Industry Tackles Challenges in Mass-Producing Flexible Solar P...

Industry Tackles Challenges in Mass-Producing Flexible Solar P... Industry Tackles Challenges in Mass-Producing Flexible Solar P... Industry Tackles Challenges in Mass-Producing Flexible Solar PanelsWant to cover your camper with thin, flexible, film-like solar panels to capture electricity on the go? An internet search will turn up many stick-on solar panels. YouTube videos teach viewers how to make homemade versions. But mass-producing and commercializing quality products based on the emergingtechnology remains elusive. The thought is that someday the solar panels may become ever present, always gathering power when the sun is shining powering mobile devices, computers, cars, even shoes. Theyre cheap, easy to install, and can be quickly rolled over a large surface.Researchers at Aalto University in Finland and the University of Montreal are now studying how to make industrial-scale manufacturing of ansicht types of solar panels feasible.To do so, the electronic cells must be made i n rolls of flexible plastic or metal foil through something called roll-to-roll processing. The rolls then undergo ink-jet printing in which dye and electrolyte components are precisely injected into the plastic or foil pieces, says Kati Miettunen, a project manager in Aaltos bioproducts and biosystems department.For You 9 Innovations in Solar PV TechnologyWhile a similar manufacturing process is used across many industries, the fragile cells and the material that covers them make it challenging. They cant be damaged while they move quickly through the rolls, she says.Also, sealing the flexible cells is challenging for manufacturers. If the cells arent fully closed to the elements, liquid electrolyte could leak out of the cell or impurities could seep in, greatly reducing the devices life, Miettunen says.Researchers would have to find new ways to connect the substrates, since conventional techniques such as glass-frit bonding, now used in flat-panel displays and other devices, are u nsuitable for flexible cells, she says. Even with these drawbacks, researchers and developers continue to look at ways to manufacture the flexible solar panels because the market for them is potentially huge.Those panels can fit many types of solar applications and are more aesthetically pleasing on buildings and other structures than the glass panels often used today, says Hannah Brckstmmer, strategic marketing manager at Merck Group, a pharmaceutical, chemical, and life sciences company in Darmstadt, Germany.They have other structural benefits as well. If a roof, for example, cant bear the heavy load of traditional solar panels, the lightweight panels can be affixed without compromising structural integrity. They can also be installed on nonconventional structures, for example, an art installation on the street. Imagine the sails of the Sydney Opera as power plants, Brckstmmer says.Merck is working on flexible solar panel technology that can be printed on substrates using techniqu es that include continuous roll-to-roll processing, which Brckstmmer terms a simple printing technique.The companys technology mixes a polymer in repeating units, like the pearls in a pearl chain, and a carbon molecule. unterstellung two compounds are mixed and dissolved to become a type of ink.After printing, the resulting thin layer is the active layer, absorbing the energy of the sun, she says. You only need a layer thickness of 0.2 micrometers to absorb the energy of the sun and this is 100 times thinner than a human hair.But Mercks flexible solar panels, like that of many other companies, remain experimental and arent mass manufactured. The lifetime of these devices remain an issue, as do environmental concerns, another challenge to commercialization, say the researchers.Another prerequisite for commercialization is making the lifetime of devices adequate in relation to the energy embedded in the fabrication of the devices so that the solar cells wont degrade before they have p roduced more energy than was used for making them, says Jaana Vapaavuori, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Montreal.New discoveries using biomaterials or a hybrid material with wood pulp as substrates for the cells could move the flexible solar cells toward mass commercialization, says Miettunen.Meanwhile, work continues at many companies to bring flexible thin-film solar panels to a widespread market.Jean Thilmany is an independent writer.Read MoreCapturing and Reusing Wasted Energy with NanopeapodsRecord Efficiency Highs on SolarMilitary Looks to Renewables in Battle Zones For Further DiscussionImagine the sails of the Sydney Opera as power plants. Hannah Brckstmmer, Merck Group

This may be the key to making your next meeting tolerable

This may be the key to making yur next meeting tolerableThis may be the key to making your next meeting tolerableYou get to work and start going over the days schedule and there it is in big, bold letters. You have a meeting. A long one. And then you have another one. Your week is actually chock-full of meetings.Though you know they are necessary sometimes they seem absolute counterproductive as people can just not get on the same page and there is too much you are trying to cover.Researchshows that 67% of workers say that fewer than half the meetings they attend seem to be worth their time.Though banishing all meetings sounds like a nice solution, its just not realistic. But if you really want to try to bring the focus level up in a meeting, whether you are leading it or just parteicipating, you may actually want to consider incorporating some meditation practices.Justyn Comer, author of Meditation for Life andthe co-founder of RWM Education, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicate d to making meditation available to as many people as possible, has found that meditation can have tremendous benefits for the working mind, including focus. However, trying to get even a small group of people in the middle of the workday to do a full meditation session seems rather implausible but Comer says even a really, powerful pause can make an impact.Comer spoke with Ladders on what hes learned over two decades of teachingmeditationMeditation shows us how hard focusing isThe first way meditation helps is to start by showing us just how hard it is to focus. We sit down, close our eyes and try to hold our attention on our breathing. Only for a few seconds does that work, and then the mind is off thinking about other things. When we notice that we are distracted we return the focus back to the breath but once again, after a few seconds, the mind is off thinking about something else.This recognition about the distracted nature of our mind is huge. It helps us see how difficult it can be to hold focus, but we also learn a few other key lessons. First we are training ourselves to notice when we are no longer focused. Second we are training ourselves to return our focus back to the thing we want to be focused on. And third over time we learn some of the tricks and techniques for holding focus for longer periods of time such as using curiosity, setting the right intention, and raising the stakes for the mind.The power of the pauseA meditation session is probably not realistic for most organizations (although it would be fascinating to see the impact if it happened). However, a pause makes eminent sense. When we try to sit and meditate we are usually surprised at just how much is going on in our mind. Work problems, deadlines, schreibstube politics, as well as personal issues with our relationships, finances, health, and kids are all trying to get attention in our minds, all the time.One of the benefits of meditation is that we become fully aware of how much is weighing on us. When people walk into a meeting they are all walking in with all these issues on their mind. They are also processing whatever just came up in the meeting theyre coming from, as well as all the most recent requests theyve just seen on their emaille or messages.A pause at the beginning invites people to reset. It acknowledges that they are under these enormous pressures. Then it gives them an opportunity to be fully aware of that, and to make the intention to put it all on pause. None of it is going away, but everyone will be better served if they can at least give this meeting their attention.Eileen Fisher has said that her external consultants were pretty cynical about it when she introduced this practice of having a purposeful pause before each meeting. But now those same consultants are introducing the concept to their other clients as part of the consulting package.Stress lessYes, meditation does help with stress, which is a huge problem in the workplace.It is helpful to recognize that stress is a physiological response to a perceived threat. When we start to feel overwhelmed and unable to cope, or just afraid we will not be able to succeed as well as we want to, the body reacts as though our very survival is threatened. We feel uncomfortable, nauseous, and shaky because adrenaline is being released and blood is diverted away from our stomach and towards our big muscles. We want to run, hide, or fight because that is the bodys prehistoric response to a threat.One of the other side effects of this perceived threat is that our thinking gets cloudy. Historically action was prioritized as the best response for our survival, hence the blood going to the big muscles, but cognitive function wasnt the priority. Yet in the modern world, in the face of the stress, we feel in response to the overwhelming pressure of our professional and personal lives we need to think more clearly, not less. This is why meditation helps. The act of pausing, taking a few intentional breaths and slowing things down, even if just for a minute, counteracts the stress response and helps the body start to relax. The adrenal response decreases which will make us feel better and think more clearly.Additionally, by slowing down the relentless thinking and worrying in our mind we give our mind a breather, from which we can then make better decisions.In addition to helping manage stress, meditation also helps improve other useful attributes for the workplace such as focus, concentration, creativity, self-awareness, emotional regulation, confidence, self-esteem, and improved interactions with colleagues.Meditation everywhereMeditation rooms are nice, but the truth is that meditation can be done anywhere it can be done on the bus, in a crowded room, or at a desk in the middle of a trading floor. In my experience meditation is easy to learn, but hard to remember to do. So I think nudges are really helpful to consistently remind people to take a moment here and there to pause.Ideally, an organization would host periodic classes allow people to check in, such as having 45-minute sessions once a week at lunchtime. But then supplement that with several reminders such as sending a daily email reminder to take a breath at a different time every day, or having the lead article on the Intranet be mindfulness related at least once a week.Using PowerPoint to make your pointThe first thing we learn in meditation is that minds like to wander. Everyones mind likes to wander. Once we realize this we can craft far better presentations. Most people spend all the time on a presentation worrying about what they are going to say.They focus on making the slides accurate, concise, and comprehensive. The problem is that only half of communication is about delivery, and the other half is about the receipt of that information. If peoples minds are distracted then they are not receiving the information being delivered.One of the most useful things we learn i n meditation is the power of curiosity. Holding attention on breathing is hard at first because the mind gets bored and wanders off to something else. When we apply curiosity to the breath, noticing the texture of the air in the nose, or noticing how far you can feel the breath as it travels into the lungs it becomes easier to hold our attention. We can use this curiosity as a powerful trick when presenting.One simple technique is to put up a photograph of something apparently unrelated to what youre going to talk about. Maybe youre talking about budgets (everyones least favorite subject), and your first slide is of a child on a sandy beach with a bucket and spade. Immediately the audience is hooked. They are curious as to what the heck this has to do with a budget. They want to see where youre going with this. For the next few minutes at least you have their focus. It doesnt even matter how well you tie the photo to the point the key is that you have their attention for a while.

Survey says the best U.S. cities to job search in are sunny and warm

Survey says the best U.S. cities to job search in are sunny and warmSurvey says the best U.S. cities to job search in are sunny and warmIndeed released a list of the best US cities for job seekers today, and the winner is a surprise.How about Miami, Florida?Thats good news for people sick of hearing how they have to move somewhere with terrible weather to get a better job. But how did Miami come out ahead?Indeed ranked 25 cities based on four questions about how well the labor market serves people looking for jobs,the average salary, once adjusted for cost of living, how employers are rated in terms of work-life balance on the companys review database, andhow employers are rated in terms of job security and advancement opportunities on the companys review database.Indeed studied information on the 50 metro areas with the most postings on the site, then came up with percentile scores for each topic, and later combined the results into an Indeed City Score for each location.The compan y pointed out that job seeker favorability reflects the degree of mismatch - where the ratio of job postings from employers to clicks from candidates is in favor of the latter.So if youre currently on the hunt for a new position, consider taking a look atIndeeds new list, coupled with arecent study shedding light on the best and worst US cities for equal pay.The Sun Belt rises againOther than Miami at number one (with an Indeed City Score of 89.2),Orlando, FL came in second (85.5), Raleigh, NC came in third (84.5), Austin, TX came in fourth (82.1), and Sacramento, California came in fifth (81.8%).The press release highlighted the prevalence ofof cities in the Sun Belt region, which is not surprising considering thatcensus datashows sunnier distribution policys are increasingly the best ones to work in now.Although Brookings saidin a December 2016analysis of annual Census Bureau data that Californias migration trends are a notable Sun Belt exception, it later added that overall, the United States seems to be in the midst of a population growth paradox As the nations population growth continues to stagnate due to fertility declines in the context of an aging population, internal population shifts help places like the Sun Belt continue to grow.The Midwest fallsTherankingsof the final five cities also show some warm-weather favoritesProvidence, RI came in at 21 (with an Indeed City Score of 56.6), Virginia Beach, VA at 22 (52.7), Phoenix, AZ at 23 (51.8), Dallas, TX at 24 (51.8), and Richmond, VA at 25 (50.5).The cities that have long relied on manufacturing, however, didnt make the list at all.But Chicago, New York, and cities from the manufacturing-heavy Midwest didnt make the cut, which the press release says is in accordance with census data displaying that people are staying away from once-popular destinations.As Indeed Senior VP Paul DArcy talked about the decrease in manufacturing positions in a statement.Manufacturing jobs have steadily declined over the years and havent shown promise for career growth like a generation ago. As a result, the states where they used to be concentrated are working to diversify their economy to attract workers and keep talent in their state, DArcy said.Another outlethighlighted just how many of unterstellung jobs were lost.According to an August 2015 Issue Brief from the Economic Policy Institute called Manufacturing Job Loss Trade, Not Productivity, Is the Culprit,the US lost 5 million manufacturing jobs between January 2000 and December 2014.Related The three best US cities for equal payIf you want to live in a city good for job-hunting and is good for equal pay, the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area seems to be the best choice.A recent study by apartment search service ABODO displayedthecities and jobs with the greatest gaps in pay in the US,with all rankings classified in terms of cents women earn to a mans dollar. The company looked at2015 U.S. Census Bureau salary information on full-time workers.D urham-Chapel Hill, NC came out on top with 92.6,Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA was second with 89.5, andFresno, CA was third, with 88.8.It seems like the key to finding a good job is living in the right place - which is an excellent argument for getting ready to move.

Pressure Vessels Ensure Safety

Pressure Vessels Ensure Safety Pressure Vessels Ensure Safety How important is ensuring pressure vessel safety? Going by its definition, it is actually very important as the vessel, which comes in the shape of a closed container, is entwurfed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure. If it doesnt, the consequences can be fatal. Holding pressure in check has been a monumental challenge since its application began over 300 years ago. This is because the pressure differential is dangerous and many fatal accidents have occurred in the history of pressure vessel development and operation. This explains why its design, manufacture, and operation are regulated by engineering authorities backed by legislation. Since its invention during the industrial revolution in Great Britain, where it welches used primarily in the form of boilers for making steam to power steam engines, pressure vessels played a critical role in minimizing the risks of fata l explosions. Its fundamental to many modern industries that use pressure vessels in such process industries as food and energy, says Douglas Chapin of MPR Associates, Alexandria, VA. He was a keyelende speaker at the ASME-sponsored PVP annual conference in 2011. Pressure vessels are used in a variety of applications ranging from industrial compressed air receivers to domestic hot water storage tanks. Other examples include recompression chambers, distillation towers, mining operations, petrochemical plants, nuclear reactor vessels, submarine, space ship habitats, and storage vessels for liquified gases such as ammonia, chlorine, propane, butane, and LPG. One key area where pressure vessels are critically important is in oil refineries where PVs are often pushed to their design limits as refiners try to maximize utilization and production of products like gasoline and diesel. In refineries, pressure vessels are employed in many different services, including storing feed and products as well as reactors, separators, and fractionation towers to name a few. Here, technology and online inspection techniques are often used to ensure that this equipment does not shut down or fail prematurely. Inspection Techniques Online inspection is critically important to the safe operation of the pressure vessels not only for the refinery but for the surrounding community, says A. J. Warner, a senior engineer, who works for a refinery plant in Texas. Engineer performing ultrasonic weld inspection with OmniScan PV-100 developed by Olympus Photo Olympus-ims.com A key technique widely utilized is ultrasonic testing to determine the thickness of the metal. This is done regularly on key equipment and vital areas to monitor the metal thickness on a regular basis. Once the thickness reaches a level known as the minimum thickness, action must be taken to prevent a release of the contents. Other methods to monitor the health of pressure vessels include properly designed and maintained pr essure relief valves and installation of corrosion coupons and sentinel holes. Pressure vessel design and technology can be important to us all on a personal level, says Warner. Consider, for example, that a key Gulf coast refinery develops a serious problem in a pressure vessel. This will likely cause a shutdown of that unit, lasting anywhere from one day to several weeks or longer. This causes a disruption or shortage in the supply of gasoline to the market, which will drive up the cost at the pump. Therefore, it is in the best interest of everyone that pressure vessel technology remains a key focus area for the refining industry and beyond. Operation Standards Pressure vessels are designed to operate safely at a specific pressure and temperature, technically referred to as the design pressure and design temperature. A vessel that is inadequately designed to handle a high pressure constitutes a very significant safety hazard. Because of that, the design and certification of pressu re vessels is governed by design codes such as the ASME BOILER and Pressure Vessel Code in North America, the Pressure Equipment Directive of the EU (PED), Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS), CSA B51 in Canada, Australian Standards in Australia and other international standards like Lloyds, Germanischer Lloyd, Det Norske Ventas, Socit Gnrale de Surveillance (SGS S.A.). Shape Matters Pressure vessels can be almost any shape, but shapes made of sections of spheres, cylinders, and cones are usually employed. A common design is a cylinder with endcaps called heads. Head shapes are most oftenround/circular or shaped like a dish. More complicated shapes have been mora difficult to analyze for safe operation and are usually far more difficult to construct. Aspherical pressure vessel has approximately twice the strength of a cylindrical pressure vessel. However, a spherical shape is difficult to manufacture, and therefore more expensive, so most pressure vessels are cylindrical with 21 semi -elliptical heads or end caps on each end. Smaller pressure vessels are assembled from a pipe and two covers. A disadvantage of these vessels is that greater breadths are more expensive, so that, for example, the most economic shape of a 1,000-L (35-cu-ft), 250- bar (3,600-psi) pressure vessel might be a breadth of 914.4 mm (36 in) and a width of 1,701.8 mm (67 in) including the 21 semi-elliptical domed end caps. Arshad Mahmud is an independent writer.Holding pressure in check has been a monumental challenge since its application began over 300 years ago.

The Supreme Strategy to Dental Assistant Resume Example

The Supreme Strategy to Dental Assistant Resume Example The undertaking of a dental assistant is a combination of clinical in addition to administrative duties. Always finish your Career Objective by stating ways to assist the clinic achieve its targets. Recent graduates seeking roles as a dental assistant could mention relevant pursuits that demonstrate they have the capability to work within this area. Many dental assisting courses arent flexible enough to let you keep on working full time when completing your education. Writing a resume is an intimidating undertaking. Without this information, it is going to be tricky to locate a job as a Dental Assistant. Customer service skills might also be relevant. A nice and Professional Resume will enable a candidate score over other candidates instantly. What You Dont Know About Dental Assistant Resume Example Dental assistant is also called dental hygienist in some specific scenarios. As a Dental Assistant, you will see yours elf frequently assisting the Dentist during the process. If youre searching to turn into a dental assistant, you will want to look to your resume first. parte of the challenge of locating jobs as a Dental Assistant is being aware of what to do throughout the procedure. Dental operations need many measures and equipments. Assistants have to be aware of what practices theyre permitted to complete in the state in the place where they work. If you dont arent a specialist, you will find overwhelmed by the scope of suggestions and platforms out there. Dental Assistant Resume Example Ideas Some facets of your job could be of more value to an employer than you could think. After the HR manager will see that your resume is highly geared to their business or industry, they will have a far greater impression of you. Administrative assistants are employed in nearly every type of large and established companies where the administration function is too large to control. You also have th e chance to create your work application in several languages. Theres strong demand for dental assistants across the nation, but you will need a polished and targeted resume if you wish to stick out from the crowd. The dental profession necessitates knowledge of and capacity to use tools. The dental business is well known to be one that is fast changing. As stated earlier, it is developing rapidly. Rather than relying on another person to do your work for you, you can take on such a task and make a resume that is going to be truly you in every manner. Nobody knows better than a dental assistant a great smile creates an excellent first impression. There are two methods to go about it. Be simple in your pick of words. Everyone hopes to put on an opportunity to impress potential new employer at a job interview, but theres no denying that interviews can be quite stressful Your resume is an excellent place to talk about your abilities and experience, but its only the start. Get onboard with what it is thats happening now so that you may apply for and be hired for the job you truly want. For starters, it offers you a chance to catch your prospective employers interest. To compose the finest Professional Experience section, you must capture your complete array of experiences, abilities, and above all, achievements. The very first thing you ought to do is find out the necessities of the city or state in which you wish to work as a Dental Assistant. Simply take a look at the next example entries to assist you in making your very own dental assistant job description as strong as possible. On the flip side, if youve limited or not work experience, keep your resume as much as a page. When youre asking for a job which relies on the strengths of the person, you require a resume vorlage which you can inject a little more personality into to make it pop. Our creative templates enable you to stick out from the crowd. Our professional sample template resume th at we present create it simple to produce and use our well-curated templates to produce your own expert profile. Each one of our creative style templates provide a perfectly balanced mixture of personality, professionalism and a little style.

Arizona Green Jobs Fair Offers Opportunities in Solar, Energy and Utilities

Arizona Green Jobs Fair Offers Opportunities in Solar, Energy and Utilities More green jobs are coming to Arizona. The Arizona Energy Consortium, a subsidiary of the Arizona Technology Council, in association with the IKOLOJI Sustainability Collaborative, providers of the Sonoran Sustainable Building Advisor Program (SBAP), will be launching the, Sustainability Clean Technology Job Fair on September 19, 2011 at the Wyndham Hotel, in Phoenix, AZ., from 1000 a.m to 2 p.m.The associations have come together to provide job seekers and employers a platform to connect and engage with each other over job opportunities. Organizations attending the event and seeking top talent include APS, Empire CAT, Green Monster, Kelly Services, Manpower, Power-One, as well as many others.Sonoran SBAP, a founding member of the Arizona Energy Consortium, along with Maricopa Workforce Connections and Phoenix Workforce Co nnection, is elated to have the opportunity to work with the Consortiums partners to further ur goal of inspiring insightful solutions to our areas sustainability issues, said Leslie Lindo, president, IKOLOJI Sustainability Collaborative. We not only assist in providing quality training and education but in matching those seeking employment in the areas of sustainable building with employers needing their skills.The green job fair is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Federal Department of Labor, administered through the Arizona Energy Consortium. The fair aims to enhance the careers of professionals in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, utility and sustainability Industries.This job fair is a great way for job seekers and company representatives of the growing number of sustainability and clean technology companies in Arizona to network and form connections, said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO, Arizona Technology Council. As the leader of the Arizona Energ y Consortium, the Arizona Technology Council is proud to betreuung this effort to grow industries supporting solar, energy and utilities across Arizona.