If you have a unique design idea or invention, you could win $20,000 in the 2007 Create the Future Design Contest, presented by SolidWorks Corp. and NASA Tech Briefs. The contest is open for entries in these categories: Machinery, Equipment, and Component Technology; Consumer Products; Medical; Safety and Security; Transportation; and Sustainable Technologies.

The sixth annual Create the Future design contest recognizes outstanding innovations in product design, awarding a Grand Prize of $20,000 and six First Prizes (one from each category) of Hewlett-Packard engineering workstations. Entrants may elect to have their entry posted on the contest Web site, and the 10 most-visited entries will each be awarded $250. All qualified entrants will receive a Create the Future Design Contest T-shirt.

The contest is co-sponsored by COMSOL Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. So, exercise your imagination and submit your innovative design ideas today. All entries must be received by October 15, 2007.

Go here for guidelines, tips on winning, and the official entry form.

This monthly review lets you “meet” the new advertisers appearing in Defense Tech Briefs (DTB). Here’s a sneak peek at the products, services, and offers available from Augustís first-time advertisers.

General Devices Co. (Indianapolis, IN) offers electronic packaging hardware as single components or complete solutions. Products are designed for military, aerospace, emergency vehicle, medical, and other applications.

The Golden-Eye from General Micro Systems (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) is a rugged, ultra-small Core 2 Duo(R) rugged computer system. Other products include single-board computers and CPUs for rugged environments.

Great River Technology (Albuquerque, NM) supplies advanced video and data systems, including an ARINC 818 development suite, and video and protocol analyzer. Products include frame grabbers, video recorders, embedded modules, and graphics generators.

Mensor Corp. (San Marcos, TX) offers automated pressure calibrators, digital pressure gauges, and digital pressure transducers for a variety of applications.

MiTac Technology Corp. (Taiwan) offers GETAC V100 rugged convertible tablet computers that transform from a notebook to a tablet PC. The unit features a shock-mounted hard drive, waterproof camera, and integrated wireless capabilities in a magnesium alloy case.

A monolithic silicon nitride ceramic is densified at temperatures lower than 2000 degrees Celsius, and heat-treated at temperatures greater than 2000 degrees Celsius. This monolithic silicon nitride has a highly acicular microstructure and average apparent aspect ratio greater than 1.8. It also offers excellent damage tolerance and high thermal conductivity.

A silicon nitride sintered body has a composition consisting essentially of from 75 to 96 weight percent of silicon nitride; yttrium oxide present in an amount ranging from about 2 to 10 weight percent; at least one oxide of the lanthanide (Ln) element; and 0.2 to 5 weight percent of silicon carbide. It features high strength and toughness for gas turbine and automotive engine components.

The Technologies of the Week describe inventions offered for license through the yet2.com marketplace. Search over $2.5 billion of licensable technologies at www.yet2.com.

Researchers at MIT have demonstrated how ordinary spark-ignition car engines can, under certain driving conditions, move into a spark-free operating mode that is more fuel-efficient and cleaner. The new capability could be available in production models within a few years, improving fuel economy by several miles per gallon. Over time, it could cut oil demand in the U.S. by a million barrels a day.

Switching a spark-ignition (SI) engine to homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode pushes up its fuel efficiency. In an HCCI engine, fuel and air are mixed together and injected into the cylinder. The piston compresses the mixture until spontaneous combustion occurs. The engine combines fuel-and-air premixing with spontaneous ignition. The result is that combustion occurs simultaneously at many locations throughout the combustion chamber.

Using the results of their engine tests as a guide, the researchers developed an inexpensive technique that should enable a single engine to run in SI mode but switch to HCCI mode whenever possible. A simple temperature sensor determines whether the upcoming cycle should be in SI or HCCI mode.

The researchers estimate that the increase in fuel efficiency would be a few miles per gallon, which may not seem like an impressive improvement, but, according to the team, if all cars in the US improved that much, it could be worth a million barrels of oil per day, which is impressive.

Read the full story here.

Your unique invention could win you $20,000 or other great prizes. Enter your design idea in the 2007 Create the Future Design Contest, presented by SolidWorks Corp. and NASA Tech Briefs. Entries are being accepted in six categories: Machinery, Equipment, and Component Technology; Consumer Products; Medical; Safety and Security; Transportation; and Sustainable Technologies.

Co-sponsored by COMSOL Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the sixth annual contest recognizes outstanding innovations in product design, awarding a Grand Prize of $20,000, and six First Prizes (one from each category) of Hewlett-Packard engineering workstations. Entrants may elect to have their entry posted on the contest Web site, and the 10 most-visited entries will each be awarded $250. All qualified entrants will receive a Create the Future Design Contest T-shirt.

Click here for guidelines and the official entry form.