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Orion manufacturing tech firm opens office in India
Orion Township-based Applied Manufacturing Technologies, a supplier of factory automation design, engineering and process consulting services, this week announced the opening of a new office in Bangalore, India. The new office will support the growing Asia-Pacific market as well as AMT’s key United States customers. More.
High-tech tool shop moves to Automation Alley park
Troy-based Seco Tools Inc. said this week it had moved its headquarters from Warren to its new building in the Automation Alley Technology Park on Bellingham in Troy. Seco Tools Inc. is the NAFTA arm of Fagersta, Sweden-based Seco Tools AB, a world leader in metalworking technologies with 2007 revenue of over $1 billion, and 4,662 employees. The facility houses Seco Tools Inc. executive management, product management, administrative, marketing, and sales functions, consisting of about 120 employees with hopes to add 15 more over the next three years. The focal point of the building is the Tech Center, which offers a technologically advanced venue to demonstrate products and applications using state-of-the-art equipment. More.
He's selling solar power -- one street light at a time
 A former manufacturer's representative and stockbroker has found a new calling selling solar electric power -- one light pole at a time. Thomas A. Wither has created the National Adopt-a-Watt Program, www.adoptawatt.com, and he's busily signing up municipalities, airports and other institutions. The idea is simple, and is modeled on the national "Adopt A Highway" program. The program collects donations from businesses, organizations or individuals. The money is used to buy a solar power array for a street light. And the donor's name and logo are displayed on a nice plaque on the street light pole. There are also sponsorable 500-watt solar energy collection arrays that simply feed power to the grid. Among other institutions, the city of Royal Oak and Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport are exploring the concept. More.
THE WORLD IN TECH
Tech awards go to LED headlamps, Michigan firm's airbags, plane de-icer
Camera flashcubes of the 1960s, high-definition TVs and the Nicoderm quit-smoking patch have at least one thing in common: Each found a place over the years on R&D Magazine's annual list of the 100 most technologically significant new products. For 46 years, the Rockaway, N.J.-based publication has bestowed awards to products its editors and outside experts believe represent "quantum leaps of technological improvement." Japan's Koito Manufacturing Co. made the list for its LED car headlights, which use less energy, last longer and produce a light that's brighter and more like daylight. Another automotive winner was the "Adaptive Airbag" from Key Safety Systems Inc. in Sterling Heights. It adjusts how fully car air bags inflate to match the severity of the accident and the weight of the vehicle occupant, potentially reducing air bag injuries. Environmentally safer and less corrosive fluid for clearing ice from airplanes on the runway also hit the list, as did a high-power battery for hybrid-electric cars. More.
Pittsburgh cancer center warns of cell phone risks
The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer. The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don't find a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Herberman is basing his alarm on early unpublished data. He says it takes too long to get answers from science and he believes people should take action now -- especially when it comes to children. More.
Google unveils reference tool after seven-month test
Google Inc. is taking the wraps off an Internet encyclopedia designed to give people a chance to show off -- and profit from -- their expertise on any topic. The service, dubbed "knol" in reference to a unit of knowledge, had been limited to an invitation-only audience of contributors and readers for the past seven months. Now anyone with a Google login will be able to submit an article and, if they choose, have ads displayed through the Internet search leader's marketing system. The contributing author and Google will share any revenue generated from the ads, which are supposed to be related to the topic covered in the knol. More.
UN agency pushes global ID for emergency contacts
In the English-speaking world, many cell phone users leave emergency contact information in the devices' address books under an entry labeled "ICE" — for "in case of emergency." Now, the U.N. International Telecommunication Union is trying to adapt that system for the rest of the world. The ITU's idea is for people to start the contacts in their phone address books with the Arabic numerals "01," "02," and so on and adding a description of the contact in a native script. For example, a dad's contact number would appear as "01father," with "father" substituted with the equivalent word in other languages. The Arabic numerals tend to be universally recognized. Firefighters, police and other emergency workers would then know to look first under those numerals to find the next of kin and other key contacts. More.
Stocks: EMC leads broad gains for tech stocks
Technology stocks closed with broad gains Wednesday, with EMC Corp. rising 14 percent following the storage-industry giant's upbeat earnings report and outlook. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 21.92 points or 1 percent to 2,325.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 29.88 points or 0.3 percent to 11,632.38. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 4.93 points or 1.4 percent to 350.38 and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 5.62 points or 1 percent to 551.32. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG) rose 1.76 points or 0.6 percent gain to 304.75, while the Amex Biotech Index (BTK) fell 0.4 points or less than 0.1 percent to 832.58. The S&P 500 ($SPX) rose 5.19 points, or 0.4 percent, to finish at 1,282.19. Crude-oil futures slumped almost $4 in retreating for a second day, as data showed U.S. inventories fell less than expected and as concerns faded that a hurricane threatened oil operations in the Gulf. Crude for September delivery fell $3.98 to settle at $124.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That helped the dollar rise 0.5 percent against a market basket of other currencies.
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Matt's Favorites
First, a couple of local extras: a fraud case is settled at Ann Arbor's ProQuest; and Michigan State University rolls out a new Web site detailing its many activities in China (including that cool turfgrass stuff). Elsewhere: Qualcomm and Nokia settle all litigation; EMC's profit rises 13 percent, topping Wall Street's estimates; Amazon's profit doubles, also beating the Street; AT&T profit rises 30 percent, matching the Street's view; Yahoo's CEO remains upbeat despite a bad quarter; Netflix shuts down its movie financing arm; AOL integrates widget technology to boost ads on social networking sites; AT&T introduces a global GPS system for phones; the electronics giants are working on a wireless HD set-top beaming standard (yay!); that Missouri mom asks for the dismissal of the infamous MySpace case; Facebook opens up to other sites with its new Connect function; Accenture offers new software to 'green' a business; a security researcher says the iPhone is vulnerable to phishing attacks; the merger of XM and Sirius is headed to the home stretch; Neil Young tells the tech industry that they can do better in terms of music quality on the PC; the first photos of a European-Russian manned spacecraft intended to replace Soyuz; and the ongoing tale of that amazing hack of the city of San Francisco's systems.
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The University of Michigan's Solar Car Team won the North American Solar Challenge, crossing the finish line in Alberta, Canada on Tuesday after more than 50 hours of racing over nine days. The car averaged around 45 mph and led from the first day, besting 15 university teams that raced the 2,400-mile course from Plano, Texas to Calgary. Continuum finished about 10 hours before the second place team. 
Russell J. Ebeid presented with honorary degree by Kettering U
He is making a difference in our society through the creation of scholarships at Kettering University for students of Arab-American descent. It is a philanthropy program that will help under-served youth for decades to come. More than 70 students are expected to be helped through his commitment and generosity. To read the words of advice he offered to Kettering’s entering freshmen on July 10, click on Ebeid's speech. To read more on Ebeid’s efforts to assist Arab-Americans, 