2022 has been a busy year for the R&D community, from the continuing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to the repercussions on the economy and funding for future research. We’ve seen some amazing breakthroughs and innovations — and welcomed back the R&D 100 Awards banquet dinner. It’s been a busy year in the industry. Here’s…

By Gordon Feller With top-notch universities, federal research institutes, leading companies from nine major industry sectors, and 14 top-ranked hospital systems, Ohio is a “quiet giant” of innovation in industrial sectors and life science. Ohio has the fifth-highest number of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies — and is home to more than 120 NYSE/Nasdaq…

The Winners of the 2022 R&D 100 Awards have been announced by R&D World magazine. This renowned worldwide science and innovation competition, celebrating its 60th year, received entries from a dozen different countries and regions. This year’s esteemed judging panel included nearly 50 well-respected industry professionals from across the world. Finalists were announced last week.…

Finalists for the 2022 R&D 100 Awards have been announced by R&D World magazine. This renowned worldwide science and innovation competition, celebrating its 60th year, received entries from a dozen different countries and regions. This year’s esteemed judging panel included nearly 50 well-respected industry professionals from across the world. The Finalists are listed below by…

By Mark Jones I’ve discovered a new sport, one made possible by Erik Rintamaki. No, he’s not the inventor of pickleball — and the sport I found is not the fastest growing in the U.S. My new sport is a bit more scientific and, for R&Ders, it comes with a useful allegory. The sport I…

Pipettes are used to deliver small measured volumes of liquid. They include several manually operated instruments including a simple Pasteur pipette, graduated pipettes and the considerably more accurate volumetric pipettes. Pipette controllers are devices attached to a conventional pipette to allow more user friendly and accurate operation. They enable the user to rapidly fill and…

Nanocatalysts are catalysts made up of nanoparticles or some other nanostructure such as a nanofoam. A catalyst is a material which increases the rate of a chemical reaction, without itself being altered or changed by the reaction. Nanostructures are engineered structures with features at the nanoscale — between one and 100 nanometers. An obvious advantage…

Nanostructures are engineered structures with features at the nanoscale — between 1 and 100 nanometers. They include nanotextured surfaces, nanoparticles and nanotubes, as well as more complex nano-scale structures. A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter, which is just slightly larger than the atomic scale — individual atoms in a solid are between…

Graduated cylinders are a common type of laboratory glassware. They are an elongated cylindrical vessel, with graduations to indicate the volume of liquid held, and typically a spout to ease pouring. Graduated cylinders very similar to beakers, but while beakers are relatively short and wide to facilitate storage and mixing, graduated cylinders are taller and…

A flask is a common piece of laboratory glassware. They are used for storing, mixing and measuring liquids, a similar role to beakers and graduated cylinders. Flasks are available in various shapes but what makes them a distinct from other laboratory containers is that they have a wider body with a narrower neck extending to…

This year’s iteration of the esteemed R&D 100 Awards features a judging panel comprised of nearly 50 professionals from across the globe, who boast an impressive collection of accomplishments and honors. Finalists in this year’s 60th R&D 100 Awards will be announced on August 15th at rdworldonline.com. Winners of this year’s R&D 100 Awards, along…

R&D World editors Paul Heney and Aimee Kalnoskas have their minds blown — multiple times! — in this episode, which delves into Certara’s Simcyp COVID-19 Vaccine Model, a 2021 R&D 100 Awards winner. Paul interviews Piet van der Graaf, Senior Vice President and Head of Quantitative Systems Pharmacology for Certara and learns about the genesis…

Nanoparticles are engineered particles of between one and 100 nanometers in diameter, a size known as the nanoscale. To put this into context, a nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter, and the distance between individual atoms in a solid is between 0.1 nm and 0.4 nm. Nanoparticles therefore range in size from tens…

By Mark Jones Morel mushroom hunting is an interesting and enjoyable spring activity in Michigan. Finding morels is a challenge, but if you want to eat them, finding is close to the only option. It takes effort, knowledge of the woods, and a trained eye. Some friends, life-long morel hunters, introduced us to the morel…

Our co-hosts Paul Heney and Aimee Kalnoskas are talking pain in this episode — that’s some serious chronic pain. They investigate one of the most interesting recent inventions for treating this debilitating condition, something that many of us will deal with at some point in our lives. Paul and Aimee hear from Lee Hartley and Jonathan Ruais…

For 2022, U.S. industrial organizations are expected to collectively invest $447 billion in R&D efforts, or about 65.8% of the total R&D monies invested by the U.S. ($679.4 billion). That industrial investment is more than all other global countries except for China. The U.S. federal government is expected to invest $181.4 billion in R&D in…

By Mark Jones In a normal world, vodka, nickel, palladium, and neon would have nothing in common. In our current world, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they do. All are currently experiencing supply chain disruptions due either directly to the fighting or to sanctions. Nickel and palladium come from mines. Russian mines produced about 10%…

A test tube, also known as a sample tube, is a clear cylindrical vessel with a closed bottom and an open top. Test tubes are very common in laboratory testing and experimentation. The exact design of test tubes depends on their intended use. Uses for test tubes include storing samples on the bench, refrigerator or…

Beakers are a common type of laboratory glassware used for preparing and holding solutions and other samples. A beaker is generally a cylindrical container with a flat bottom and an open top. This shape is similar to a drinking beaker. The straight cylindrical sides of a beaker distinguish it from a flask, which has sloping…

A pipette is a common laboratory tool used to transport and deliver small measured volumes of liquid. Pipettes now encompass a diverse range of instruments, with widely varying accuracy. The earliest pipettes were simple glass tubes with a narrowing tip at the bottom, and a separate a flexible bulb covering the top. Many more modern…

By Mark Jones Last month, I got caught up in the Olympic mixed doubles curling. At the start of the competition, I think it is safe to say no one guessed a team would go undefeated on the way to a gold medal. The gold-medal winning Italians were young and from a country with very…

By Becky Chambers Hennessy, contributing writer   If you haven’t heard the drumbeat from the American Chemical Society (ACS), April 17 marks the start of 2022 Chemists Celebrate Earth Week, designed to promote “the positive role that chemistry plays in the world.” But as important as that role is, let’s face it: “Chemistry” has an…

By Mark Jones We are addicted. We know it is bad, but we can’t stop. It rusts our cars, destroys our bridges, damages our plants, yet, when it snows, we throw the salt. Ten inches of snow debilitated the Washington area in early January, closing a section of I-95. Snow closed roads, both in the…

The 60th R&D 100 Awards program is now open for submissions. The program is open to corporate, government, and academic R&D organizations across the globe, and has been called “The Oscars of Innovation.” First established in 1963, the R&D 100 Awards is the only S&T (science and technology) awards competition that recognizes new commercial products, technologies…

By Gordon Feller In a report charting, “The Rise of Innovation Districts,” the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., lists Barcelona alongside seven other cities that contain such districts, the others being Berlin, London, Medellin, Montreal, Seoul, Stockholm, and Toronto. How exactly did an ancient Catalonian city, situated on the coast of Spain, manage to pull…