99-90

For Release: November 10, 1999

Lori J. Rachul
NASA Glenn Research Center
(216) 433-8806

Barbara Kakiris
NASA Glenn Research Center
(216) 433-2513

Tiny Technology to be Showcased in a Big Way

The forum is suitably named IDEAS, highlighting Innovations, Demonstrations, Exhibits, Applications and Spinoffs in microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS.

Technologies showcased will focus on health monitoring in harsh environments including sensors, actuators, microelectronics, packaging, micromachining and other supporting topical areas.

Sponsored by Glenn's Commercial Technology Office, the forum will include poster displays of microsystem technologies, technology presentations, industry-focused sessions and a tour of Glenn sites, including microsystems laboratories and micromachining/packaging facilities.

In addition, Dr. Al Pisano and Dr. David E. Cole will give keynote addresses. Pisano is professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley and is affiliated with the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center. Cole, who is the director of the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation at the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute, works extensively on internal combustion engines, vehicle design and overall automotive industry trends.

Glenn is a partner in the Glennan Microsystems Initiative. The five-year program, which started in 1998, combines the expertise at Glenn and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, with industry to advance the application of MEMS. A goal of the initiative is to identify and manufacture several prototype devices that will operate in harsh industrial, aerospace and biomedical environments.

To register and to obtain additional information about the IDEAS forum visit the forum website located at http://ideas.grc.nasa.gov or e-mail ideas@grc.nasa.gov.

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