The Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association (AEEMA) has welcomed the establishment of a new national agency, the National Measurement Institute, to provide measurement standards and services.

The Australian Federal Government has awarded Curtin University of Technology, The University of Western Australia and EMC Technologies a grant to establish the 'Australian Centre for EMC Technology Transfer' (ACETT).

Peidong Yang, a University of California, Berkeley, chemist, has fabricated a new type of nanotube, made of gallium nitride, that, he says, "captures some of the great properties from nanowires and carbon nanotubes, and eliminates the not so good characteristics of both.

Two Australian IT security companies, CTAM and Australian Projects signed a memoranda of understanding with Mitac, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company, at a special ceremony convened by the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturer Association (AEEMA) and the Australian IT Security Forum, in association with the Taiwan office of Austrade, at the CeBIT Australia 2003 exhibition held in Sydney.

La Trobe University physicists have reversed the traditional direction of technology flow by designing and building a toroidal electron spectrometer and exporting it to Germany.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers have developed the first intrinsic quantum standard for alternating current (AC) voltage, making possible more precise measurements and comparisons with existing power-detection-based AC voltage standards.

At the Acoustical Society of America in Nashville, Seth Putterman of UCLA described a new 'water hammer' method for generating sonoluminescence (SL),.the transformation of sound into light.

The Australian and New Zealand Electrical Regulatory authorities have implemented changes to mains plugs.

Many items in everyday use - such as mobile phones and laptop computers - exist because of research carried out in photonics. At the UKs University of Cambridge, several academic groups have joined with industrial partners to investigate the different aspects of photonics, applications and materials in a new Centre for Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics (CMMPE).

Researchers worldwide are developing the technology to provide high quality images at a relatively low cost in consumer electronic, precision imaging, scientific research, and engineering applications, among others.

Australia's first national electronics industry conference - 'Technology Futures 2003' - is being held in Adelaide on May 15 & 16.

A team of Virginia Tech researchers is attempting to push ultra-wide-band (UWB) technology into the next phase - where military communications can elude detection and all manner of home electronics systems can be operated wirelessly.

National Semiconductor and Arrow Electronics have launched Analog University. www.analogu.national.com It is a no cost online educational resource devoted to analog semiconductor technologies. It gives users fast access to technical information and training so they can solve semiconductor applications issues.

Stretchable gold conductors have been developed by Princeton University researchers. The conductors may be the answer to problems that arise when engineers build oddly shaped devices (such as retina-inspired photosensor arrays, for example), or when making connections to sensors attached to the skin or to other flexible surfaces.

The Mobile Power Box has been developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar energy systems ISE working in cooperation with the firm of Masterflex. It is a membrane fuel cell system supplying mains-free energy in the medium power range.