Each year the Lab Design Conference agenda hosts educational sessions on topics of importance to those involved in planning, designing, engineering, constructing and operating laboratory facilities. The Lab Design Conference is run by Laboratory Design, a sister publication of Controlled Environments. Experts from the lab design/build community are invited to share their knowledge and advice…
Enter Your Facility for 2019 Lab of the Year!
Cleanroom Apparel and Attire Product Showcase
The November/December 2018 issue of Controlled Environments will feature a showcase of cleanroom apparel and attire. We would like to invite you to submit information about one of your company’s related products or services for this issue! There is no charge for this opportunity. To be considered for publication, please submit the following to [email protected]:…
Zip Up Your Graphene Jacket
Graphene was first isolated and characterized in 2004 by two researchers at The University of Manchester. Since then, graphene — a single, thin layer of graphite and one of the strongest materials in the known universe — has been used in countless applications, thanks to its flexibility, transparency, and its highly conductive properties and its impermeability to most gases and…
Facility Profile: Micron Manassas cleanroom expansion, Manassas, Va.
Facility Profile: Astro Pak Space Coast Cleanroom
Cost: $7 million Size: 38,000 sf Project team: Loyd Contracting Company, Inc. Description: Astro Pak’s new Florida facility, located just outside of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), has opened its doors for business in July 2018. The newly renovated facility in Titusville houses an AS9100 and ISO certified contract precision cleaning cleanroom. The project marks…
Call for Presentations for the 2019 Lab Design Conference
The 2019 Lab Design Conference will be held on April 29-May 1, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, Florida. Since 2002, the Lab Design Conference — presented by Laboratory Design, a sister publication of Controlled Environments — has provided a dynamic educational and networking event for those involved in planning, designing, engineering, constructing…
FDA, CDC Warn of Salmonella Outbreak in Popular Breakfast Cereal
The FDA has cautioned consumers against eating Kellogg’s Honey Smacks breakfast cereal, after continued reports of illness following a June 2018 recall. The Kellogg Company issued a recall on June 14 due to Salmonella Mbandaka illnesses reported across 36 states. At least 130 people have been sickened, with 24 hospitalized across 36 states. The…
Facility Profile: NewAge Industries/AdvantaPure Cleanroom Expansion
Cost: $10 million Size: 43,000 sf Project team: AES Clean Technology Inc. (engineering, design, and construction) Description: Following nearly two years of planning, preparation, construction and validation, team members at NewAge Industries/AdvantaPure are now using new cleanrooms to produce platinum-cured silicone tubing, molded components and single-use molded tubing assemblies. The products are manufactured for the…
Cleanroom Work Uncovers Ancient Migrant Mysteries
A team of scientists has determined that settlers with blue eyes and fair skin inhabited the Levant — a historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean — about 6,500 years ago. The researchers used a dedicated cleanroom facility at Harvard Medical School to examine bone powder from skeletal remains to…
More Nanotech Woes, Corruption Accusations for New York State
There’s yet another chapter in the Upstate New York nanotechnology saga — this time, concerning long-closed cleanrooms in the town of Greece, on the shores of Lake Ontario. The issue centers around a meeting of state leaders in March 2016 in Rochester, where they were promoting the AIM Photonics Institute — in particular the arrival…
Facility Profile: West Pharmaceutical Services Lab and Cleanrooms
Size: 20,500 sm Project team: Arup (design and construction management), Asistec (lab design layout and furniture) Description: West’s Waterford, Ireland facility is a global center of excellence for West Pharmaceutical Services Inc.’s advanced manufacturing network. The facility, situated on a 44-acre campus, will produce West’s elastomeric laminate sheeting, which is used to package insulin for…
Pharma Tech from Meningitis Outbreak Facility Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud
A pharmacy technician from the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of mail fraud. Scott M. Connolly worked at the New England Compounding Center from January 2010 to August 2012. The NECC closed in 2012 after a fungal meningitis outbreak caused by tainted steroid injections…
Nasal Spray Recalled Due to Bacterial Contamination
The FDA has cautioned against using a specific type of CVS nasal spray, due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in humans. The FDA notes that those who use the product and suffer from cystic fibrosis or are immuno-compromised are at particular risk, although the agency also states that…
Apple Smashes Wearables Expectations
Apple has reported over $3 billion in revenue from its sales of Apple Watches, iPods, home products, and other products, surpassing Wall Street estimates for its third quarter. Company stock rose about 2 percent after a strong third quarter. Apple has topped $10 billion in sales over the last four quarters. “Apple watch delivered record…
Blaming China, Qualcomm Nixes Takeover of Rival Semiconductor Firm
American computer chip conglomerate Qualcomm has announced that it will drop its proposed $43 acquisition of Dutch competitor NXP, after the company was unable to gain approval from antitrust authorities in China. The ultimate deadline was midday Thursday in China, and Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce ran out the clock without approving the takeover. As part…
Cleanroom Trends and Salary Survey
Controlled Environments has once again surveyed its readers to find out what’s trending in the cleanroom business, and which industries are represented by our readership. We also asked questions about industry salaries, workloads, benefits, and job satisfaction. Cleanrooms are used in various fields Our first survey question asked readers about the primary field of work performed in their facilities. Tied for the…
U.S.-China Tariff Spat Could Hit Semiconductor, Electronics Industries Hard
President Donald Trump recently announced that he would seek tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, following up on a 2016 campaign promise to use tariffs in order to cut U.S. trade deficits. The White House has stated that the tariffs, which will initially target over 800 kinds of products worth $34 billion in imports, are retaliation for what it…
Facility Profile: Cleanroom Suites, Brown University’s Engineering Building
Cost: $90,000,000 Size: 80,000 gsf; 46,400 nsf; 18,000 nsfl Project team: RFD (laboratory planners), Kieran Timberlake (architects) The cleanroom includes 3,000 nsf of filtered space within a 5,000 nsf total area. The cleanroom suite is positioned to be highly visible from the building exterior and main entry. A three-bay cleanroom supports micro-electronics and material sciences…
Tell Us About Your New Cleanroom!
Would you like to see your new or renovated cleanroom facility profiled in Controlled Environments? Contact MaryBeth DiDonna, Editor, at [email protected] or 973-920-7045. Tell us the size (square footage), the project team (architect, designer, engineers, etc.), the cost, the completion date, and a 200-300 word description of the facility and what makes it unique. Also…
Send Us Your Cleanroom Monitoring Products!
Each issue of Controlled Environments includes a product showcase, featuring the latest offerings from companies in the cleanroom industry. The July/August 2018 issue of Controlled Environments will feature a showcase of Cleanroom Monitoring Systems. We would like to invite you to submit information about one of your company’s related products or services for this issue. There…
What’s Elon Musk Got Against Nanotechnology?
Tesla/SpaceX founder Elon Musk found himself in some hot water recently when he called nanotechnology “B.S.” during a Twitter exchange with people questioning the safety records and union viewpoints of Tesla. Musk targeted nanotechnology when an Australian molecular biologist called it “pathetic” for Musk to propose a media credibility rating website, which Musk suggested was…
Will You Be Our 200th Like on Facebook?
The Controlled Environments Facebook page is your home for the latest cleanroom news stories, feature articles, and tips. Click here and follow us! https://www.facebook.com/ControlledEnvironmentsMagazine And while you’re at it … Follow Controlled Environments on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CEMagazineUS Join the Controlled Environments LinkedIn group: http://linkd.in/1JTYiJ9 See you online!
We Want Your Best Cleanroom Advice!
Calling all cleanroom experts! Do you have a Cleanroom Tip to share with our audience? Send it in to Controlled Environments! A Cleanroom Tip is a short piece of advice (about 100-200 words) or bullet points to follow as you work in a controlled environment facility. Maybe it’s wise advice you received from a mentor, a personal…
Reflecting on the Future of Wearables
As time goes by and technology improves, more and more companies are developing wearable electronics for multiple uses. Smart watches and wristbands are used as fitness trackers to keep an eye on the user’s heart rate and distance covered during a run. Flexible nanomesh “tattoos” allow the skin to breathe while preventing inflammation. Patches worn on the skin…