In a study he conducted for NASA, Brad Edwards projected a space elevator would cost $10 billion to build. But it could reduce the cost of getting a payload into a geostationary orbit to $200 per kilogram from $20,000 per kilogram.
The former director of the Institute for Scientific Research in Fairmont, W.V., will discuss his thoughts on the subject in a keynote address in April at the 5th annual Opportunity Banquet sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers chapter for northeast Indiana.
The Opportunity Banquet has been supported generously by area businesses for four years as a way to bring companies together with IPFW engineering, technology and computer science students interested in mingling with potential employers.
The event will take place from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. April 4 in the Walb Student Union Ballroom at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Beginning with an informal mixer in a job fair environment at 4:30 p.m., the dinner will follow with Edwards presenting “Extreme Engineering: The Space Elevator” at 6:30 p.m.
Edwards has contributed to the design and construction of what could become the first space elevator model. Recognized as the father of the modern space elevator and leader of this effort, he has brought the concept from science fiction to the verge of reality.
Edwards served at the Institute for Scientific Research after spending 11 years on the staff of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, leading advanced technology efforts for lunar missions and a Europa orbiter mission.
Since then he has founded Carbon Designs in Dallas, which is developing high-strength materials for a range of applications, from aerospace structures to sports and recreational products.
The space elevator concept originally called for a superstrong, lightweight cable to stretch 100,000 kilometers from an anchor on the Earth’s surface to a counterweight in space — with enough mass for inertia to counter gravitational forces.
The Edwards study suggests building a flexible ribbon, just 1 meter wide and thinner than paper, made of carbon-nanotube composite fibers arranged in long strands, cross-braced to evenly redistribute the load if a strand were cut. Roomy elevator cars powered by electricity would speed along the ribbon.
Edwards said he sought an elevator design NASA could build soon that could lift 1,500 tons annually, or 10 times as much mass as the United States now launches into space in a typical year.
The NASA-funded study said a space elevator could set the stage for the large-scale and sustained exploration and colonization of the planets and begin to exploit solar power in a way that could significantly brighten the world’s dimming energy outlook.
For more information on the Opportunity Banquet, or to register for it, contact Elizabeth Thompson, IPFW associate professor of electrical engineering, at 481-6361.
Verizon Wireless wins
in U.S. airwave auction
Verizon Wireless beat out Google to win the biggest block of airwaves in a U.S. government auction, spending $4.74 billion and agreeing to rules that will open its network to an unprecedented degree.
Verizon Wireless is co-owned by Verizon Communications, which provides local phone, subscription television and broadband services in the Fort Wayne area.
Verizon cast the winning bid for a 49-state spectrum swath called the C-block, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said. Verizon must let any legal device or program run on the airwaves, breaking a phone-company tradition of limiting the products they support.
The auction of 1,099 licenses ran for almost two months and raised $19.6 billion, making it the most lucrative U.S. airwaves sale in history. More than 80 percent of the proceeds came from AT&T and Verizon, the two biggest U.S. wireless carriers.
Revenue from the auction, which was subject to anonymous bidding rules, exceeded most analysts’ projections and topped the government’s estimate of as much as $15 billion.
Verizon spent $9.36 billion for 109 licenses, including 25 in a segment of airwaves called the A-block. AT&T pledged $6.64 billion for 227 licenses, the FCC said. The airwaves will become available when television broadcasters switch to digital signals next February.
AT&T and Verizon battled Google and 211 other bidders for airwaves that will speed up Internet access on phones, spurring services such as music and video downloads.
AT&T’s sales of wireless data jumped 58 percent last quarter, and accounted for about one-fifth of overall wireless-service sales. Verizon’s customers spent an average of $11.06 a month on data, more than one-fifth of their bills.
Applications available for
pre-engineering academy
Indiana Tech is taking applications for a pre-engineering academy it offers area high school students each summer.
The academy is designed to give students entering their junior and senior years of high school the opportunity to taste life as college students. The program will be taught by Indiana Tech professors and include classroom and hands-on lab experiences.
Topics covered at the academy will include engineering design concepts, software tools, physics, chemistry, technical writing, applied mathematics, project management and team-building skills.
At the end of the three-week program, students will take a proficiency exam and could earn six college credits. Participating students will live on campus from June 15 through July 3. For more information, call 1-800-937-2448 or 1-260-422-5561 ext. 2307 or visit
www.IndianaTech.edu.
Copyright infringement
reduced at Ball State
A ban on peer-to-peer file sharing has helped minimize instances of music copyright infringement at Ball State University.
Since September 2006, Ball State has received just three copyright infringement notices from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Officials with the university say that number is dramatically lower than figures from other Indiana schools, including Purdue University, which received more than 1,000 notices between September 2006 and February 2007.
“This seems to be a widespread problem on college campuses around the country,” said Loren Malm, interim assistant vice president for information technology at Ball State.
“In order to help alleviate the problem here, we’ve established a three-tiered approach that focuses on prevention, education and offering alternatives — and the numbers prove it’s working.”
A large part of Ball State’s success comes from the fact that it does not permit the use of peer-to-peer file-sharing, Malm said.
In addition, a “copyright for students” page on the university’s Web site (www.bsu.edu/library/collections/copyright/students) outlines copyright laws and provides links to royalty free digital content.
Ball State also subscribes to Ruckus, an online music service, and makes it available to students at no cost.
If you have items of interest for the technology column, which appears every other week, please contact Doug LeDuc by e-mail at
dougl@fwbusiness.com, by phone at (260) 426-2640 x309 or by mail at Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 826 Ewing St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802.
