/March 1998
COMMUNICATION:
Type, Don't Talk: E-Mail Is Intimate
INTEGRATED ELECTRONICS:
Copper Not Enough for Faster Chips
COMPUTER SIMULATION:
Safer, More Efficient Reactors
LIGHTING RESEARCH:
More Light Can = More Productivity
SPACE EXPLORATION:
Paving the Way for Manned Flight
DISCONTINUOUS INNOVATION:
How To Create Radical New Products
COMMUNICATION:
Type, Don't Talk: E-Mail Is Intimate
"Users can achieve more intimacy on line than they commonly do face-to-face," according to research by Joseph Walther, associate professor of language, literature, and communication at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Communicating using e-mail, or what Walther terms "hyperpersonal communication," can be more gratifying and intimate. A "bad hair day" or mismatched socks won't affect an e-mail conversation.
Walther has conducted and published formal studies with teams of students across the globe to answer such computer-era questions as, "How do we form relationships with each other when we're invisible, communicating via computer?" He is also the editor of The Journal of On-Line Behavior.
E-mail operates without body language cues such as shrugs and smiles, or smirks and frowns that might create barriers to communication, Walther says.
"Communication isn't always about efficiency. It's sometimes about identity and 'Who do I want you to think I am?' When e-mail and language are the only tools you have for communication, you can project yourself in whatever way you desire, with greater flexibility," Walther says.
Contact: Joseph Walther (518) 276-2557, walthj@rpi.edu
INTEGRATED ELECTRONICS:
Copper Not Enough for Faster Chips
While copper wiring on computer chips can speed messages between devices, better insulating materials also are needed, according to Shyam P. Murarka, director of the Center for Advanced Interconnect Science and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The insulating materials being considered and the methods being used to study them are described in an invited paper Murarka delivered Feb. 16 at the Dielectrics for ULSI Multilevel Interconnection Conference in Santa Clara, Calif.
Industry seeks to improve the performance of semiconductor circuits by reducing minimum feature size and by building larger, multifunctional chips, Murarka said. For this evolution to continue, interconnects, the system of wiring and insulation that carries messages between devices, must be improved.
Interconnect performance depends on two electrical properties, the resistance of the wiring and the dielectric capacitance of the insulating materials that surround the wiring. Replacing aluminum wiring with copper will lower resistance. At the same time, researchers are putting considerable effort into finding acceptable insulating materials with a lower dielectric constant (K) than silicon dioxide, the material commonly used now. A variety of polymers, aerogels, and xerogels is being investigated.
It is not enough, however, for these materials to be low-K, Murarka explained. The materials must be studied carefully to see if they have the characteristics to survive the manufacturing process and to function well on a chip. Thermal and mechanical stability, moisture uptake, electrical dielectric breakdown strength, and compatibility with the metal and the processing conditions are all important.
Contact:Shyam Murarka (518) 276-2978, smurarka@unix.cie.rpi.edu
COMPUTER SIMULATION
Safer, More Efficient Reactors
Improved computational techniques and improved understanding of basic science are making it possible to create new computer simulations for nuclear reactors and other complex "multiphase" systems that should improve efficiency and safety and save millions of dollars, according to Michael Z. Podowski of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
In a keynote lecture at the 8th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics in Kyoto, Japan, Podowski demonstrated that significant progress has already been made, and he discussed areas where major breakthroughs can be anticipated.
Podowski, professor of environmental and energy engineering, is director of the Center for Multiphase Flow (CMR) at Rensselaer. Multiphase flow describes phenomena involving two phases such as a liquid and a gas. The field developed in response to concerns about nuclear power plant safety, but the understanding that has resulted is applicable to a range of problems including microgravity and space stations, food processing, and environmental engineering.
Many of the computer simulations now used to model the complex flows of boiling water and steam within nuclear reactors are more than 20 years old. They use physically based models and require expensive experiments to obtain data for new correlations for specific designs and operating conditions. Next-generation reactors such as those developed by General Electric and ABB Combustion Engineering and recently licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will require analytical and computational tools that go far beyond the current models and computer codes, Podowski said.
CMR researchers have been leading in the development of new mechanistic models, which are based on numerical, three-dimensional simulations of basic physical events such as the creation and flow of bubbles in the liquid and transfer of heat from wall to liquid.
Contact: Michael Podowski (518) 276-4000, podowm@rpi.edu
LIGHTING RESEARCH
More Light Can = More Productivity
In tests with nurses in neonatal intensive care units, researchers at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have linked higher levels of light with improved performance by night-shift workers.
In cooperation with the University of Notre Dame and Memorial Hospital of South Bend, Ind., the LRC tested 14 day-shift and 14 night-shift nurses. The work was supported by the Swedish National Board for Technical Development.
The four-week study was conducted in the nurses' lounge, located next to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. The windowless lounge is normally lighted with two fluorescent fixtures, which provide 25 to 40 foot candles on the work table. Four table lamps containing metal halide and compact fluorescent lamps were added, raising the light level to more than 200 foot candles. The nurses performed visual tasks with full exposure to the light or wearing dark glasses. The researchers measured the nurses' speed and accuracy on the hospital's standard Dosage Calculation Test under various lighting conditions, measured their body temperature, and asked them to fill out questionnaires on their emotional state.
The bright light had a strong positive effect on the night-shift nurses, but less effect on those on the day shift, said Mariana Figueiro, who conducted the study for her graduate thesis, with Mark Rea, LRC director, as her adviser. Night-shift nurses also reported to a greater degree that they were more awake and more motivated when exposed to the brighter light. Increased sense of well-being in the night-shift nurses was correlated to higher body temperature. She concluded that the bright light shifted the nurses' circadian rhythms. In addition, bright light served as a brief stimulant to improve performance.
The LRC is conducting further tests this winter to assess the effect of seasonal affective disorder, and to collect more data on the effects of light on alertness and performance.
Contact: Mark Rea (518) 276-8701, ream@rpi.edu
SPACE EXPLORATION:
Paving the Way for Manned Flight
The International Space Station will offer a valuable laboratory for developing the science needed for prolonged human habitation on the Moon or for a journey to Mars, according to Martin E. Glicksman, the John Tod Horton Professor of Materials Engineering at Rensselaer. Glicksman chaired the Committee on Microgravity Research, which was commissioned by the Space Studies Board of the National Research Council to review what scientific issues must be resolved for manned space exploration.
The committee concluded that a broad program of microgravity research is needed for NASA to reach its space exploration goals, said Glicksman, a member of the National Academy of Engineers, who has been principle investigator for three successful shuttle experiments. He is now funded by NASA to prepare future space research.
The problems are complicated, Glicksman said, by the length of the proposed journeys. Recycling or processing of local materials will be needed to produce water, oxygen, and energy, because it won't be possible to carry enough for a six- to nine-month trip. Every system will have to operate flawlessly for months or years.
More information is needed about the effects of microgravity on cells and tissues. Even short-term exposure causes loss of muscle mass, reduction of bone density, fluid shift to the upper body, and diminished immune responses. More biotechnology research also is needed for successful plant culture.
Research in fundamental physics is relevant to development of navigational systems for deep-space travel. One example is the need for microgravity atomic clocks. Combustion research must continue to develop information on fire safety.
Glicksman said most scientific knowledge was developed on Earth, where almost all physical processes are profoundly affected by gravity. In the microgravity of space or the reduced gravity of the moon or Mars, the basic rules change. Processes that will be affected include storage and circulation systems for liquids and gases, heating and cooling systems, and supply systems such as those used for the distillation of drinking water.
The International Space Station will make it possible to do the long-term tests needed to design and build reliable systems, he said. Twenty years of microgravity research has begun to provide answers, but much more must be done.
Contact: Martin E. Glicksman (518) 276-6721, glickm@rpi.edu
DISCONTINUOUS INNOVATION:
How To Create Radical New Products
The continual improvement of existing products is important for short-term success, but totally new, "game-changing" goods and services are needed if a company is to remain competitive over the long haul.
That means turning out products that have new-to-the-world features or perform up to 10 times better than anything now on the market, say researchers at Rensselaer's Lally School of Management and Technology. The Lally team is completing a three-year study of management practices behind such radically new products as GM's hybrid vehicle, IBM's silicon germanium devices, and the Otis multi-directional elevator.
"Radical innovation is an unnatural act," said assistant professor Gina O'Connor. "Highly touted principles that work in managing incremental improvement won't produce radically new products and services."
The secrets?
Listen to your R&D people. Listening to customers can improve current products but rarely generates ideas for radically new products.
Radical innovation is risky, takes time, and drains resources. Senior management must be committed to making it happen.
Traditional market analysis doesn't work with radical innovation. Don't try to predict sales figures. Look at how the innovation will affect people, products, and the way things are done.
One thing remains the same in managing both discontinuous innovation and continuous improvement: The proposal must fit the company's strategic focus. Creating new-to-the-company products for new-to-the-company markets is fraught with danger, say the Lally researchers.
Contact: Gina O'Connor 518-276-6842, oconng@rpi.edu
