2007-01

January 2007

Dear Colleagues

Сурва, Сурва Година

Весела 2007 Година

The Council of the Association of Bulgarian Engineers in Canada invites you to ABEC’s

Meeting – Lecture

“What banks, accounts and country we can use for our savings and investments and how to reduce our taxes"

"Кои банки, банкови сметки и държави
можем да използваме за нашите спестявания и инвестиции
и как да намалим данъците"

From

Mr. Tchavdar Elenkov, BA Econ, CFP

January 14^th, 2007, 12.00 noon,
in the small hall of The Macedono Bulgarian Orthodox Cathedral “Sts. Cyril and Methody”-

237 Sackvill Street, (corner with Dundas),
Toronto, ON
M5A 3G1

Parking available on the streets around the Church and permitted on Sunday on the south site of Dundas Street-opposite of the Church.

* * * * * *

Please send your questions to Mr. Tchavdar Elenkov on e-mail address: http://www.elenkov.com/contact.html

* * * * * *

Mr. Tchavdar Elenkov, BA Econ, CFP has worked in the financial services industry since May 1979.
As you can see on Mr. Elenkov’s website www.elenkov.com “he is an independent Financial Advisor associated with ING Wealth Management Inc for Mutual Funds investments, with CanWell Insurance and Financial Services Inc for insurance and Segregated Funds investments, and with ING Bank and Manulife Bank for bank products.
He is a member in good standing of The Financial Advisors Association of Canada - ADVOCIS.
His extensive knowledge and expertise in banking gives him the possibility to provide his clients with professional advice on debt consolidation, investments, loans, mortgages and bank products. His banking experience also gives him a unique perspective in the analysis of the potential risks and returns of the multitude of investment vehicles available today. He always recommends well-diversified investment portfolios corresponding to the risk tolerance of his clients. He feels equally comfortable in recommending mutual funds, segregated funds and principal protected notes according to the concrete needs of the respective client. He would qualify his approach to managing money as conservative - a banker is always a banker”

Macedono Bulgarian Society to the East Orthodox Church “Sts. Cyril and Methody” is founded in 1910. Macedono Bulgarian East Orthodox Cathedral “Sts. Cyril and Methody” is built in 1949.

Jobs - Mining Careers

http://www.northernminer.com/careers/careers.asp

News

Diamonds in Canada

A sparkling new resource for the country

Canada’s Diamond Producers

Physical, financial and technical challenges to overcome by diamond miners

Major Canadian diamond exploration areas

Diamonds are relatively recent phenomenon in Canada’s mining industry. Most Canadians are aware that we are major producers of metals such as gold, copper and nickel, but not as many know that we are also big players in diamond mining.

In less than eight years Canada has gone from zero production to being the world’s third largest producer of diamonds by value.

This vaunted status has benefited the nation’s economy, but in particular it has changed the face of Canada’s north. The two producing mines, both in the Northwest Territories, are paying high wages and creating a support industry where none existed before.

It is northerners and especially Aboriginals who are directly benefiting through skills training and employment. Rough diamonds (stones that have been mined but not yet processed) are traditionally cut and polished in a few centres around the world where skills have been developed over the years to bring out the brilliance in each individual stone. Attempts by the government of the Northwest Territories to create a local diamond processing industry, have had mixed results. This may one day become another major employer and wealth generator.

Now that Canadians have the know-how for finding and mining diamonds, we can expect more new mines to come into production in the near future. This issue gives you the history of diamonds in Canada. We tell you who are looking for them, where they might be found, and what companies are close to developing future mines. It goes on to describe how they are taken out of the ground, processed and prepared for sale on the world market. We include an article on coloured gems – rubies, emeralds and sapphires. These exotic gems have been found in the last several years in Canada’s north and neighboring Greenland by an aggressive and visionary Canadian junior company that hopes to benefit from the diamond miners’ learning curve.

Diavik’s 3.9-km A154 dike encircles the A154 North and A 154 South kimberlite pipes. By early

2005, the bottom of the A154 pit was approximately 100 m below lake level. The Diavik site

occupies 7.3-sq-km of land including 2.1-sq-km of lakebed. At the top of the photo the A418 dike

is under construction.

Photo: Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.

Canada’s two producing diamond mines, Ekati and Diavik, are near-neighbors in the Northwest

Territories; about 30 km apart, 300 km northeast of the City of Yellowknife. With only two producing diamond mines, Canada has become the third-largest diamond producer by value in the world, after Botswana and Russia.

Diamond production in Canada for 2004 totaled 12,761,001 carats, while production from January to the end of June 2005 totaled 7,587,885 carats. In 2004 diamond exports from Canada were worth $1.99 billion.

The Ekati and Diavik mines are the largest private employers in the Northwest Territories. They have created high-paying jobs for over 1,200 people who work directly for the companies and have created another 2,800 indirect jobs in the supply and services industries that keep the mines operational.

George Werniuk, P.GEO

Emeralds, Rubies & Sapphires — Oh My!

A Canadian supply

The world market for the “big three” coloured gemstones — rubies, sapphires and emeralds — is conservatively estimated at about US$5 billion per year of wholesale trade in polished stones. By value, rubies place highest and sapphires lowest. By volume however, sapphires top the list and rubies are at the bottom. Geographically, northern Europe represents about a third of the market for colored gemstones. The United States and Canada collectively hold another third of the market and Japan and the wealthier enclaves of Asia make up the remaining third. Most of the coloured gemstones in the world are recovered by hand from alluvial deposits by low-paid labour forces. As a result, it is generally believed that large-scale mechanized operations are not feasible. This is one of the major fallacies in the industry. The Colombian emerald trade is worth about US$2 billion per year and some private companies are mining 500 to 1,000 tonnes per day. “These private operations can be extremely profitable,” says William Rohtert, chief operating officer of True North Gems.

Gemstone mining is not always a small scale mom-and-pop operation. True North Gems, a publicly-traded Canadian company, is carving out its own niche in the multi-billion dollar industry by defining and developing substantial emerald, ruby and sapphire deposits in northern Canada and Greenland. The company intends to produce market and sell its high quality product via key partnerships in the jewelry industry.

“When you have branding, you stand alone,” says Nick Houghton, a gemologist and director of True North. “Nobody else has emeralds, rubies or sapphires in North America.” True North is looking for five or six avenues to market and sell its gemstones and plans to produce a branded line of goods with a proven “non conflict” origin. “Gemstones have a lot in common with diamonds,” says Rohtert. “The same tools used in the field that work for diamonds work for gemstones.” By using the lessons learned in the True North believes it can economically mine gemstones from lode deposits in the Arctic. True North’s flagship project is its wholly owned Tsa da Glisza emerald property in the Finlayson mining district of the Yukon Territory.

Thomas Schuster is a Vancouver-based freelance writer specializing in mining issues.

Europe Ready to TANGO with New EO Constellation

by Staff Writers
Toulouse, France (SPX) Dec 14, 2006

Astrium Satellites will lead the first project focusing on the use of satellite telecommunications to serve the needs of the whole GMES community

The three-year-long TANGO (Telecommunications Advanced Networks for GMES Operations) project, being led by Astrium, will define, adapt, integrate, and initiate satellite communications services for Global Monitoring for Environment and Security requirements.

Satellite telecommunications will be a key component of the future GMES architecture, as GMES services are developed to support public policy makers' needs in the domains of environment and security. Comprising a team of 24 partners across Europe, the TANGO project addresses key environment and security applications in domains such as marine services and emergency response including risk and crisis management, and humanitarian aid.

TANGO is intended to provide the GMES community with access to satellite telecommunications solutions in order to meet their needs and to fulfill their missions.

TANGO aims to develop and provide operational telecommunications solutions to meet the immediate needs of the GMES community. This will also help in defining the optimal satellite telecommunications infrastructures for future GMES services.

The TANGO project will involve key players from the GMES community as well as experts from the satellite communication sector. The overall budget for TANGO is 8.9m euro - with euro 5m funded by the European Commission under the Sixth Framework Programme.

http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Europe_Ready_To_TANGO_With_New_EO_Constellation_999.html

Arianespace Provides a Key Boost for the US Satellite Market in 2006

http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Arianespace_Provides_A_Key_Boost_For_The_US_Satellite_Market_In_2006_999.html

by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 21, 2006

Arianespace maintained its commercial launch services leadership in 2006, with the U.S. marketplace representing a key component of the payloads launched and new contracts signed. The company's workhorse Ariane 5 launched a total of 10 telecommunications satellites this year - more than all the competitors combined - of which 7 were built by U.S. manufacturers, and 3 were orbited for American-based operators.

Arianespace's order book was further strengthened with the 12 new payloads it signed in 2006, one of which is for a new U.S. customer and another for an Asian satellite to be manufactured in America.

"The United States has played an important role in Arianespace's business and operations from its origins, and I am pleased this marketplace continues to rely on us for its commercial launch services needs," said Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall. "U.S. telecommunications operators and satellite manufacturers understand the importance of quality, and they look to service providers that deliver on their promises."

Four of the U.S.-built payloads orbited on Ariane 5 in 2006 were built by Palo Alto, California-based Space Systems/Loral: DIRECTV 9S for U.S. digital TV service provider DIRECTV; Satmex 6 for Mexico's Satelites Mexicanos, S.A. de C.V.; SPAINSAT for Spain's HISDESAT; and WildBlue 1 for U.S. broadband Internet provider WildBlue Communications.

Ariane 5 also lofted the Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems-built AMC-18 satellite for SES Americom in the U.S. and Japan's JCSAT-10 for the JSAT Corporation (these spacecraft were produced in the satellite manufacturer's California and Pennsylvania facilities), while Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation manufactured Optus D1, which was orbited by Ariane 5 for Australia's Optus.

These seven satellites will provide a full range of telecommunications relay capacity for their operators, including pioneering Ka-band broadband Internet connectivity, direct-to-home television, cable head-end video delivery and secure government communications. All were injected into highly accurate geostationary transfer orbits by Ariane 5. Their combined payload mass totaled more than 28,000 kg.

Arianespace welcomed a new U.S. operator to its worldwide customer base in 2006, signing a contract with TerreStar Networks Inc. to orbit this emerging North American mobile communications provider's TerreStar-1 satellite. The massive TerreStar-1 platform currently is under construction by Space Systems/Loral and will offer up to 500 spotbeams in a next-generation integrated mobile satellite and terrestrial communications network. TerreStar Networks' contract with Arianespace also includes options for two additional Ariane 5 launch vehicles, which TerreStar may assign to affiliates for operations in Europe or elsewhere.

Another contract inked by Arianespace in 2006 was for the first Vietnamese telecommunications satellite, VINASAT-1, which will be built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems for the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation.

Adding to Arianespace's U.S.-related successes in 2006 was the October 19 launch of a Soyuz-ST vehicle operated by Arianespace affiliate Starsem. This improved version of the Soyuz orbited the European MetOp-A satellite for the Eumetsat Polar System, which is a cooperative program with the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Department of Defense Polar Orbit Environmental Satellite System (POES).

A final Soyuz mission for 2006 is planned on December 27 with the Corot astronomical satellite for France's CNES national space agency. Corot is based on the common Proteus platform developed through a U.S-French cooperation with CNES and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Proteus spacecraft bus was recently selected by NASA to be part of its Rapid Spacecraft Development Office catalog.

Russia Set to Implement Ambitious Space Program

Moscow, Russia (RIA Novosti) Dec 21, 2006

Aside from the Spektr and Radioastron projects, Russia has other plans to study and explore celestial bodies. For example, the Koronas-Foton spacecraft, due to be launched in 2008, will be packed with instruments for observing the Sun. In addition, Russia expects to begin the Phobos-Ground project in 2009, which will be the country's first interplanetary mission in 20 years. It will bring back ground samples from Phobos, one of Mars' two moons. Scientists believe Phobos is made of the primeval proto-planet cloud substance that eventually formed all other bodies in the Solar System, including Planet Earth.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_Set_To_Implement_Ambitious_Space_Program_Part_II_999.html

EU Proposes CO2 Emission Quotas For Airlines
Brussels (AFP) Dec 20, 2006

The European Commission proposed Wednesday to set carbon dioxide emission quotas for airlines from 2011, a stance already met with hostility by the aviation industry and environmentalists. The proposal, which still has to be adopted by EU member states and the European Parliament, would see emissions rules imposed from 2011 on intra-European flights and from 2012 for flights originating outside the bloc.

http://www.spacemart.com/reports/EU_Proposes_CO2_Emission_Quotas_For_Airlines_999.html

Energia Approves Kliper Plans For 2007

File image of the proposed Kliper spacecraft.

by Staff Writers
Korolev, Moscow (SPX) Dec 21, 2006
The meeting of the Scientific-Technical Board (STB) chaired by the President, Corporation General Designer N.N. Sevastiyanov took place at RSC Energia after S.P. Korolev. The agenda was the Advanced Space Transportation System.

The manager and key specialists from RSC Energia, OKB Sukhoi, GNP RKTs "TsSKB - Progress", OKB Mars, TsAGI, TsNII of Machinebuilding and other enterprises and organizations involved in the development of Clipper System Project addressed the meeting. http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Energia_Approves_Kliper_Plans_For_2007_999.html

RSC ENERGIA:
CONCEPT OF RUSSIAN MANNED SPACE NAVIGATION DEVELOPMENT

At OAO Korolev RSC Energia a "Concept of the Manned Space Navigation Development Program in Russia for a period of 2006-2030 years" has been developed and offered for discussion. The concept is interesting not only to specialists, but also to the general public, since a solution of grandiose, qualitatively new tasks is proposed.
During the meeting-interview on 24 May 2006 with editor-correspondent of the "News of Cosmonautics" journal S.Kh.Shamsutdinov, Korolev RSC Energia President, General Designer Nikolay Nikolayevich Sevastiyanov has told about this concept, about the present-day status of reusable Clipper space transportation system and the proposals on development of the Russian Segment of the International Space Station (ISS).

Nikolay Nikolayevich, tell, please, about the concept of national manned space navigation proposed by RSC Energia.

The proposals on the concept of Russia’s manned space navigation development program were prepared by RSC Energia in the latter half of the year 2005 in order to determine technically and economically sound lines of activities in this area for the next 26 years. The Corporation possesses a more then 45-year experience in implementing the manned space flight programs in cooperation with tens and hundreds of enterprises and organizations of the industry. As a prime contractor for activities in this area, the enterprise is responsible for execution of the already approved projects, for their rational continuation and evolution.
This has spurred us to develop the proposed concept, which provides implementation of the following four phases of national manned space navigation:
- development of an economically efficient reusable Clipper space transportation system.
- near-earth space industrialization based on ISS Russian Segment development.
- implementation of the Moon program, which initiates the Moon industrialization.
- implementation of manned exploratory missions to Mars.

Phases of Russian manned space navigation development

The technical means of each phase of the program are constructed using already available research, technological and production developments of the previous phases. The concept is aimed at a consequent and phased solution of the task of near-earth space industrialization and research with the subsequent transition to Moon industrialization program and implementation of flights to the Mars.

For more see…http://www.energia.ru/english/energia/news/news-2006/public_07-01.html

Very High Frequency Radiation Makes Dark Matter Visible

Image of the mass distribution over a patch of sky about one quarter of the area of the Full Moon. These images were made by PhD student Stefan Hilbert using the Millennium Simulation, the largest computer simulation of cosmic structure formation ever carried out. The left panel represents the kind of image which could be made by a low-frequency radio telescope with a diameter of 100 kilometres, using the gravitational distortion of images of pregalactic structure in the neutral hydrogen distribution. The right panel represents the kind of image which could be made for the same region of the sky using an optical telescope in space to measure the gravitational distortion of distant galaxy images (The contrast of the second image is three times that of the first to make small features stand out.). Image: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics

by Staff Writers
Garching, Germany (SPX) Dec 18, 2006

The stars and gas which are seen in galaxies account for only a few percent of the gravitating material in the Universe. Most of the rest has remained stubbornly invisible and is now thought to be made of a new form of matter never yet seen on Earth. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics have discovered, however, that a sufficiently big radio telescope could make a picture of everything that gravitates, rivalling the images made by optical telescopes of everything that shines (online: 28. November 2006).

As light travels to us from distant objects its path is bent slightly by the gravitational effects of the things it passes. This effect was first observed in 1919 for the light of distant stars passing close to the surface of the Sun, proving Einstein's theory of gravity to be a better description of reality than Newton's. The bending causes a detectable distortion of the images of distant galaxies analogous to the distortion of a distant scene viewed through a poor window-pane or reflected in a rippled lake.

The strength of the distortion can be used to measure the strength of the gravity of the foreground objects and hence their mass. If distortion measurements are available for a sufficiently large number of distant galaxies, these can be combined to make a map of the entire foreground mass.

This technique has already produced precise measurements of the typical mass associated with foreground galaxies, as well as mass maps for a number of individual galaxy clusters. It nevertheless suffers from some fundamental limitations. Even a big telescope in space can only see a limited number of background galaxies, a maximum of about 100,000 in each patch of sky the size of the Full Moon. Measurements of about 200 galaxies must be averaged together to detect the gravitational distortion signal, so the smallest area for which the mass can be imaged is about 0.2% that of the Full Moon. The resulting images are unacceptably blurred and are too grainy for many purposes.

For example, only the very largest lumps of matter (the biggest clusters of galaxies) can be spotted in such maps with any confidence. A second problem is that many of the distant galaxies whose distortion is measured lie in front of many of the mass lumps which one would like to map, and so are unaffected by their gravity. To make a sharp image of the mass in a given direction requires more distant sources and requires many more of them. MPA scientists Ben Metcalf and Simon White have shown that radio emission coming to us from the epoch before the galaxies had formed can provide such sources.

About 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the Universe had cooled off sufficiently that almost all its ordinary matter turned into a diffuse, near-uniform and neutral gas of hydrogen and helium. A few hundred million years later gravity had amplified the non-uniformities to the point where the first stars and galaxies could form. Their ultraviolet light then heated the diffuse gas back up again. During this reheating and for an extended period before it, the diffuse hydrogen was hotter or cooler than the radiation left over from the Big Bang. As a result it must have absorbed or emitted radio waves with a wavelength of 21 cm.

The expansion of the Universe causes this radiation to be visible today at wavelengths of 2 to 20 metres, and a number of low-frequency radio telescopes are currently being built to search for it. One of the most advanced is the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) in the Netherlands, a project in which the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics is planning to take a significant role, together with a number of other German institutions.

The pregalactic hydrogen has structures of all sizes which are the precursors of galaxies, and there are up to 1000 of these structures at different distances along every line of sight. A radio telescope can separate these because structures at different distances give signals at different observed wavelengths. Metcalf and White show that gravitational distortion of these structures would allow a radio telescope to produce high-resolution images of the cosmic mass distribution which are more than ten times sharper than the best that can be made using galaxy distortions.

An object similar in mass to our own Milky Way could be detected all the way back to the time when the Universe was only 5% its present age. Such high-resolution imaging requires a extremely large telescope array, densely covering a region about 100 km across. This is 100 times the size planned for densely covered central part of LOFAR, and about 20 times bigger than densely covered core of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) the biggest such facility currently under discussion. Such a giant telescope could map the entire gravitating mass distribution of the Universe, providing the ultimate comparison map for images produced by other telescopes which highlight only the tiny fraction of the mass which emits radiation they can detect. For more http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Very_High_Frequency_Radiation_Makes_Dark_Matter_Visible_999.html

Northrop Grumman Lifts US Navy to New Era for Unmanned Flight

The MQ-8B Fire Scout successfully completed its first flight on Dec. 18, 2006 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. During this test series, the vehicle executed its missions fully autonomously.

by Staff Writers
San Diego CA (SPX) Dec 21, 2006

Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy have successfully completed the first series of flights of the enhanced, more capable version of the Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned air vehicle (VTUAV), the MQ-8B. "This is a very significant milestone in the execution of the system development and demonstration program, which is under contract for nine unmanned helicopters," said Captain Paul Morgan, the Navy's UAS program manager.

"These flights were completed on schedule, which shows the commitment of the Navy and Northrop Grumman to work diligently to get this important warfighting capability to the fleet as soon as possible."

The MQ-8B Fire Scout offers a significant capability increase over the first generation RQ-8A Fire Scout. The addition of a fourth rotor blade, and other enhancements, give the MQ-8B greater payload carrying capacity -- up to 600 pounds for future sensors, equipment pods, and possible weapons.

The Fire Scout's endurance has also been increased to more than eight hours. The MQ-8B has a greater fuel capacity than the RQ-8A and, with a standard payload, can stay on station for six hours at 110 miles from launch site.

The current phase of flight testing is taking place at Webster Field at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. During this test series, the vehicle executed its missions fully autonomously. Vehicle operators monitored mission performance and provided updated commands while the air vehicle flew the preprogrammed mission plan. Full autonomy for the MQ-8B's first flight was accomplished through robust software/hardware integration testing in the VTUAV System Center at Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Development Center in San Diego, Calif.

"First engine run and rotor turn were completed a few weeks before first flight," said Gene Fraser, vice president of Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems business unit. "We are very pleased with the progress of the MQ-8B system design and development phase of the overall program. The next two years of planned activity on this program include the Navy's okay to enter low-rate initial production, operational evaluation on a Littoral Combat Ship and operational capability in 2008."

First flight occurred less than two months after the air frame was delivered from the Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems production facility in Moss Point, Miss., where the MQ-8B Fire Scouts are assembled.

"This has been a very busy year for the Fire Scout team," added Doug Fronius, Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout VTUAV program manager. "We successfully completed the first autonomous, unmanned vertical takeoff and landing from a Navy ship in January with the RQ-8A Fire Scout. We then helped to stand up the Moss Point facility in April. Despite the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, that facility opened on schedule, bringing more high technology jobs to the area. From there, the team remained motivated and dedicated to making the first flight of the MQ-8B a success."

The Navy plans to use Fire Scout on board the Littoral Combat Ship, where sailors will operate both manned and unmanned helicopters to support operational requirements. These include real-time video imagery, intelligence gathering, communications-relay capability, precision targeting and battle damage assessment.

Ethylene Suggested For Hydrogen Storage

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Ethylene_Suggested_For_Hydrogen_Storage_999.html

Results of modeling studies indicate that attaching titanium atoms (blue) to the ends of an ethylene molecule (yellow-green) will result in a capsule-shaped complex that absorbs 10 hydrogen molecules (red). The results open a new avenue in the pursuit of materials that will enable efficient solid-state storage of hydrogen. Credit: NIST

by Staff Writers
Bilkent, Turkey (SPX) Dec 15, 2006

Ethylene, a ho-hum material that is the building block of the most common plastic, might have an exciting future in storing hydrogen, the hoped-for transportation fuel of the future. New research reported by scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Turkey's Bilkent University makes the surprising prediction that "ethylene, a well-known inexpensive molecule, can be an important basis in developing frameworks for efficient and safe hydrogen-storage media."

The team's calculations show that attaching titanium atoms at opposite ends of an ethylene molecule (four hydrogen atoms bound to a pair of carbon atoms) will result in a very attractive "two for" deal. The addition of the two metal atoms results in a net gain of up to 10 hydrogen molecules that can absorb onto the ethylene-titanium complex, for a total of 20 hydrogen atoms. As important, the engineered material is predicted to release the hydrogen with only a modest amount of heating.

The absorbed hydrogen molecules account for about 14 percent of the weight of the titanium-ethylene complex. That's about double the Department of Energy's minimum target of 6.5 percent for economically practical storage of hydrogen in a solid state material. Although significant challenges stand in the way, solid state storage is preferred to storing hydrogen as a liquid or compressed gas, both of which require large-volume tanks.

"The success of future hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies is critically dependent upon the discovery of new materials that can store large amounts of hydrogen at ambient conditions," explains Taner Yildirim, a theorist at the NIST Center for Neutron Research.

Yildirim and collaborators have been searching for routes to develop these needed materials. Their earlier research has pointed to several candidates, including carbon nanotubes coated with titanium atoms. Difficulties in securing bulk amounts of small-diameter nanotubes and other challenges have foiled efforts to create these materials in the laboratory.

The team anticipates that ethylene-based complexes, made with titanium or other so-called transition metals, will prove easier to synthesize and, then, to evaluate for their potential for high-capacity hydrogen storage.

E. Durgun, S. Ciraci, W. Zhou, and T. Yildirim. Transition-metal-ethylene complexes as high-capacity hydrogen-storage media. Physical Review Letters. 97, 226102 (2006)

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Outperforms Diesel Counterpart

JP-8 jet fuel in barrels.

by Damian Housman
Robins AFB GA (AFNS) Dec 21, 2006

Air Force Materiel Command officials here are tied to a project that could provide warfighters at remote bases with a cleaner, quieter way to power runway lights and other electrically powered devices. Air Force Advanced Power Technology Office, or APTO, officials here held a December demonstration of a hydrogen fuel cell for providing power at remote locations.

The hydrogen fuel cell was developed by Battelle, a global science and technology company that develops and commercializes technology that is based in Columbus, Ohio.

During the demonstration, halogen light units were powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, and also by a current generation light cart using diesel fuel. The diesel generator produced toxic emissions, an odor and considerable noise, along with electric power. The hydrogen fuel cell produced electric power with no emissions, no odor and almost no noise.

According to Jeff Melaragno, Battelle's senior market manager for fuel cell technology, the hydrogen fuel cell is 25 percent more fuel efficient than diesels.

"This means it runs much longer on the same amount of fuel," said Mr. Melaragno.

He explained that fuel is converted to hydrogen by a reformer, and the hydrogen runs the motor (fuel cell) that produces electricity.

The fuel used for the demonstration is S-8, the synthetic fuel used as a substitute for JP-8 jet fuel, which also powers ground devices such as airfield lights. It was synthesized using the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthetic fuel process named for two German scientists, Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch, who invented the system prior to World War II.

"If we could get enough FT fuel to the battlefield, we could use the fuel cell now," Mr. Melaragno said. "However, we will have to use JP-8 because FT fuel isn't available in quantity yet, while JP-8 is."

Since the conversion process within the fuel cell results in some sulfur with JP-8, which would damage the cell, further development is required to eliminate the last of the sulfur and put the fuel cell into military use. Mr. Melaragno said he believes that will take about 18 months of further development. S-8 is used for the demonstration because it contains no sulfur.

For more see: http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Hydrogen_Fuel_Cell_Outperforms_Diesel_Counterpart_999.html

National Innovation Forum 2006

The 3rd National Innovation Forum took place in Sofia (Sheraton Hotel Balkan) on December 19, 2006. The 3rd NIF sought to review and analyze the latest developments in Bulgaria’s innovation environment with a view to the upcoming EU accession. The Forum aimed to present the major opportunities and challenges to the innovation performance of Bulgaria’s economy as part of the EU market and propose a dynamic platform for exchange of opinions and good practices at EU, national, regional, sectoral and company levels which will enhance Bulgaria’s innovativeness and competitiveness.

http://www.arc.online.bg/infocusShow.php?id=8343

http://www.arc.online.bg/

http://www.investquebec.com/en/index.aspx?accueil=1&page=2151

Direct Result of Québec’s Energy Strategy - QUÉBEC joins ALCAN in a $2.1-billion investment program

SAGUENAY, December 14, 2006 - The Premier of Québec, Jean Charest, accompanied by the Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade, Raymond Bachand, the Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife, Pierre Corbeil, and the Minister responsible for the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, Françoise Gauthier, announced that the Québec government will participate in $2.1-billion investment program by Alcan in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
"Our partnership with Alcan illustrates the timeliness and economic potential of Québec's new energy strategy. The government is proud to be associated in a project that is so important for Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. In the 21st century, we are continuing the saga of aluminum that is so closely tied to this region and to Québec as a whole," Mr. Charest indicated.
The investment program includes building a new pilot plant in Arvida to optimize the new AP50 technology with a view to its global commercialization. It marks a major advance in aluminum electrolysis. This investment will position Québec as developer and supplier of primary aluminum production plant technologies sold around the world. As such, Québec will be in a position to develop a global network of equipment makers.
"AP50 technology will become the global standard. This project will turn Québec, and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, into the place where alumuminum production technology will be developed over the next 20 years. It is perfectly consistent with the Québec government's economic development policies that put innovation at the heart of its priorities. Major beneficiaries of this development include Québec equipment makers and suppliers of services that, working with Alcan, will be able to acquire a leadership position on the international market," Minister Bachand stated.
The investment project also includes the expansion of the Alma and/or Arvida plant. Overall, the investment program guarantees the creation of more than 2 500 direct and indirect jobs, including 740 direct jobs in the region.
The Québec government's participation includes providing an additional 225 MW power at the "L" rate and an interest-free loan, by Investissement Québec, of $400 million repayable in 30 years.

For more http://www.investquebec.com/en/index.aspx?accueil=1&page=2151

ABEC’s News

Association of Bulgarian Engineers in Canada – ABEC

The Council of the Association of Bulgarian Engineers in Canada is bringing to the attention of all Bulgarian Engineers in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, the signed Agreement between TD Meloche Monnex and the Coalition “European Engineers”. The Coalition is formed from the Associations of Bulgarian, Polish, Romanian and Hungarian Engineers in Canada.

The Group Insurance Affinity Agreement provided to “European Engineers” by Meloche Monnex allows the Members to participate at preferred group rates to obtain home, automobile, travel and small business (micro enterprise) insurance coverage for the members, their spouses and children living at home. See - http://www.melochemonnex.com

The program conditions, administration, marketing, confidentiality, indemnifications are similar for all professional and alumni association programs (CIM, PEO).

The TD Meloche Monnex home and auto program offered to groups is underwritten by Security National Insurance Company and distributed by Meloche Monnex Financial Services Inc. Due to provincial legislation, the automobile insurance program is not offered in British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba. The group auto insurance rates are not applicable in Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island

Please note that we are in the process of preparing an “Eligibility List” for Meloche Monnex. Only Members of ABEC in good standing will have their name activated into the group of the “European Engineer”. To be a Member of ABEC you must possess a Degree from Technical Engineering Universities and paid-up membership fees of 50 dollars CDN.

New Members are always welcome! www.abec.ca

Please communicate this announcement to your friends, colleagues and compatriots, so more Bulgarian Engineers could use this Insurance Program.

The Bulgarian Engineers are highly knowledgeable professionals working with honesty, competence and integrity all over the world.

This Program may be for you!

From the ABEC’s Council

ABEC received a donation of 2 boxes with old technical books from Mr. Velcho Velchev Civil Eng. The books are from the 1960/1970’s publications. During our next meeting the left over books will be available in the room for viewing. Please help your self if you find any of them interesting and useful for you.

We visited Mr. Velcho Velchev with a Christmas basket arrangement to express our appreciation for the books he so graciously donated to ABEC. A picture was made during the presentation.

ABEC’s Traditional Christmas Dinner took place this year in the elegant atmosphere of “IL MOLINO Restaurant”. Our group was small. We had the pleasure to enjoy a delicious meal and convivial service of the host Margi. The plates were culinary three dimensional pieces of art into which my eyes where gleamed with anticipation!

Membership fee, due for 2007 year is $50 per year. Please send your cheque (making it payable to ABEC) to our Treasurer at the address:

Mrs. Tonya Bojkova,

903 – 91 Cosburn Ave.,

Toronto, Ontario,

M4K 2G2

New Members are always welcome!

Best Regards to all ABEC Members

Pauline Loultcheva-Lawrence

pauline_m_lawrence@hotmail.com

p_lawrence@abec.ca