December 2004 - Materials Science Institute - University of Oregon

SA 50
(business leaders)
CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS
Beng Ong
Research fellow, Xerox Research Center of Canada, Mississauga, Ontario
Created materials for electronics that can be printed like a newspaper.
Electronics made
from plastic may
be a component
of roll-up displays.
Plastic electronics should not only be superinexpensive but far more fl exible than silicon versions, which would make them
great for applications like roll-up computer displays. Ideally, circuitry could be printed onto plastics much as ink is printed
on a page. Most ingredients for such devices that are printable as inks degrade rapidly in the presence of oxygen. At an April
technical meeting, Beng Ong and his colleagues unveiled air-stable, printable substances that can be semiconductors, conductors
and insulators—the three elements needed to print transistors. The semiconductor and insulator are organic polymers,
whereas the conductor is an organic-inorganic hybrid. Xerox is working with Motorola to demonstrate circuit printing.
COMMUNICATIONS
British Telecom Wholesale
London
Committed to transfer its voice network to an Internet Protocol–based system.
In addition to rapid data transfer, broadband Internet connections allow for
fast, inexpensive telephone service. Transmitting calls over the Internet can
decrease a business’s maintenance, support and hardware costs by combining
voice and data, but reliability concerns have deterred many consumers
from making the switch. One way to harness the benefi ts of voice over Internet
Protocol without compromising quality is to use a dedicated, high-capacity
IP network instead of the Internet itself. In June, British Telecom pledged
to switch its entire phone system to this type of specialized network, an
unprecedented move that requires creating a new infrastructure and developing
technology to supply special Internet-capable telephones. Implementation
is set to begin in 2006, giving customers access to service options such
as multimedia calling and better phone directories.
COMPUTING
MagiQ Technologies
New York City
Released a cryptography system
that exploits quantum mechanics.
The mathematical “keys” of dataencryption
algorithms have long
prevented hackers from decoding
messages. But recent leaps in computer
power and code breaking are
making it possible to intercept keys
as they are sent. In the 1980s theorists
proposed that a stream of photons
could create unbreakable keys.
According to the Heisenberg uncer-
tainty principle, if an eavesdropper
attempted to observe the photons,
that act would alter the key, making
it impossible to steal. Furthermore,
a receiver would know a breach
was attempted. But it took computer
scientists until last year to devise
a practical system; it was then that
MagiQ began selling its Navajo
Secure Gateway, calling it the fi rst
commercial quantum-key distribution
system. This past July, MagiQ
unveiled an update, QPN 5505; id
Quantique SA and NEC are also
offering quantum encryption.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Rising Data Solutions
Gaithersburg, Md.
Set up Africa’s first telemarketing call center.
In Africa, corruption and high tariffs plague
the government-controlled telephone services.
Calls are costly, busy signals and dropped
lines are frequent, and patrons attempting to
use voice over Internet technology are jailed
for infringing on the monopoly. Until now,
those obstacles had excluded Africa from
the lucrative call-center business, but Rising
Data Solutions met
the challenge. Led
by Karim Morsli
and Sambou Ma -
kalou, the company
set up a telemarketing
center
in Ghana in 2003.
They chose Ghana
for its political
stability and edu-
Call centers may help
bolster the fortunes
of flagging African
economies.
cated workforce,
and they persuaded
the government
to allow the operation.
Employees
of the Rising Data Solutions call center earn
solid income by selling T-Mobile wireless
service to Americans, an example that paves
the way for new entrepreneurial opportunities
in Africa.
54 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN DECEMBER 2004
COPYRIGHT 2004 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
PALO ALTO RESEARCH CENTER (top); RISING DATA SOLUTIONS (bottom)