Computer chips and the products that contain them continue to shrink. And the application of Nanotechnology may further shrink these devices. Scientists are busy developing computer chips that are driven by light pulses rather than electrons. Nano advances should significantly increase chip processing speed while reducing energy use.

An old adage in the construction trade is when you can't build out, build up. The same philosophy has now been applied to computer storage. Researchers have created a technique for storing data in three dimensions using light and a glass substrate. The approach promises a quantum leap in storage capability. Software engineers will undoubtedly find some way to fill up the extra space.

With engineers frequently swapping CAD files on design projects, it's important to distinguish history-based models — where the order in which you add features makes a difference — from nonhistory-based models. A recent Cadalyst article discusses software tools, such as Kubotek's KeyCreator, which allow changes to geometry, no matter how it was originally created. Other hybrid programs like CoCreate's OneSpace, though nonhistory based, also give you the flexibility to make parametric-like changes to models.

Experts tout the amazing features of leading-edge 3D CAD packages, but learning those sophisticated tools — and paying for them — still intimidates many companies. Panelists from leading CAD companies, featured in NASA Tech Briefs, discuss barriers that block adoption of 3D modeling. One of the biggest hurdles, fear of losing legacy 2D drawings, has eased substantially with better DWG interoperability. Yet another expert notes that modeling in 3D requires a different cognitive process, much like sculpting. What's your view? Are the payoffs of 3D worth the pain?

Technicians relied heavily on Autodesk's Maya and MotionBuilder packages to shape hundreds of 3D animation and visual effects shots for the smash hit, Beowulf. Autodesk customized the Maya interface so a wider range of stereoscopic controls could be manipulated with the animation package. MotionBuilder allowed visual effects staff to take the best parts of each live take, combine them, and then perform final editing for one perfect take.

Flexible circuits utilizing organic semiconductors have previously been developed, but performance was lacking in terms of computing speed. Now researchers have shown that flexible, high-performance silicon circuits that can be bent, folded, and stretched can deliver properties equivalent to those on rigid wafers. The breakthrough enables stretchable complex circuits. Potential applications range from implantable medical devices to wearable computers.

One barrier that keeps organic LEDs from taking over the market is that it is difficult to manufacture OLEDs that are small enough for high-resolution displays. But a research group at Purdue may have solved that problem, using novel circuitry based on Nano-sized wires. They demonstrated an organic LED display that uses nanowires to provide the thin film transistors necessary for an active-matrix display. They made OLEDS the right size for commercial displays, about 176 by 54 microns. Also, the Nanowire circuitry can be made at organic-friendly low temperatures, and the process should be scalable.

Despite more than 50 years of engineering management, principles, government recommendations, and expert opinions, software development remains part computer science and part Black Art. Bug-free software in particular remains nothing more than a pipe dream. Fortunately, help is at hand — from other pieces of software. This article from The Economist's Technology Quarterly examines these new tools that help human engineers to write the programs as well as find the bugs.

Increasingly, engineers want to pursue more education, but which way to go: an MBA or a Master's in Engineering? In Mechanical Engineering, engineer and career consultant Kevin Kuznia tackles the benefits and expectations of each path. People skills and financial savvy from MBA programs have propelled many engineers into management, notes Kuznia. Engineering master's programs, on the other hand, can build skills in systems design and analysis that are highly prized at many companies.

Technology: Not as Green as You Think

If you accept global warming as something you want to avoid, you'd better look more closely at the technologies that we take for granted in our personal and professional lives. All those computers, printers, disk drives, and other electronic products consume a lot of energy, and their carbon footprint proves far larger than most people realize. This column from BBC News examines the problem and describes a few of the steps that might help to improve the situation. Unfortunately, implementing them will likely turn out more difficult than rolling a boulder uphill — with your nose.

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Laptop and Cell Phone Combos – How necessary?

New devices on the market "split the difference between laptop and phone." Are they really necessary?