Two contractors involved in a downtown Philadelphia building collapse hurled blame at each other Tuesday, through lawyers who broke their clients’ weeklong silence about the disaster that killed six. Contractor Griffin Campbell’s lawyer called him “despondent” but “absolutely not responsible” for the deaths. The lawyer for demolition subcontractor Sean Benschop said he was “a scapegoat” […]
Automotive/Transportation
Nuclear Reactor in Ala. Automatically Shuts Down
A nuclear reactor in Alabama automatically shut down because of an electrical problem, but regulators say there is no threat to the public. Officials report the Unit 1 reactor at Plant Farley south of Dothan automatically shut down around 9 p.m. on Tuesday. No radiation was released. Plant operators did not report any damage that […]
Networks of Responsibility: The Philadelphia Building Collapse
In 1900 Philadelphia, then the third-largest city in the U. S. with a population of over one million, was a bustling metropolis whose downtown streets were lined with three-and four-story department stores and other structures, such as the four-story brick edifice built by some enterprising Philadelphians at 2136-2138 Market, near the corner of 22nd and […]
Last Engineer Let Go At Idaho Hoku Plant
An estimated $400 million polysilicon plant in eastern Idaho now has only eight workers, all security guards, after its last engineer exited last month amid dwindling hopes the facility will ever produce materials for solar panels. Hoku Scientific Inc., based in Hawaii, started building the plant in Pocatello about five years ago, as interest in […]
The Rising Demands & Requirements of Wearable Soldier Systems
US soldier wearing the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC) system from Lockheed MartinModern soldiers require state-of-the-art innovations, particularly when integrating connectors within advanced Wearable Soldier Systems (WSS). Key requirements for wearable soldier electronics are: increased situational awareness, increased weapons effectiveness, and increased individual agility. Connector manufacturers have worked to create connectors that offer superior sealing […]
Solar News: Renewable Energy Sites to Power Nearly 200,000 Homes
The Interior Department has approved three renewable energy projects in Nevada and Arizona that officials say will generate enough electricity to power nearly 200,000 homes. The projects are the first renewable energy projects on public lands approved by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell since she took office in April. The projects will deliver a combined 520 […]
Ex-China Railways Boss Admits Guilt at Graft Trial
The man who once ran China’s powerful railways ministry wept as he admitted his guilt and sought leniency at his trial on corruption charges, one of the country’s highest-level graft cases in years. Liu Zhijun, 60, who oversaw the ministry’s high-profile bullet train development, has been accused of taking massive bribes and steering lucrative projects […]
Photos of the Day: Cadet-Designed Trailer
The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department’s solar-powered vehicle sits on display May 24, 2013, in front of Falcon Stadium. Behind the vehicle is a solar- and wind-powered turbine that can charge the vehicle and other electrical appliances. Constructing the trailer was a capstone project for a group of cadets majoring in electrical engineering. (U.S. Air […]
Cadet-Designed Trailer Could Power Future Austere Deployments
A cadet capstone project designed to build upon cadets’ research in 2012 could have broad-ranging applications from powering austere bases to supplementing stateside bases’ power grids, instructors in the computer and electrical engineering department here said recently. View Photos of the Day: Cadet-Designed Trailer The project, a solar- and wind-powered all-terrain trailer, or SWATT, hooks up […]
US Intelligence Chief Backs Internet Spy Program
The top U.S. intelligence official stressed Saturday that a previously undisclosed program for tapping into Internet usage is authorized by Congress, falls under strict supervision of a secret court and cannot intentionally target an American citizen. He decried the revelation of that and another intelligence-gathering program as reckless. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, eager […]