Volume IX - Issue IV - April 2007
Fascinating Projects
Major Polar Study Program launched in Paris: One of the world's biggest international research programs of the past 50 years has been launched in Paris. The official opening ceremony to launch International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 took place on 1 March 2007 at the Palais de la Découverte, a famous science museum in central Paris, France. The co-sponsors of IPY, the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) hosted the event.  International Polar Year (IPY) is a $1.5bn (£763m) collaborative effort to study the north and south poles. Thousands of researchers will carry out more than 200 projects, with climate change top of the agenda. The Paris event marks the official start of the two-year study, although other events are planned in various participating countries around the world. This is the fourth IPY since 1882 but the first one in which the impact of man-made global warming will be clearly visible at both poles. Using ice breaking ships, satellites and submarines, researchers from more than 60 countries will study the polar regions in unprecedented detail over the next two years. Climate change will be the subject of many of the research projects. One of the key questions that scientists will hope the research effort will shed new light on is the potential rise in sea level caused by melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.  The southern polar ice sheet holds 90% of the world's fresh water. If it all melted, global sea levels would rise by 60m (197ft). There will also be projects to study the impacts of climate change on the millions of people who live in the Arctic and there will be efforts to study exotic marine life under the Antarctic ice. The International Polar Year is a large scientific programme focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009. IPY, organized through the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), is actually the fourth polar year, following those in 1882-3, 1932-3, and 1957-8. In order to have full and equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic, IPY 2007-8 covers two full annual cycles from March 2007 to March 2009 and will involve over 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. It is also an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate, follow, and get involved with, cutting edge science in real-time. Additional information including photos available at www.ipy.org. Sources: BBC NEWS at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/6406735.stm and IPY website at http://www.ipy.org/.
Bulgaria Enters European Oil Supply Mix
$1.2B Russia, Greece and Bulgaria signed an agreement on Thursday, 15 March, to build a 175-mile pipeline to transport Russian oil to a port in northern Greece. The pipeline from Bulgaria's Black Sea port of Burgas will transport crude oil to the port of Alexandroupolis, Greece. The project will improve networks in southeastern Europe that transport oil and gas from the Caspian Sea region to the European Union.  First conceived in 1993, the pipeline will link the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, avoiding Turkey's crowded Bosphorus strait. Russian tankers are frequently held up for 10 days at a time as they wait to navigate Turkey's narrow, congested Bosphorus and Dardenelles Straits. The removal of these delays should bring oil costs down. At least one third of Russian oil exports currently leave by tanker via the Black Sea and Bosphorus Strait. The 280km pipeline will go overland from Bulgaria's Black Sea port of Burgas to the northern Greek town of Alexandroupolis on the Aegean Sea. The deal caps negotiations that have lasted 13 years. A Russian consortium will hold a 51% stake in the pipeline, including infrastructure like pumping stations, storage facilities and loading docks. The consortium consists of Russian state oil firm Rosneft, pipeline monopoly Transneft and a subsidiary of gas giant Gazprom. Bulgaria and Greece will each have 24.5% stakes. The conduit will channel 700,000 barrels of oil a day to Greece, has potential capacity of 1 million barrels, and is expected to be ready in three years. The pipeline project's estimated costs range from $1.2bn to $1.8b. The construction of the pipeline will begin in April or May 2007. The pipeline will pass through Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania, which signed a convention for the pipeline in the end of January 2007; the parliaments of the three countries are expected to ratify it soon. The pipeline is expected to start delivering oil at the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011. Bulgaria will gain $60 million per year from the pipeline The agreement was signed in Athens by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis of Greece and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev of Bulgaria. According to Greek PM Karamanlis, the deal "will benefit all three countries, and it puts Greece and Bulgaria on the world energy map. It will also help international markets with improved access to oil at a time when energy is a fundamental global concern.” Sources: BBC online at
Alcatel-Lucent wins US $6 Billion Network Expansion According to a press release issued by Verizon on 26 March, this will be the industry's largest wireless contract helping support Verizon Wireless grow its successful portfolio of multimedia and data services. The three-year agreement announced by Verizon Wireless and Alcatel-Lucent is worth an expected US$6 billion for Alcatel-Lucent to supply a wide variety of network equipment, software and services supporting Verizon Wireless' ongoing network expansion and continuous improvements.  With this agreement Alcatel-Lucent continues to be Verizon Wireless' primary network infrastructure supplier and will continue to help grow Verizon Wireless' existing portfolio of multimedia and data services. The equipment, software and services from Alcatel-Lucent will make it possible for Verizon Wireless to further increase the coverage and capacity of its wide-area BroadbandAccess data network based on CDMA2000(R) 1xEV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) technology. Verizon will plans to introduce new A-IMS services including Voice over IP (VoIP), push-to-x, mobile video telephony and more by deploying various components of Alcatel-Lucent's IMS solution. The deployment also will accommodate the Verizon Wireless approach to multi-vendor interoperability of these systems. The agreement also calls for Alcatel-Lucent to enhance Verizon Wireless' existing CDMA2000 1X network. Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will provide infrastructure solutions spanning its entire portfolio to transition Verizon Wireless to an all-IP network. Verizon Wireless' CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. A network will be expanded and enabled to support services such as VoIP with Quality of Service (QoS) through software upgrades. Selected IMS services will be enabled through the addition of Alcatel-Lucent's IMS platforms with the A-IMS compliant Application Manager and Services Data Manager functions. Existing Alcatel-Lucent-supplied packet switches will be upgraded to support IP soft handoff and Transcoder Free Operation, and the Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router will also provide IP routing and Ethernet aggregation. Verizon Wireless will also use a wide range of products from Alcatel- Lucent's optical and wireless transmission products, including MDR 8000 digital microwave radios. The Alcatel-Lucent optical networking products will include the optical cross-connects LambdaUnite and 1671 Service Connect (SC), and the Metropolis DMX product family, which will provide an end-to-end solution for bandwidth management and mobility traffic backhaul. Alcatel-Lucent is also providing comprehensive end-to-end network support services, ranging from network integration to installation, repair and maintenance services. It seems highly likely that Alcatel Lucent will be employing a few more project managers and project management professionals over the next three years. Intel to Launch $2.5B Chip Plant Project in China
 Intel corporation has announced plans to build a $2.5bn (£1.3bn) computer chip plant in China, boosting the country's high-tech industry. It will be Intel's first integrated wafer plant in Asia, serving the US firm's "fastest-growing" market. "This project confirms... the strategic importance of China in our global strategy and the IT industry around the world," said Intel boss Paul Otellini.  Intel already employs more than 6,000 people in China, making memory chips at factories in Shanghai and Chengdu. The new factory, where production is scheduled to begin in 2010, will use 90-nanometre technology. It will be based in the port city of Dalian, in the north-east of China. China is Intel’s fastest growing major market, and the new factory will raise Intel's total investment in China to $4bn. When completed, Fab 68 will become part of Intel's manufacturing network that includes eight 300mm factories in 2010 with other fabs located in the United States, Ireland and Israel. Manufacturing with 300mm wafers dramatically increases the ability to produce semiconductors at a lower cost compared with more commonly used 200mm (eight-inch) wafers. The bigger wafers lower production cost per chip while diminishing overall use of resources. Using 300mm manufacturing technology consumes 40 percent less energy and water per chip than a 200mm wafer factory. Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom. Sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6494401.stm
Spectacular Glass Skywalk at Grand Canyon Opens in USA A new "Skywalk" at the Grand Canyon in the United States was unveiled for the media and VIP guests on March 20, 2007, and opened to the general public on March 28, 2007. Owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe at the West Rim of the Grand Canyon, The Skywalk is the first-ever cantilever shaped glass walkway to suspend more than 4,000 feet above the canyon’s floor and extend 70 feet from the canyon’s rim.  The horseshoe-shaped glass walkway is suspended 1,200 meters above the canyon, a height that eclipses the world's largest skyscrapers. During the ceremony last week, former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin made the first walk onto the structure. Located at Grand Canyon West’s Eagle Point, The Skywalk facility will eventually include a 6,000 square-foot visitor’s center on three levels – underground, first story and second story. The Visitor’s Center will contain a museum, movie theater, VIP lounge, gift shop, and several restaurants and bars, including a high-end restaurant called The Skywalk Café that will offer outdoor patio and rooftop seating on the edge of the canyon. The second story will be where visitors can access The Skywalk glass walkway. The visitor’s center will also offer private indoor and outdoor facilities for meetings, special events and weddings. Highlights of the Grand Canyon Skywalk:
Construction began in March 2004. It was rolled onto the edge of the canyon on March 7, 2007 after passing several days of testing to replicate weather, strength and endurance conditions of its final destination. The structure was built to withstand up to 100 mph winds and a magnitude 8 earthquake. Tuned mass dampers were used to minimize vibration from wind and pedestrians. Additional information about this project can be found at http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_Skywalk.
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