Corporate Research Center Research Articles

User driven: The evolution of the Ei reference desk

Growth in the primary engineering literature has been accompanied by a boom in electronic secondary information‐retrieval products and services which can access information that is increasingly current, specific, and inclusive. While these services provide more options and solutions for researchers, the perception of an overwhelming array of hard‐to‐use electronic searching alternatives has been confusing. Users want an electronic searching system simple enough for library patrons to use, while at the same time sophisticated enough to meet the demands of the professional researcher. Adding to this challenge are the economic realities of the marketplace. Diverse corporate and academic research centers around the world have different levels of budgetary constraints. Recognizing these disparities, Engineering Information Inc. (Ei) has fashioned a range of research tools that can be used individually or in combination to offer maximum budgetary flexibility to its global constituency. Customers wanted from these various tools the opportunity to easily access the most cost‐efficient method dictated by the needs of a particular search.

Do nominated boundary spanners become effective technological gatekeepers? (technology transfer)

In recent years, organizations have started formally assigning technical professionals to fill the role of technological gatekeepers. The authors examine the effectiveness of such nominated boundary spanners in transferring technologies from the corporate research center of a major company to its operating units. It is found that the attempt was only partially successful. The formally appointed boundary spanners had greater contact with the research center and were themselves more likely to adopt new technologies developed there. They were not effective, however, in transferring technologies developed at the research center to other members of the organization's technical staff. >

R&D Planning Environment for the '90s—America and Japan

The Industrial Research Institute recently completed a high-priority project -- to define the planning environment for the 1990s as the basis for its own strategic plan. Ten key points were developed alter considerable dialogue and some debate. The presentation that follows is a discussion of these points in the context of the Japanese/American relationship from the viewpoint of a technology officer of an American firm. Point 1. Technology development will continue to occur more aggressively outside of the U.S. This situation is driven by significant differences between the U.S. and its major industrial competitors in areas such as the cost of capital equity market financing government support of R&D, and environmental laws and regulations. These differences result in reduced opportunities to pursue longer range goals to commit critical masses of technological resources to major projects and to establish effective national plans for exploitation of unique capabilities. Cooperative means to monitor develop, or acquire technology worldwide will become increasingly important for U.S. industry. It is apparent that the multi-national model of research with which we have all lived is growing obsolete in many fields. In this model, technologies developed in the U.S. are exported to Europe and the other OECD countries, and, ultimately, move into the less-developed countries. Today, it is increasingly necessary to have global product line management and to roll technology out nearly simultaneously, at least insofar as possible, to all parts of the world. W. R. Grace's R&D organizations, for example, are becoming increasingly global, with faster growth occurring outside the U.S. We recently opened a corporate research center in Japan to monitor technology and carry out both proprietary and cooperative research there. Free trade is becoming an increasingly powerful global movement. It appears that the less-developed countries will no longer be sheltered behind tariff walls, so the traditional strategy of building a plant with a well-established technology in those countries and then closing the border probably is not going to work. Free trade is already being expedited by the Europe 1992 movement. In fact, this movement is now beginning to spread to several countries of eastern Europe which is moving very rapidly toward a free trade philosophy. Latin America has also changed dramatically during the past year. Perhaps this occurred as a result of President Salinas' trip to Europe, where he discovered that the focus of European financiers had shifted from Latin America toward Central Europe, with the implication that Latin America was going to have to solve most of its own problems as less outside money became available. The drastic economic reforms going on today in Argentina, Mexico and Brazil are nothing short of astonishing, and represent further motion toward a free market. The one area that is still holding up the political trend toward free markets, of course, is the Japan/U.S. relationship, which is continuing to deteriorate. Our trade balance has not budged, and mutual patience on each side of the Pacific is eroding. Since the U.S. and Japan together produce almost two-thirds of the world's manufactured goods, a crisis on this frontier is no small matter. What we in the U.S. have perceived as de facto mercantilism is beginning to tempt our politicians to establish retaliatory policies. Many Americans, some of them knowledgeable, perceive the Japanese as insincere in their efforts to remedy the situation. On the other hand, many Japanese perceive Americans as bullies who use Japan as an excuse to cover our own inadequacies. Almost every American company with which I am familiar believes itself to have a lower market share and lower profitability in Japan than its core businesses have been able to earn in almost any other part of the world. That applies to my own firm. We've been in Japan for well over 20 years, with only mixed results. …

Advanced production processes for high-tech ceramics

Abstract At the Corporate Research Centre in Heidelberg, West Germany, ABB scientists and engineers are developing processes and methods for improving the mechanical and functional reliability of ceramic components. A successful component for modern ceramics production has proved to be direct ‘wet’ shaping from colloidal suspensions, followed by appropriate firing. Monitoring of all production stages and inspection of the final components for flaws, which are then characterized, are key reasons for the success of the method. This ‘direct’ approach and the know-how and benefits accrueing to it can now be applied to areas which go beyond the original applications, in fact wherever ceramic components are required. This applies not only to ceramic components used in ABB products for the energy and process sectors — the main areas of application — but also to those used in other products inside and outside the ABB Group.

High-tech management in the chemical sector: The Montedison case

In this article Professor Ugo recounts the way the Montedison Group of companies took a hard look at its Research and Development and decided to reorganise and restructure. It was believed that only such a move would increase its presence in the high-tech sectors of industry where most of the growth potential for its products and know-how lay. The company therefore reorganised its R and D into a few “poles” of excellence, as well as creating a Corporate Research Centre with a “star” structure. The internationalisation of research and a new market intelligence structure were also developed. Three new major “programmes” or “projects” gave greater dynamism to the innovation process and areas of new business of interest to high-tech products in the company were clearly defined. Finally, the training and career paths of research staff have been given careful thought in the restructuring.

Computer simulations of the interaction of ultrasound with biological tissue: Basic physical concepts and effects: E. Trautenberg, Siemens Corporate Research Center, D-8520 Erlanagen, W. Germany

The North Trent Cancer Research Network’s Consumer Research Panel (NTCRN CRP) was established in December 2001 by the Academic Unit of Supportive Care at the University of Sheffield, UK. In three years, the CRP has succeeded in nurturing a climate of sustainable consumer involvement within the NTCRN and this has become embedded in the culture of the network. Furthermore, the Panel have championed a sustainable development of consumer involvement in health and social care research by testing new ground and forging a new way of working between health professionals and patients and carers. This UK based CRP model has been held up as an example to other cancer networks, with new Panels being set up around the country to emulate its success. This paper describes the Sheffield model of patient and public involvement and using the eight key principles of successful consumer involvement in research, identified in a recent paper by Telford and colleagues (Telford, R., Boote, J., Cooper, C., 2004. What does it mean to involve consumers successfully in NHS research? A consensus study. Health Expectations, 7, 209–220), provides a useful framework for analysing the work of the Panel. This demonstrates how consumers and professionals can inform each other to work constructively to achieve impressive research results. The need for measurable outcomes to assess the impact and effect of consumer involvement is explored.

Balancing the current distribution in the current collectors of homopolar machines using induced voltage gradients

This paper presents the results of a study conducted at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation Research Center for minimizing the current imbalance in sliding contact current collector assemblies. The results suggest that the conventional approach to achieving current balance in these assemblies provides a less than optimal distribution and that significant improvements can be made. The optimum situation for minimizing current imbalance is not necessarily one where a constant potential is maintained along the current collector, but one where a voltage gradient is induced from inboard to outboard end of the collector. Described is a calculation procedure for determining the optimum voltage profile within the collector as well as the leakage field needed to induce this required voltage gradient.

Arsenic trifluoride‐arsenic pentafluoride synergism in the formation of electrically conductive poly(p‐phenylene sulfide)

Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Letters EditionVolume 21, Issue 1 p. 39-44 Article Arsenic trifluoride-arsenic pentafluoride synergism in the formation of electrically conductive poly(p-phenylene sulfide) J. E. Frommer, J. E. Frommer Corporate Research Center, Allied Corporation, Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorR. L. Elsenbaumer, R. L. Elsenbaumer Corporate Research Center, Allied Corporation, Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorH. Eckhardt, H. Eckhardt Corporate Research Center, Allied Corporation, Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorR. R. Chance, R. R. Chance Corporate Research Center, Allied Corporation, Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this author J. E. Frommer, J. E. Frommer Corporate Research Center, Allied Corporation, Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorR. L. Elsenbaumer, R. L. Elsenbaumer Corporate Research Center, Allied Corporation, Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorH. Eckhardt, H. Eckhardt Corporate Research Center, Allied Corporation, Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorR. R. Chance, R. R. Chance Corporate Research Center, Allied Corporation, Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this author First published: January 1983 https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.1983.130210106Citations: 35AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume21, Issue1January 1983Pages 39-44 RelatedInformation

3-D elastic-plastic fracture mechanics with ADINA

This paper gives an overview of the techniques used for the 3-D elastic-plastic fracture mechanics work at the General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center. The ADINA program is being used for the bulk of the numerical work, but it has been necessary to make certain modifications to the program. A description of the incorporation of the deformation theory of plasticity and of a new procedure for calculating the energy release rate is given in the paper together with a short discussion of the crack-tip modeling. The application of the techniques to a 3-D compact specimen is also presented.

The solid‐state polymerization of diacetylenes by reactive gases: Initiation by chlorine

Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Letters EditionVolume 19, Issue 10 p. 511-517 Article The solid-state polymerization of diacetylenes by reactive gases: Initiation by chlorine G. N. Patel, G. N. Patel Allied Corporation Corporate Research Center Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorH. R. Bhattacharjee, H. R. Bhattacharjee Allied Corporation Corporate Research Center Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorA. F. Preziosi, A. F. Preziosi Allied Corporation Corporate Research Center Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this author G. N. Patel, G. N. Patel Allied Corporation Corporate Research Center Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorH. R. Bhattacharjee, H. R. Bhattacharjee Allied Corporation Corporate Research Center Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this authorA. F. Preziosi, A. F. Preziosi Allied Corporation Corporate Research Center Morristown, New Jersey 07960Search for more papers by this author First published: October 1981 https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.1981.130191008Citations: 7AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume19, Issue10October 1981Pages 511-517 RelatedInformation

A method for evaluating software development techniques

This paper describes a method for measuring the contribution of an arbitrary program development technique to program correctness and cost. The method has been employed at the General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center to evaluate alternative program testing techniques. Following the method's description an example of its use is shown.

Color changes mark polymer reactions

Polydiacetylenes are unusual among polymer families: They have conjugated backbones. And this property produces effects that have led one researcher working with the substances to foresee their value as an educational tool. The effect produced by the polymer backbone is color change. When polydiacetylenes undergo various chemical and physical processes, they change color, making the processes visible. A group of 15 or 20 short experiments thus could demonstrate visibly all the processes that monomers and polymers undergo. And the visible nature of the changes brought on by the processes would reinforce understanding of the theory. The idea of using polydiacetylenes as an educational aid comes from Gordhan N. Patel, staff chemist at Allied Chemical's corporate research center, Morristown, N.J. Allied researchers are working on the compounds with a number of potential commercial uses in mind. The educational use of polydiacetylenes is an offshoot of that work and not something Allied is pursuing. But Patel ...

Triarylsulfonium salts as photoinitiators of free radical and cationic polymerization

Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Letters EditionVolume 17, Issue 12 p. 759-764 Article Triarylsulfonium salts as photoinitiators of free radical and cationic polymerization J. V. Crivello, J. V. Crivello General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center, Schenectady, New York 12301Search for more papers by this authorJ. H. W. Lam, J. H. W. Lam General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center, Schenectady, New York 12301Search for more papers by this author J. V. Crivello, J. V. Crivello General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center, Schenectady, New York 12301Search for more papers by this authorJ. H. W. Lam, J. H. W. Lam General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center, Schenectady, New York 12301Search for more papers by this author First published: December 1979 https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.1979.130171203Citations: 46AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume17, Issue12December 1979Pages 759-764 RelatedInformation

Land mobile communications and position fixing using satellites

In a recent series of experiments, the General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center demonstrated effective satellite-aided land mobile communications, analog and digital data relay, and automatic real-time vehicle position fixing. In one sequence of tests a station wagon was equipped with a specially designed antenna, a slightly modified commercial VHF transceiver, and a digital tone-code ranging responder that operated within the communications bandwidth. The General Electric Radio-Optical Observatory near Schenectady, NY, was the major earth terminal. A commercial VHF base station with a satellite antenna deployed first in an office building in Washington, DC, and later in Tucson, AZ, represented a headquarters or a sector office ground station. Communications were relayed by NASA's ATS-3 geosynchronous satellite. Both ATS-1 and ATS-3 were used for position fixing the vehicle. Voice, slow scan television, audio test tones, prerecorded intrusion sensor data, and telephone patches were relayed by the satellite to and from the vehicle under a variety of conditions in greater Washington, DC, and in the southwestern United States. The experiment demonstrated continent-wide communication of a quality comparable to fringe area reception of present local VHF mobile communications but with a notable lack of multipath flutter. Due to the high angle of signalling path from the vehicle to the satellite, solid structures such as buildings, mountains, bridges, or tunnels degraded communications only occasionally. An absolutely clear line-of-sight signalling path was not required. Trees directly in the signal path seldom interrupted communications. Noisy radio environments such as power lines and vehicle ignitions degraded signals received in the vehicle but did not affect vehicle transmissions. Vehicle positions to within one quarter mile were achieved in real time and within several hundred feet after post experiment recalibration and analysis. In another sequence of tests, similar equipments plus biomedical sensors and a medical telemetry unit were installed in an ambulance. NASA's ATS-3 satellite relayed two-way voice communications between a hospital and the ambulance and electrocardiograms from the ambulance to the hospital. Signals were received with excellent quality from various points within the United States, all well beyond the range of conventional line-of-sight communications. The future of operational systems depends not only on technology but on the need to define user requirements, international frequency allocations, and a commitment to support the initial hardware investment. One key technology that would have to be developed is a multibeam spaceborne antenna with low sidelobes. It has yet to be shown that a large space structure will be low enough in cost to attract the large number of subscribers needed to make it an attractive business venture. It appears likely, but not certain, that the cost of a satellite system to serve large, thinly populated areas may be less than a network of terrestrial repeaters that serve the same area. The likelihood is sufficient to justify further studies.

Yet another survey of graduate programs in computer science

This paper performs a quantitative ranking of the graduate programs in computer science at major universities in the United States and Canada. The rankings are based on the number of journal articles which have appeared in 12 major journals over the past two years. The paper also includes a ranking of major corporate research centers and foreign universities. The paper concludes with suggestions about how, in the future, such surveys should be conducted under the auspices of the professional organizations of computer science, e.g., ACM, SIGCSE.

Automatic Continental Land Mobile Position Fixing via Satellite

in a recent series of experiments, the General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center demonstrated effective continental land mobile communications and automatic real—time vehicle position fixing. A station wagon was equipped with a specially designed antenna, a slightly modified commercial VHF transceiver, and a digital tone—code communications bandwidth ranging responder. The General Electric Radio— Optical Observatory near Schenectady, NY served as the major earth terminal; a commercial VHF base station with a satellite antenna deployed first in Washington, DC and later in Tucson, AZ, represented a local control ground station. Communications were relayed by NASA's ATS—3 geosynchronous satellite; both ATS—1 and ATS—3 were used for position fixing the vehicle. During the six week test schedule across the continental United States, real—time vehicle positions on the order of one quarter mile were achieved. Post experiment data processing yielded vehicle position fixing accuracy on the order of a few hundred feet, under most circumstances. Simultaneous ranging measurements to the local control (ground truth reference) base station provided a measure from which to estimate ionospheric propagation time delays between the vehicle and the satellite. The single test which showed position fixing inaccuracy on the order of one half mile occurred during an ionospheric disturbance; the disagreement in true and measured vehicle positions suggests an ionospheric gradient between the vehicle and the fixed station of approximately 2 × 1017 electrons/m2, over the separation distance of 350 miles. Using a simple model to predict the VHF ionospheric propagation time delay would have resulted in vehicle positions accurate to within one half mile. Future satellite ranging operations at frequencies above 800 MHz would not be affected by propagation delays in the ionosphere. Although the experiments were conducted with an automobile, the technology is most certainly applicable in the maritime and aeronautical arena. Indeed, it is only in the land mobile environment that accurate true vehicle positions can be determined for verifying position fixing accuracy. All measured vehicle positions were compared with true vehicle positions as plotted on U.S. Geological Survey topographical maps.

Evaluation of KIc by the Double‐Torsion Technique

Journal of the American Ceramic SocietyVolume 60, Issue 5-6 p. 284-285 Evaluation of KIc by the Double-Torsion Technique J. G. BRUCE, J. G. BRUCESearch for more papers by this authorB. G. KOEPKE, B. G. KOEPKE Member, the American Ceramic Society.Search for more papers by this author J. G. BRUCE, J. G. BRUCESearch for more papers by this authorB. G. KOEPKE, B. G. KOEPKE Member, the American Ceramic Society.Search for more papers by this author First published: May 1977 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1977.tb14131.xCitations: 3 Supported in part by the Office of Naval Research under Contract No. N00014–76C–0625 At the time this work was done, J. O. Bruce was with the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455; he is now with the Atomics International Division of Rockwell International Canoga Park, California 91304. B. G. Koepke is with the Honeywell Corporate Research Center, Bloomington, Minnesota 55420. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume60, Issue5-6May 1977Pages 284-285 RelatedInformation

Identification and investigation of impurities in undoped Hg 1−χCd χTe Jacob W. Lin. : Honeywell Corporate Research Center, 10701 Lyndale Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota 55420

Identification and investigation of impurities in undoped Hg 1−χCd χTe Jacob W. Lin. : Honeywell Corporate Research Center, 10701 Lyndale Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota 55420

Preparation of High‐Strength KCl by Hot‐Pressing

Journal of the American Ceramic SocietyVolume 56, Issue 5 p. 287-287 Preparation of High-Strength KCl by Hot-Pressing R. H. ANDERSON, R. H. ANDERSONSearch for more papers by this authorB. G. KOEPKE, B. G. KOEPKESearch for more papers by this authorE. BERNAL, E. BERNALSearch for more papers by this authorG. R. J. STOKES, G. R. J. STOKESSearch for more papers by this author R. H. ANDERSON, R. H. ANDERSONSearch for more papers by this authorB. G. KOEPKE, B. G. KOEPKESearch for more papers by this authorE. BERNAL, E. BERNALSearch for more papers by this authorG. R. J. STOKES, G. R. J. STOKESSearch for more papers by this author First published: May 1973 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1973.tb12492.xCitations: 10 Supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency under Contract No. DAHC15–72-C-0227. The writers are with Honeywell Corporate Research Center, Bloomington, MN 55420. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume56, Issue5May 1973Pages 287-287 RelatedInformation

Healing of Surface Cracks in Polycrystalline Al2O3

Journal of the American Ceramic SocietyVolume 53, Issue 7 p. 420-421 Healing of Surface Cracks in Polycrystalline Al2O3 F. F. LANGE, F. F. LANGE The writers are with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation Research and Development Center, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15235Search for more papers by this authorK. C. RADFORD, K. C. RADFORD The writers are with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation Research and Development Center, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15235Search for more papers by this author F. F. LANGE, F. F. LANGE The writers are with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation Research and Development Center, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15235Search for more papers by this authorK. C. RADFORD, K. C. RADFORD The writers are with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation Research and Development Center, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15235Search for more papers by this author First published: July 1970 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1970.tb12148.xCitations: 73 Supported in part by the United States Office of Naval Research under Contract N00014–68-C-0323, NR 032–507. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume53, Issue7July 1970Pages 420-421 RelatedInformation