Quantum Materials Corp. (fka QTMM)

[chessmite]

I looked at several things on the following link and found some things of interest to me.
(I haven't read all information available).

http://www.kaust.edu.sa/media/features.html


Faculty Initiated Collaborations - The Winners

"We asked our faculty to submit proposals for activities, with their own choice of partners, that are connected and complementary so that each project includes research both inside and outside the Kingdom”

The program attracted a strong response from faculty; ten partnerships (see below) were awarded from the 50 proposals submitted.

"The proposals went through the peer review process and the selection panel evaluated them and came up with the top-ranked ones,” added Dr. Al-Ali.



Molecular-Scale Design and Engineering of Nanostructured Organic Solar Cells

Aram Amassian (PI), Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering ; Ghassan Jabbour (co-PI), Professor of Materials Science and Engineering.

Markus Hadwiger (co-PI), Assistant Professor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences.

C.O.: Georgia Tech University, KFUPM (Saudi Arabia) & University of Kentucky



http://www.kaust.edu.sa/media/features/harvard.html
G.J. seems to be a busy man. I also like the fact new collaborations are being established.





Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC),
SABIC has made a huge investment in the CRI, which will focus on disruptive technologies – defined as new technologies that unexpectedly displace established ones. In addition, it will provide $1M annually to support postdoctoral researchers with non-restricted grants and is generously funding a new Chair in Polymer Science. Some of the fellowships funded seem, at first glance, outside SABIC 's obvious areas of commercial interest. For example, data-mining in computational biology which Dr. Occhiello likens to identifying the "needle in the haystack: the exception in the broad sea of conformity." He justifies this diversification believing that biological approaches may supersede chemical processes in the future and looks to "the best possible leveraging of the investment SABIC is making."

The company will fund several KAUST researchers directly to focus on some of the challenges that it faces including solar energy, separation, catalysis, bio renewables, and functional materials. Should a KAUST researcher develop a suitable technology, he or she will personally be eligible for a Commercialization Challenge Award of up to $1M from SABIC at the point of commercialization.

http://www.kaust.edu.sa/media/features/sabic1.html
SABIC willing to help with $





Engineering the impossible
(I think Hawk and Dock will both like this info)

"If a solar-powered aircraft has the ability to fly day and night with no fuel, then there is the possibility that one day it could fly around the world," explains Dr. Piccard. "And if that happens, then no one could say that solar-power can't be used for cars, computers, air-conditioning and other electronic devices."

When Dr. Piccard's team approached airplane manufacturers for construction of Solar Impulse, they were told that such a plane was impossible to build. "Instead, we approached a shipbuilder to construct our plane," said Dr. Piccard.

"We needed people who had no idea about airplanes and who didn't think that constructing such a plane was impossible." The shipbuilder managed to successfully build the lightweight carbon-fiber frame of the plane.

The project garnered many industry sponsors and scientific collaborators including KAUST Provost, Professor Stefan Catsicas and his previous university, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL). Through the impetus of Dr. Piccard and Professor Catsicas, EPFL carried out a feasibility study on the prospect of a solar, round-the-world flight. This study produced positive results that enabled the project to begin in 2003.

The Solar Impulse aircraft has a wingspan of 64 meters (the same as an Airbus 340), it weighs less than a family car at 1600 kilograms and uses the solar energy equivalent of a small motor-cycle. The plane gathers flight via electric propulsion that is powered by solar energy. For overnight flying the batteries store solar energy that is collected during daytime flight.

After several test flights, the plane made its first full overnight flight in July 2010. The flight duration was 26 hours. "The only reason we stopped was because our pilot was tired, it could have stayed airborne for much longer," remarks Dr. Piccard.

The Solar Impulse team are now working on a second plane that will feature a high-performance cockpit, light-weight communications system and the capability of flying for several days continuously.

http://www.kaust.edu.sa/media/features/piccard.html
2003 - 2010 ........seven years to proof and now working on the next step. Dr. Piccard has a great attitude. His name reminds me of Star Trek and new horizons of adventures and advances in Nanotechnology.
This is just one product whose tech will lead to others.
How many products and technologies do you think QTMM will help Launch?
I think I'll stick around for a number of years.