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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Oregon State University celebrated a "virtual groundbreaking" in Portland, Ore., recently for their new Microproducts Breakthrough Institute.
The institute will advance the science of microtechnology, provide educational opportunities through OSU and promote regional development by commercializing new products. "We're not working on technologies that are 20 years away from deployment," said Ron Adams, dean of the OSU College of Engineering. "Our goal is to develop breakthrough products that lead to new businesses immediately."
Examples of microtechnologies under development include biosensors as small as lapel pins that could detect chemical and biological warfare agents and other environmental toxins like E. coli, and heat-actuated air conditioning units no bigger than a shoebox that would use waste engine heat to cool automobiles.
The institute should help spawn a new industry in the Pacific Northwest based on small, lightweight and more efficient chemical, energy and biological systems for commercial and non-commercial use. Millions of dollars in research, important scientific discoveries, new start-up companies and more jobs for Pacific Northwest residents may soon emerge from this initiative, organizers say.