Each week, the editor of Planet Analog finds technical items of interest and highlights them in this “Also of Interest” feature. In addition, we also provide an archive of recent weekly Planet Analog Newsletters, viewable as pdf files; see the list at the very bottom.

The “Also of Interest” listing is the embodiment of our belief that engineers are interested in exploring topics which are not directly related to their jobs, but which will broaden their knowledge and sometimes spur further innovative and creative approaches.

Among the publications we check are IEEE Spectrum , Machine Design , Design News , Laser Focus World , Photonics Spectra , NASA Tech Briefs (in its various manifestations), Microwave Journal , RF & Microwaves , and Physics Today —and there are others, as well.

Consider these items as online “extras”, and worth a look and a few minutes of your time. (Please note: there are also links to the past weeks' editions of this feature, in the “Navigate” box to the right.)

Also of Interest:

• The agency tackles a wide range of photonics challenges, including building high-energy lasers compact enough to get off the ground, combining laser beams, and devising real-time 3D holographic displays.:
  “DARPA’s photonics projects – At the edge of possibility,”
  Laser Focus World , September 2011
• A step-index multimode fiber co-doped with phosphorus and germanium is an excellent sensor for gamma-radiation doses; its low dependence on dose rate makes it potentially useful for monitoring nuclear facilities:
  “Co-doped optical fiber serves as gamma-radiation sensor,”
  Laser Focus World , September 2011
• Recent engineering software uses much more than Nurbs. Here is a guide to the best approach:
  “How to select the best CAD modeler,”
  Machine Design , October 6, 2011
• There is an old adage that you can’t manage or justify what you can’t measure; that’s especially true for equipment installed to save energy:
  “How to document pumping efficiency and performance,”
  Machine Design , October 6, 2011
• These sensors can be networked to monitor the structural health of aircraft and other vehicles:
  “Multifunctional Vehicle Structural Health Monitoring with Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensors,”
  Defense Tech Briefs , October 2011
• Vehicle features impact antenna performance by blocking, reflecting, or reradiating energy, and co-site interference can impair the effectiveness of multi-antenna configurations:
  “Using Modeling and Simulation to Assess Antenna Performance During Vehicle Platform Integration,”
  Defense Tech Briefs , October 2011
• An inchworm-like device can operate laparoscopically on a beating heart:
  “HeartLander Surgical Robot Inches Closer to Reality,”
  Design News , September 2011
• The solid state lighting design requires expertise in many areas to achieve an optimum lighting solution:
  “What Design Engineers Need to Know About Solid State Lighting,”
  Design News , September 2011

Recent Planet Analog Newsletters (click to see as a pdf):

• January 18, 2012
• January 11, 2012
• January 4, 2012
• December 21, 2011