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Related Links: MIT Research on Integrated Circuits Based on Bilayer MoS2 Transistors An Explanation of the Bandgap In lab tests late last month, researchers for the first time successfully used a 2D lubricant material called molybdenum disulfide as a semiconductor, a new application that opens up a range of possibilities for electronic devices.Scientist Madan Dubey at the Army Research Lab says, "[Two-dimensional] material has only length and width. The [molybdenum disulfide's] height is just one molecule." Dubey collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the research. His expert team has the tools to test the quality of the molybdenum

First Read Viewpoint: This summer, millions went without power in India’s largest outage in history, and currently, hurricane season still threatens the Gulf coast. Now more than ever, concerns about power delivery in extreme weather are real and increasing.We’ve all heard the cliché “time is money,” but it is especially true for providers of electricity. Every minute that power is out equals lost revenue. For large investor owned utilities (IOUs), the potential impact of storms can reach tens of millions of dollars annually. Quite often, smaller utilities do not have funds to set aside for these types of extreme events

Model-driven project delivery on jobsites could be taking a big leap forward with a license deal between project information management (PIM) provider Newforma and M-SIX's 3D software platform, called VEO.

Photo by Tom Sawyer New York City building permits are sprouting up with QR codes that instantly unlock vast amounts of project information. Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri thought of it, and so far, New York City may be the only city doing it, experts say, although they believe the idea will spread to other cities soon. Related Links: On the Road to Digitization Speeding Construction Recovery With Streamlined Code Review Building permits posted on New York City construction sites are sporting an intelligent look these days as older permits give way to new ones bearing QR codes—those stamp-like squares of

Courtesy Trimble Trimble's Digirod can measure grade from a rotating laser without ever touching the ground. From the "groma" with its right angles and plumb bobs used 3,000 years ago to modern-day grade rods, surveyors have been using some type of rod in their work. A new grading device claims to eliminate the need for grade rods when checking grades with a rotating laser. It compounds a laser distance meter, laser receiver, tilt sensor and digital readout to get grade readings without touching the ground at tilt angles of up to 30 degrees.Trimble Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., calls its grading instrument,

Image courtesy of Sundt Construction 3_D model section view of a plan for a trench to bury a sewer line 45 ft below grade. VDC analyzed scenario calls for a two step process to excavate a trench wide enough to hold the spoil from a second trench dug in the center to minimize hauling while maintaining safe slopes and achieving the depth required. Related Links: Read Cylwik and Dwyer's full paper: Virtual Design and Construction in Horizontal Infrastructure Projects Construction processes in vertical buildings are often repeatable—and repeated. That helps make that kind of construction a good fit for building

Related Links: Engineering News-Record Information Technology Resource Commander Integrating time, production and equipment data with accounting has long meant deciphering handwritten notes or re-keying information on spreadsheets and forms to data-entry screens. Contractors now are cleaning up that workflow with mobile data-collection systems.One enabler is ACS Connect, Brandon, Fla.,a construction software developer and consultant. Data from ACS's time-, production- and equipment-tracking product, Resource Commander, can feed into many back-office systems. The product has a growing list of users and is about to get a boost from Viewpoint Construction Software, Portland, Ore., which is preparing to release an iOS- and Android-compatible

In an experiment to sort out the differences between manufacturers' claims of individual component performance and the real-life delivery of installed photovoltaic collector arrays, one California electrical contractor has built a test facility on top of its headquarters.

Courtesy of Gehry Technologies The tool translates 3D files from different vendors' software. Courtesy of Gehry Technologies Data can be accessed from all devices with web access, including tablets. Related Links: Gehry Technologies Gehry Technologies is offering a free preview of its new cloud-based 3D file-management and project collaboration platform. Until Sept. 30, anyone can try out the service, which GT calls the first web-based viewer developed specifically for use by the building team.Called GTeam, the tool is designed for "concurrent work across all CAD tools, so different team members can work on different files of the same project at