http://wwj.com Tech news from the Great Lakes IT Report. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 15:00:51 EDT en-us Automation Alley, Michigan's largest technology business association, announced that 24 new member companies joined the organization in August. IT and services companies again dominated the list. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:11:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707539 Ann Arbor-based Evigia Systems Inc. Friday announced the introduction of its EV3 product family of active radio frequency identification transponders, interrogators, and accessories. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:17:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707555 Clinton Township-based Kuka Robotics Corp. is blazing a trail for the welding sector by making three innovative product introductions in North America -- the KR 5 arc, a versatile and highly dynamic lightweight robot, the KR 5 arc HW (Hollow Wrist) and the PosiFlex positioner. It's making&nbsp;the introductions at the&nbsp;International Manufacturing Technology Show 2008. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:20:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707556 The Saginaw Future Inc. Procurement Technical Assistance Center assisted five area companies attain nearly $13.4 million in government contracts. The companies won a total of 62 federal government contracts for a variety of high-tech products. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:23:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707560 BlueThread Technologies -- an Ann Arbor software company and provider of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server-based enterprise content management systems -- has partnered with the Redford, Wash. software maker K2 to create a SharePoint-based ECM package. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:33:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707575 Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman will offer the keynote at a day-long event Sept. 17 focused on making green power the next great global industry.&nbsp;The University Research Corridor will also make available a new report offering a break-out on Michigan's opportunities for developing green technologies. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:37:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707576 Goodwill Industries of GreaterDetroit will offer opportunities to get rid of old computer equipment in both Wayne and Oakland counties this Saturday, Sept. 13. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:40:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707579 Wixom-based Puritan Automation, a one-stop shop for product assembly and development testing, announced Friday that it has become an alliance partner for Austin, Texas-based National Instruments. As an alliance partner, Puritan incorporates NI software and components into testing, measurement and automation equipment. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:42:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707583 Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot Corp. said last week it had won a $200 million contract on behalf of the United States Army's Robotic Systems Joint Project Office in Warren. The contract includes a wide variety of robotics gear and services, all designed to keep soldiers safer by using robots in dangerous situations wherever possible. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:44:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707584 General Motors Corp. is shifting some vehicle design work for its international brands to its studios in Warren to better balance workloads, according to a report in Automotive News cited by both AutoBeat Daily and AutoTech Daily. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:47:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707588 WWJ Newsradio 950 news can now follow you anywhere your mobile phone goes. WWJ Mobile is now live at <a href="http://www.wwj.com">www.wwj.com</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those with Web-enabled mobile phones can now check out WWJ's top stories, weather, and much&nbsp;more on their mobile Web browser. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:50:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707590 Midland-based Dow Chemical Co. last week announced that it has received a request for additional information, commonly referred to as a &quot;Second Request,&quot; from the United States Federal Trade Commission regarding Dow's proposed acquisition of Rohm and Haas, which was announced on July 10. Sun, 7 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707609 Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:54:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707603 Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:56:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707606 Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:58:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2707607 After 20 years of construction, a machine that could either verify or nullify the prevailing theory of particle physics is about to begin its mission.&nbsp;CERN's epic Large Hadron Collider project in Switzerland currently involves 25 University of Michigan physicists and students. More than 100 UM researchers have been involved in the project over the years. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 15:24:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696124 Next week, more than 300 seed and early stage investors will convene in Detroit to network, grapple over best practices and poke through new data. In the process, some of the finest minds in the industry will assess Michigan&rsquo;s ongoing economic&nbsp;transformation as the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds meets at the Marriott Renaissance Center. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 15:39:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696140 Pivotal study of drug for menopause symptoms seeks to enroll 750 women at more than 100 sites across the United States Thu, 4 Sep 2008 15:42:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696208 Consensys Meidcal Solutions, a medical software company based in Troy with offices in Grand Rapids, has rolled out new software designed to capture and streamline medical case managers' patient billing reports. The software is intended to save the case managers time, incrase presentation quality and customize the reports to fit the desired formats of individual insurance companies. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 15:46:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696225 Okemos-based Netvantage Marketing announced Thursday that the Mid-Michigan Food Bank had won its recent contest, which offered pro-bono services for a non-profit organization in Michigan. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 15:49:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696243 Orion Township-bsaed Phillips Consulting Inc. announced Thursday that the company will start offering after-business hours tech support on an on-call basis. Those providing the service will be the same local staff its clients now use. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:06:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696326 Farmington Hills-based RouteOne LLC announced Thursday that it had completed integration with the New Jersey-based subprime lender Liberal Finance Service, using a new loan origination system provided by XpressCredit. Liberal Finance specializes in providing indirect lending to both independent and franchised dealers throughout New Jersey. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:11:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696348 Waltham, Mass.-based Interleukin Genetics Inc. and Access Business Group International LLC, a division of Ada-based Alticor Inc., Thursday announced a new agreement that will increase access to intellectual property related to genetic tests they developed jointly. In turn, this will permit the expansion of Interleukin Genetics' distribution network for the tests. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:15:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696369 The biennial Kalamazoo Animation Festival International will begin accepting entries for next spring's event on Oct. 1. A total of $15,000 in prize money is available in 12 categories. for the May 14-17 event. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:17:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696395 Friday is your last chance to add to your trophy case or promote your clients' talents. Do you have or do you design web sites with killer graphics, great content or innovative technology? You could be a 2008 winner of the Troy Chamber&rsquo;s coveted Helen eWards for Web Excellence. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:20:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696407 Oakland County schools have released the policy for free and reduced-price meals for children unable to pay the full price of meals served under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:22:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696417 Chrysler LLC will show prototypes of three hybrid-electric cars to dealers later this month, AutoTech Daily reported. The company, which is focusing its efforts in this area on plug-in models and is targeting driving ranges of 300 miles or more, indicates the vehicles are production capable but isn&rsquo;t saying when or if they will be manufactured. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:24:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696433 There are numerous high-tech touches in the introduction marketing for Ford's boxy new crossover wagon, the Flex. For starters, Ford and JWT Team Detroit used sophisticated computer graphics for a tour of the Flex's design and technological features&nbsp;that will be part of the initial 30-second video ads for the vehicle. Also, the Flex will be featured digitally in Esquire's 75th anniversary edition. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:27:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696440 Ann Arbor-based Borders Group Inc. this week that Stephen King's &quot;N.,&quot; a series of Web video episodes based on a previously unpublished King short story, can now be viewed at <a href="http://bordersmedia.com/N/">http://bordersmedia.com/N/</a>. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:30:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696446 The Environmental Interpretive Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn is accepting registration for its 2008-2009 Young Naturalist Program, a four-season study of the natural world for children ages 9-12. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 22:09:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2697494 Thu, 4 Sep 2008 15:57:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696287 Thu, 4 Sep 2008 15:54:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696272 Thu, 4 Sep 2008 15:59:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696289 Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:02:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2696304 Midland-based Dow Corning Corp. has demonstrated a manufacturing process featuring new developmental silicone materials that significantly increases the production rate of solar panels, effectively lowering the cost per watt of solar power. Mon, 1 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2675599 Alternative energy may become a viable career option for a struggling Michigan workforce. Speaking Friday in Traverse City, Governor Jennifer Granholm announced that the No Worker Left Behind program will put more effort into preparing laid-off workers for alternative energy careers. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:06:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2481205 The Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), Ann Arbor SPARK, Greater Wayne Economic Development Corporation and a private foundation are seeking to acquire Pfizer's Plymouth Township facility to create the Life Science and Innovation Center.&nbsp; Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:06:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2481279 Some Ford pick-ups will soon boast compontents manufactured by Auburn Hills-based GKN Driveline Torque Technology. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:05:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2482547 Troy-based Altair Engineering Friday announced that&nbsp; Bottero, an Italian&nbsp;manufacturer of machinery and production lines for the world's glass industry, has selected Altair HyperWorks as their software of choice. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:05:00 EDT http://wwj.com/content_page.php?contentType=4&contentId=2482636