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Ford applies MuCell microcellular foam technology in Escape instrument panel

Green Car Congress

Ford is applying MuCell microcellular foam technology ( earlier post ) in the instrument panel of the all-new Escape. Invented by MIT, and subsequently acquired by Trexel in 1995, the MuCell process was initially created for development and commercial use in the injection molding industry worldwide.

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MIT researchers develop surface coatings to inhibit buildup of methane hydrates that can block deep-sea oil and gas pipelines

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Researchers at MIT, led by associate professor of mechanical engineering Kripa Varanasi, say they have found a solution, described recently in the RSC journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. The MIT team’s new method would instead use passive coatings on the insides of the pipes that are designed to prevent the hydrates from adhering.

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US DOE awards ~$5M to expand research on methane hydrates

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Managed by the Energy Department’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, the new projects will build on that success by researching alternative methods of extraction and the potential for commercialization, as well as the environmental impact of natural gas extraction from hydrate formations. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

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MIT/Stanford team optimizes shape of Busemann-type supersonic biplane to reduce drag, fuel consumption, and sonic booms

Green Car Congress

For decades, the speed of commercial aircraft was constrained by the sound barrier. At the design condition, the Busemann biplane produces zero wave drag and no sonic boom will escape from the biplane system due to the wave cancellation between two airfoil components. Conceptual drawing of a supersonic biplane in flight.

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50 Years Later, We’re Still Living in the Xerox Alto’s World

Cars That Think

The people who developed the Alto came to Xerox PARC from universities, industrial labs, and commercial ventures, bringing with them diverse experiences and skills. Alan Kay Metcalfe left PARC in 1979 to found 3Com, which, along with other startups, commercialized Ethernet. The two were disciples of J.C.R.

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Xerox Parc’s Engineers on How They Invented the Future—and How Xerox Lost It

Cars That Think

The ideas developed at PARC found their way into a number of commercial products, companies, and publications, shown here as leafy branches. The first personal computer developed in the United States is commonly thought to be the MITS Altair, which sold as a hobbyist’s kit in 1976. But Xerox resisted.

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How Carmakers Are Responding to the Plug-In Hybrid Opportunity

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

This is from "Commercializing Plug-In Hybrids" (pdf), the current CalCars 24-slide presentation about PHEVs available along with other documents at CalCars Downloads. Ford Escape PHEV-40 around 2012. First Escape PHEV delivered to SCE Nov 2007; 20 in 2008-2009. First Escape PHEV delivered to SCE Nov 2007; 20 in 2008-2009.

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