The Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich., is proving that pickups can be green and tough by adding rice hulls to the list of sustainable materials used to build F-150. Plastic reinforced with rice hulls-a byproduct of rice grain-is being used in an electrical harness in the 2014 F-150. The company will need at least 45,000 lb of hulls in the first year.

KONE, Espoo, Finland, announced a new high-rise elevator technology set to break industry limits and enable future elevator travel heights of 1 km (0.62 miles)-twice the distance currently feasible. UltraRope is a completely new hoisting technology that eliminates the disadvantages of conventional steel rope and opens up a world of possibilities in high-rise building design.

Solar Atmospheres Inc., Souderton, Pa., has designed and built a lab-size, horizontal, internal quenching furnace that it donated to ASM International for its Teaching Lab. Named “The Mentor,” this $250,000 gift was made by Solar in commemoration of ASM International’s 100th anniversary. The furnace was dedicated in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at ASM headquarters in Materials Park, Ohio.   “The Mentor” has a hot zone that measures 12 in. wide by 12 in. high by 18 in.

Researchers from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, developed a method for creating “nanovolcanoes” by shining various colors of light through a nanoscale “crystal ball” made of a synthetic polymer. These nanovolcanoes can store precise amounts of other materials and hold promise for new drug-delivery technologies.   The nanovolcanoes are created by placing spherical, transparent polymer nanoparticles directly onto the flat surface of a thin film.

Metallurgical High Vacuum, Fennville, Mich., displays its Survivor pumps in Booth #1639 at the ASM Heat Treating Expo. They incorporate multiple oil filters that extend the life of the pump by removing particles and acid that are harmful. This design extends pump life and increases the return on investment significantly. They use a proven oil-sealed rotary piston design for excellent reliability even in demanding operating conditions.

Solar Atmospheres of Western Pennsylvania, Hermitage, Pa., recently thermally processed in vacuum a 410 stainless steel fabrication 90 in. high by 75 in. wide and weighing 1060 lb. The finish-machined weldment is an exhaust duct used exclusively for testing jet engines. This intricate piece was vacuum hardened and tempered per AMS 2759/5D, Type 4 Class A to HRC 25-33.   In order to meet this stringent specification, the part was thermocoupled in both the thin and heavy sections of the weldment.

Fujifilm Corp., Tokyo,  and imec, Leuven, Belgium, developed a new photoresist technology for organic semiconductors that enables the realization of submicron patterns. Due to their lightness, flexibility, and ability to be manufactured in large area, research and development on organic semiconductors has intensified in recent years.

Leica Microsystems, Buffalo Grove, Ill., launches a high-precision scanning stage for stereo microscopes and macroscopes, the Leica LMT260 XY Scanning Stage. To ensure successful experiments, it offers a repeatability of 0.25 µm for samples weighing less than 0.5 kg, and of 1 µm for heavier loads of 1.5 kg. This repeatability is reached at a resolution of 5 nm. Such precision is especially interesting for users who perform time-lapse experiments such as mark and find, or multi-well screenings.

Anasys Instruments, Santa Barbara, Calif., announces the nanoIR2, a second generation AFM based IR spectroscopy (AFM-IR) platform. A key breakthrough is the ability of the nanoIR2 to operate with top-side illumination, eliminating the prior need to prepare samples on a ZnSe prism and enabling measurements on a much more diverse set of samples.