Skipp Williamson, Managing Director of Partners in Performance (PIP), in Sydney, Australia, discusses how mining and minerals processing companies can improve operational performance and ensure resource efficiency.

A novel wireless sensor for use on bridges can be powered by the vibrations of vehicles passing overhead. The device, made from piezoelectronics, measures temperature, humidity, light and pressure, and could function for years without requiring maintenance or battery replacement.

Scientists at Princeton University, USA, claim to have produced the first 3D metamaterial constructed entirely from semiconductors. They believe the new design could offer a cost effective way of creating negative refractive lenses for high-speed communications, medical diagnostics and detecting terrorist threats.

A multi-million pound grant has been awarded to the University of Sheffield's Institute for Microstructured and Mechanical Process Engineering (IMMPETUS) to help UK-based metals processing companies improve efficiency.

Nanofuels are the subject of a new feasibility study at Queen Mary, University of London, UK. They could provide a more environmentally sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, say researchers. The concept is to inject wet and dry fuels made from silicon, aluminium or iron nanoparticles (separately, as single fuels) into internal combustion engines.

Researchers at Germany’s national metrology institute, have developed a faster and easier method for analysing surfaces with different reflectivities.

Exploring cleaner coatings for metal cans to inhibit chemical migration into food.

Using a novel joint design, laser welding of dissimilar materials can be transformed, according to scientists at The Welding Institute (TWI), Cambridge, UK. This could improve the quality of lightweight magnesium and aluminium alloy components used in the automotive sector.

Polymer lasers could be one step closer to reality thanks to research conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles, USA, using a luminescent semiconducting polymer. Such devices offer potential for brighter and cheaper polarised light sources.

Scientists at the University of Virginia, based in Charlottesville, USA, claim to have discovered a material, made from titanium atoms complexed with ethylene, that can store large quantities of hydrogen at room temperature. This could help in the search for a more efficient and affordable hydrogen-powered fuel cell.

Academic research with a view to commercialisation is becoming increasingly popular. The number of university spin-out companies and partnerships with industry is growing. Rupal Mehta investigates the reality behind this entrepreneurial spirit.