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"  Power Plastic (2005 Winner) Alan J. Heeger&amp;#039;s thin, affordable solar film won him not only a Breakthrough Award but also a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation last year. Now Power Plastic is set to be commercially available in 2008 (in the meantime, the U.S. Army and Air Force have been testing it in prototype applications). This year, Heeger worked with Kwanghee Lee and a team of scientists to create a new tandem organic solar cell that increases efficiency to 6.5 percent--the highest level achieved for solar cells made from organic materials. Tandem cells are comprised of two multilayered parts that work together to gather a wider range of the spectrum of solar radiation at both shorter and longer wavelengths. Heeger expects the technology to be on the market in about three years.   BrainGate (2005) Over the past year, Dr. John Donoghue has implanted his mind-powered limb mover into four patients. And while the results are encouraging, there&amp;#039;s still one major hurdle to overcome: Currently, cables connect the BrainGate computer directly to the brain, limiting a patient&amp;#039;s mobility. So Donoghue, in conjunction with Arto Nurmikko, is developing a microsystem-on-a-chip that can be permanently implanted in the brain and communicated with wirelessly--so their patients can actually move about freely. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re very excited about how the brain signals are providing useful information,&amp;quot; says Donoghue, who was recently awarded the K.J. Zulch Prize, Germany&amp;#039;s highest honor for basic neurological research. &amp;quot;But in order for people to use this kind of technology all the time, we have to switch from the technology we have now.&amp;quot;  BioElectrochemically Assisted Microbial Reactor (2005) Penn State University professor Bruce Logan&amp;#039;s BEAMR, which uses microbes to generate hydrogen while cleaning wastewater, is currently being funded by Air Products and Chemicals, a company that makes half of the hydrogen used in industrial applications the world over. With the influx of cash, Logan and his team have been working to improve the device&amp;#039;s energy efficiency, recovery and productivity. So far, they&amp;#039;ve increased efficiency to 82 percent. Next up for the team is producing bigger systems--the size of a fridge or a car--and using a method based on the BEAMR process to convert cellulose from corn waste to hydrogen in hopes of generating electricity.  Rheo Knee (2005) Hugh Herr&amp;#039;s artificial joint--and its position-sensing, load-measuring microprocessor--have been improving the lives of over 1000 amputees in the United States alone since he won our Breakthrough Leadership Award two years ago. His Biomechatronics research group at MIT&amp;#039;s Media Lab continue to make astounding discoveries, including July&amp;#039;s announcement of the first powered ankle-foot prosthesis, which propels an amputee forward over irregular terrain with a natural gate, thanks to motor-powered, tendon-like springs. Researchers found that the prosthesis improves amputee metabolic economy from 7 to 20 percent compared to those who wear passive-elastic prostheses. Herr, a double amputee, has tested the device himself.   Lab-Grown Bladder (2006) As if Dr. Anthony Atala and his team didn&amp;#039;t blow us away enough last year by skipping over surgery with the development of organs from a patient&amp;#039;s own cells, get this: In January, he found stem cells in the amniotic fluid that surrounds developing embryos and in the placenta. The cells, which the team used to create muscle, bone, fat, blood vessel, nerve and liver cells in the laboratory, have the potential to be used as an alternative to embryonic stem cells. With more than 4 million live births in the U.S. each year, the cells are readily available, and, according to Atala, a bank with 100,000 specimens could supply 99 percent of the U.S. population with perfect genetic matches for transplantation.  Universal Nut Sheller (2006) With his $75 contraption, Jock Brandis brought peanuts to the people of the developing world--without the painstaking (and time-consuming) effort of shelling the nuts by hand. And now that it&amp;#039;s spreading across the globe, the Universal Nut Sheller (UNS) doesn&amp;#039;t just crack nuts: In the Philippines and Guatemala, it&amp;#039;s used to husk dried coffee. In Uganda, it shells Jatropha seeds, which can go straight into a diesel engine after processing, with byproducts available as organic fertilizer and insecticide. And in Southern Sudan, a small women&amp;#039;s group harvesting shea, a lucrative crop for shea butter and oil, takes advantage of the UNS to bypass some of the postharvest processing and add value to the nut. In all cases, Brandis&amp;#039; low-tech solution means increased production, increased profits and better quality of life. And he&amp;#039;s not stopping there: Earlier this year, we saw Brandis help design a smokeless peanut shell stove and a pedal-powered oil press.  Quantum-Dot LED (2006) It&amp;#039;s been a busy year for Vanderbilt University&amp;#039;s Sandra Rosenthal and her team, increasing the yield of their white nanocrystals from 3 percent to 10 percent (they need an efficiency of 40 percent before the LEDs become commercially viable). Her lab has also created prototype devices that use the nanocrystals as a phosphor, which produces light when struck by electrons. The project, like the burgeoning field of LEDs in general, has attracted industry attention, but has not yet received commercial funding. &amp;quot;I certainly can&amp;#039;t predict what the Department of Energy will do regarding LEDs,&amp;quot; Rosenthal says, &amp;quot;but they do not currently qualify for Energy Star ratings.&amp;quot;  BigDog (2006) Thanks to its revolutionary, sensor-controlled legs, Boston Dynamics&amp;#039; robo husky went where no other &amp;#039;bot could--uneven terrain, hills, urban rubble. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re making rapid progress,&amp;quot; team leader Marc Raibert says one year later. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ve been working on improving BigDog&amp;#039;s rough terrain capabilities, increasing the number of gaits it uses and extending its range and reliability.&amp;quot; The team will soon set BigDog loose on a 5-mile-long hike in the woods, carrying all of its own supplies. Not that BigDog is Boston Dynamics&amp;#039; only big innovation: The company is working on a wide range of mobile robots, including a flapping UAV the size of a dragon and critters that climb straight up vertical walls--plus projects so strange, Raibert says, &amp;quot;you wouldn&amp;#039;t believe them, even if we could tell you about them.&amp;quot;      GyroBike (2006) Last year, four college students--Deborah Sperling, Hannah Murnen, Nathan Sigworth and Augusta Miles--developed a flywheel based on gyroscopic precession too keep their GyroBike from tipping over and prevent first-time bike riders from scraping their knees. They&amp;#039;ve all graduated now, but the bike is headed for the mass market--with an automated start for the flywheel.  BrainGate (2005) Over the past year, Dr. John Donoghue has implanted his mind-powered limb mover into four patients. And while the results are encouraging, there&amp;#039;s still one major hurdle to overcome: Currently, cables connect the BrainGate computer directly to the brain, limiting a patient&amp;#039;s mobility. So Donoghue, in conjunction with Arto Nurmikko, is developing a microsystem-on-a-chip that can be permanently implanted in the brain and communicated with wirelessly--so their patients can actually move about freely. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re very excited about how the brain signals are providing useful information,&amp;quot; says Donoghue, who was recently awarded the K.J. Zulch Prize, Germany&amp;#039;s highest honor for basic neurological research. &amp;quot;But in order for people to use this kind of technology all the time, we have to switch from the technology we have now.&amp;quot;  BioElectrochemically Assisted Microbial Reactor (2005) Penn State University professor Bruce Logan&amp;#039;s BEAMR, which uses microbes to generate hydrogen while cleaning wastewater, is currently being funded by Air Products and Chemicals, a company that makes half of the hydrogen used in industrial applications the world over. With the influx of cash, Logan and his team have been working to improve the device&amp;#039;s energy efficiency, recovery and productivity. So far, they&amp;#039;ve increased efficiency to 82 percent. Next up for the team is producing bigger systems--the size of a fridge or a car--and using a method based on the BEAMR process to convert cellulose from corn waste to hydrogen in hopes of generating electricity.  Rheo Knee (2005) Hugh Herr&amp;#039;s artificial joint--and its position-sensing, load-measuring microprocessor--have been improving the lives of over 1000 amputees in the United States alone since he won our Breakthrough Leadership Award two years ago. His Biomechatronics research group at MIT&amp;#039;s Media Lab continue to make astounding discoveries, including July&amp;#039;s announcement of the first powered ankle-foot prosthesis, which propels an amputee forward over irregular terrain with a natural gate, thanks to motor-powered, tendon-like springs. Researchers found that the prosthesis improves amputee metabolic economy from 7 to 20 percent compared to those who wear passive-elastic prostheses. Herr, a double amputee, has tested the device himself.   Lab-Grown Bladder (2006) As if Dr. Anthony Atala and his team didn&amp;#039;t blow us away enough last year by skipping over surgery with the development of organs from a patient&amp;#039;s own cells, get this: In January, he found stem cells in the amniotic fluid that surrounds developing embryos and in the placenta. The cells, which the team used to create muscle, bone, fat, blood vessel, nerve and liver cells in the laboratory, have the potential to be used as an alternative to embryonic stem cells. With more than 4 million live births in the U.S. each year, the cells are readily available, and, according to Atala, a bank with 100,000 specimens could supply 99 percent of the U.S. population with perfect genetic matches for transplantation.  Universal Nut Sheller (2006) With his $75 contraption, Jock Brandis brought peanuts to the people of the developing world--without the painstaking (and time-consuming) effort of shelling the nuts by hand. And now that it&amp;#039;s spreading across the globe, the Universal Nut Sheller (UNS) doesn&amp;#039;t just crack nuts: In the Philippines and Guatemala, it&amp;#039;s used to husk dried coffee. In Uganda, it shells Jatropha seeds, which can go straight into a diesel engine after processing, with byproducts available as organic fertilizer and insecticide. And in Southern Sudan, a small women&amp;#039;s group harvesting shea, a lucrative crop for shea butter and oil, takes advantage of the UNS to bypass some of the postharvest processing and add value to the nut. In all cases, Brandis&amp;#039; low-tech solution means increased production, increased profits and better quality of life. And he&amp;#039;s not stopping there: Earlier this year, we saw Brandis help design a smokeless peanut shell stove and a pedal-powered oil press.  Quantum-Dot LED (2006) It&amp;#039;s been a busy year for Vanderbilt University&amp;#039;s Sandra Rosenthal and her team, increasing the yield of their white nanocrystals from 3 percent to 10 percent (they need an efficiency of 40 percent before the LEDs become commercially viable). Her lab has also created prototype devices that use the nanocrystals as a phosphor, which produces light when struck by electrons. The project, like the burgeoning field of LEDs in general, has attracted industry attention, but has not yet received commercial funding. &amp;quot;I certainly can&amp;#039;t predict what the Department of Energy will do regarding LEDs,&amp;quot; Rosenthal says, &amp;quot;but they do not currently qualify for Energy Star ratings.&amp;quot;  BigDog (2006) Thanks to its revolutionary, sensor-controlled legs, Boston Dynamics&amp;#039; robo husky went where no other &amp;#039;bot could--uneven terrain, hills, urban rubble. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re making rapid progress,&amp;quot; team leader Marc Raibert says one year later. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ve been working on improving BigDog&amp;#039;s rough terrain capabilities, increasing the number of gaits it uses and extending its range and reliability.&amp;quot; The team will soon set BigDog loose on a 5-mile-long hike in the woods, carrying all of its own supplies. Not that BigDog is Boston Dynamics&amp;#039; only big innovation: The company is working on a wide range of mobile robots, including a flapping UAV the size of a dragon and critters that climb straight up vertical walls--plus projects so strange, Raibert says, &amp;quot;you wouldn&amp;#039;t believe them, even if we could tell you about them.&amp;quot;      GyroBike (2006) Last year, four college students--Deborah Sperling, Hannah Murnen, Nathan Sigworth and Augusta Miles--developed a flywheel based on gyroscopic precession too keep their GyroBike from tipping over and prevent first-time bike riders from scraping their knees. They&amp;#039;ve all graduated now, but the bike is headed for the mass market--with an automated start for the flywheel. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a2177/4225816/>