At the least, wastewater from oil and gas drilling should be treated in a waste treatment facility before it is used on dirt roads to suppress dust or deice roads. At the best, affordable, nontoxic dust suppressants should be developed and used, according to a multidisciplinary team of researchers.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180531102816.htm
Hazardous chemicals such as bromine, antimony and lead are finding their way into food-contact items and other everyday products because manufacturers are using recycled electrical equipment as a source of black plastic, according to a new study.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180530113134.htm
Chelsea Football Club has put its new stadium project on hold.
In a brief statement the club said: “No further pre-construction design and planning work will occur.
“The club does not have a time frame set for reconsideration of its decision.
“The decision was made due to the current unfavourable investment climate.”
Plans for a new 60,000 seater stadium were first unveiled in 2015 with a price tag of £500m.
The project was approved by the Mayor of London last March and the club had been sounding out the market recently to set up a construction team.
Ikon Construction has ceased trading with the loss of more than 40 jobs.
Callers to the firm’s Bristol head office are greeted with the recorded message “Ikon Construction Ltd has ceased trading effective 31st of May.”
The firm has been in business since 2001 when it was set up by managing directors and founders Pete Hargreaves and Steve Chant.
Ikon specialised in industrial, commercial and factory building projects across the south of England.
Latest results filed at Companies House show the firm made a pre-tax loss of £79,186 from a turnover of £36.9m for the year to March 31 2017.
Companies House records also show that Hargreaves and Chant set up a new business called Ikon Civil Engineering Ltd in January.
Civils specialist I & H Brown has been chosen by Clydeside Regeneration Limited to undertake road works at the £250m Queens Quay regeneration project.
I & H Brown will build the main spine road on the site of the former John Brown’s shipyard in Clydebank.
The road will serve every development plot within the site which will be available from spring 2019 for new house building.
Road construction starts this week and will run for a period of around 42 weeks.
The works will be undertaken simultaneously with those already underway by engineering company George Leslie Ltd who has been contracted to complete all marine works associated with the basin and river frontage.
Duncan Graham, of Clydeside Regeneration Limited, said: “This contract is a landmark moment for the regeneration of Queens Quay and represents a significant step towards completing the vision of Queens Quay.
“It will be momentous achievement to provide access to the Clydebank river frontage to the public for the first time in a very long time.
“The main spine road will provide access to all parts of the development and it’s the final infrastructure procurement exercise that CRL will undertake, a milestone in itself that highlights a very positive and exciting time for Queens Quay.”
I & H Brown completed a 20-week programme of enabling works on the Queens Quay site last year and prepared the land for creation of the Health Quarter which includes a new £15m care home and £25m health centre.
Construction of the care home and health centre are expected to start later this summer.
New housing, retail and leisure elements are expected to follow and complement the existing facilities at Queens Quay, including West Dunbartonshire Council’s offices at Aurora House and a new £23.5million leisure centre which opened last year.
Suffolk County Council has started the bid race for the £90m Upper Orwell Crossings scheme.
Work will involve construction of three bridges in the centre of Ipswich across the River Orwell for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
Suffolk is looking to work on an early contractor involvement basis with a maximum of eight bidders invited to tender.
Work is scheduled to start on the crossing early next year and be completed in 2023.
Interested contractors must register with the council’s online bidding portal here
Designs for the project have been drawn-up by Foster + Partners.
The design proposal includes a striking major road bridge with separate offset pedestrian walkways supported on the same branching bridge piers.
This arching structure spans the Orwell to the south of the Wet Dock Island, connecting the east and west banks.
The third crossing point is an improved pedestrian crossing over the Prince Philip Lock, which would connect the east bank to the Wet Dock Island.
Graham Construction has been appointed by developer, U+I to deliver a new commercial hub for start-up and small businesses as part of its Preston Barracks redevelopment in Brighton.
Construction of the 50,000 sq ft building will mark the first phase of works on the £200m mixed-use Preston Barracks project.
The project has been designed by architects Studio Egret and tp bennett to include 369 new homes, 534 student beds, shops, cafes and workshops.
The wider masterplan which encompasses two of the University of Brighton sites will provide further student accommodation and academic facilities.
Graham will build the seven-storey concrete-framed workspace building which is expected to complete by the end of 2019.
Sarah Chitty, Senior Development Manager at U+I said: “We are excited to be underway with the construction of Preston Barracks, delivering a project that will breathe new life into a derelict site, and will support the economy, academic life and growth of Brighton.
“We’re proud to be working with Graham on the first phase of the project. Their commitment to supporting local communities and economies is closely aligned to our own vision to create long lasting benefits for the places in which we work.
Rob Joyce, Development Director at GRAHAM Construction, said: “Our main objective is to create a high-quality commercial building that will attract enterprising, high-growth companies to the area.
“We will work closely with U+I and the project team to ensure that it provides a range of functioning spaces that are tailored to the needs of the individuals using it, while fostering entrepreneurship and excellence in innovation.”
The full project team for the Central Research Laboratory includes:
Researchers have found ways to stabilize a new battery with a record-high charge capacity. By adding chromium or vanadium to the lithium-manganese-oxide cathode, the battery could enable smart phones and battery-powered automobiles to last more than twice as long between charges.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180529132008.htm
Viewpoint is warning contractors that they must “digitise or die”.
The stark message came as the software giant launched its Viewpoint Team project management package in the UK.
EMEA Vice President Steve Spark said: “Viewpoint Team is a powerful but easy-to-use toolset for planning, coordinating and achieving the tight project controls, data flows and governance that project managers have been asking for.
“We’re helping companies focus on actually managing their projects and making critical decisions in real time rather than trying to navigate a sea of paperwork, coordinating multiple communication tools and struggling to make sense of stale project data.”
“You only need to look at the huge increase in BIM adoption over the past eight years and our Government’s legally binding commitment to BIM Level 2 to see the direction of travel – contactors must digitise project management or fail.
“Almost two-thirds of construction projects are not built on time and almost one-third of projects come in over budget.
“However, many contractors operate on such wafer-thin margins that they need only suffer from a handful of problem projects to start experiencing financial difficulty.
“As BIM adoption becomes the norm, contractors who do not adopt digital construction will die a slow death.”
Viewpoint Team’s dashboards help managers and users prioritise their work while the portal enables quick navigation to Viewpoint for Projects and Viewpoint Field View.
By bringing everyone involved in a construction project together through a comprehensive, easy-to-use and collaborative platform, Viewpoint Team keeps entire project teams up-to-date and accountable at every step of the process.
It creates a permanent audit trail of “who did what and when” on key tasks such as RFIs, site instructions, technical queries, daily diaries and action items.
Smart project control and governance tools are built into Viewpoint Team for process transparency across the project ecosystem.
Because Viewpoint Team is designed to be clear and simple to use, sub-contractors and individual project participants can use the system quickly and accurately – without extensive training – from any browser, or mobile application accessed via phone or tablet.
Viewpoint Chief Product Officer Matt Harris said: “By connecting our clients’ office, team and field operations with software solutions that give real-time answers that enable real-time decisions and true project transparency, we’re doing what no other construction management software company can do right now.
“We are helping contractors modernise their operations by streamlining processes to realise untapped profit potential, and we’re excited to share that vision.”
Prater has won a roofing and cladding package at the 100 Liverpool Street mixed development scheme next to Liverpool Street Station.
Prater has worked alongside main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine to design the roofing and cladding package and will start on site in September.
Included within the specialist contractor’s remit is a hot melt roofing package utilising Radmat PermaQuick with a mixture of Radmat Protherm G and Quantum insulations.
This will be complemented with paving, Milboard timber composite decking plus a combination of Wild Flower, Plug Plant and Sedum Blanket roofing systems.
Prater will also be responsible for the installation of Kingspan composite cladding to the high-level lift cores.
“Prater’s appointment to 100 Liverpool Street is a testament to our continuing working relationship with Sir Robert McAlpine,” said Karl Moxon, Bid Manager at Prater.
“Our track record of delivering similar packages combined with our experience of working in logistically challenging locations, ensures that we can cooperate with all parties to ensure the highest quality of delivery.”
The project is due to be completed in December 2019.
Portable site accommodation and secure storage containers specialist Mobile Mini has invested £1.4m in its fleet of Scania trucks to increase operational efficiency and customer service.
Mobile Mini, which has a network of 15 branches nationwide, from Glasgow to Southampton, has taken delivery of eight new Scania trucks.
The new additional vehicles, which take its fleet to a total of 60, represent a major upgrade to the company’s existing fleet of lorry-mounted loader crane vehicles, the largest of its kind in the UK.
Two of the vehicles are 32T GVW 8-wheelers with FASSI820 cranes and front mounted legs, which will be operated from the company’s branches in London and the Thames Valley.
The 82Tm 360-degree operating Fassi cranes, will primarily be used in heavily built-up areas of Greater London, as the vehicles can be more easily positioned, while improved lifting capacity makes double and triple stacking units easier and safer.
All new trucks are fitted with the HALO cycle warning system, featuring four ultrasonic sensors to alert drivers to bicycles and pedestrians, an audible and visual turning warning and an in-cab monitor that provides the driver with a 360-degree view.
Additionally, high-intensity LEDs leave a ‘halo’ on the ground to alert cyclists to the truck’s presence in the dark.
Mobile Mini’s Health and Safety Director Chris Watcham said: “As a company, we always look for ways to build on our first-class customer service and excellent safety record, enabling us to be more efficient and serve our customers better.
“These new trucks allow easy access to otherwise difficult sites, as well as for more accurate placement with improved lifting capability.
“The additional safety features will not only ensure driver safety, but that of other road users and those on delivery sites.”
Employers and the construction unions have agreed a two year pay deal which will see minimum rates rise by more than 6%.
The agreement covers more than 400,000 construction workers and will see pay rates rise 3.2% in year one and 2.9% in year two.
The new Construction Industry Joint Council Working Rule Agreement comes into effect from June 25.
It will see the minimum hourly craft rate rise to £12.67 in 2019 resulting in a £494.13 pay packet for a 39-hour week.
The minimum hourly rate for labourers will hit £9.53 representing £371.67 a week.
Plans for a £1bn cultural centre and 3,500 homes at Silvertown Quays in London are being blocked by red tape.
Indian conglomerate Essel Group started talks earlier this year about taking over development rights for the 62 acre site from the Silvertown Partnership consortium of Chelsfield Properties, First Base and Macquarie Capital.
Essel has lined up a raft of construction partners including Mace, Multiplex, Kier and Ardmore to work on site plans created by HPW Architecture.
But the proposals are now being held up due to a contractual row with site owners the Greater London Authority (GLA).
The delay has prompted a broadside from Essel chairman Dr Subhash Chandra.
He said: “Since the EU referendum, I have watched the Brexit negotiations with cautious optimism, encouraged by the government’s pledge to improve the accessibility of trade with India through the new India-UK Trade Partnership, and by initiatives such as the Mayor of London’s #LondonIsOpen campaign.
“It has been my long-held ambition to build at least three major cultural centres in the world, the first in London, in the Royal Docks, and then in the United States and Asia, that will be dedicated to helping all nations explore peaceful solutions to the current threats facing humanity.
“As part of this regeneration of Silvertown Quays, we have also committed to build 3,500 homes, 35% of which will be affordable housing.
“This is the kind of investment the Mayor’s campaign aims to achieve – one that shows London is united with the world and proud of its history.
“I am deeply disappointed, therefore, that Essel Group has been prevented from having our visionary proposal formally tabled to the Greater London Authority, the owners of the site.
“The GLA, while privately praising our plan, says it cannot formally present it to the Mayor without the authority of The Silvertown Partnership.
“This defies logic because Silvertown is publicly owned land and this approach suggests that the commercial interests of the developers are being put ahead of what is best for London.
“The Silvertown Partnership require the approval of the GLA before they can proceed with a rival offer from another party to develop Silvertown.
“For common sense to prevail, the GLA must seize this opportunity to consider credible alternatives.
“As such, we remain hopeful that the British government and the Mayor of London will not allow this important investment into London to be lost.”
Contractor Mick George Ltd has been fined after a tipper vehicle driven by one of its employees came into contact with overhead power lines during the construction of a waste transfer station.
Northampton Crown Court heard that on 9 March 2016 a driver employed by Mick George Ltd was emptying a load of soil from his tipper vehicle at a site in Northampton.
Mick George Ltd had already identified the need for Permanent Protection Structures (goalposts) but after an initial delay only one was installed.
In order to empty the final remains of the load from his vehicle, the driver pulled forward with the body raised and the vehicle touched, or came close to touching, the 33KV overhead power lines (OPL).
The tipper vehicle suffered minor damage but the driver was unhurt.
An HSE investigation showed that Mick George Ltd should have assessed the risks from OPL’s more rigorously and realised its system of work was inadequate to reduce the risk of tipper vehicles striking an OPL.
Mick George Ltd of Huntingdon pleaded guilty to a breach of the CDM regulations and was fined £566,670 and ordered to pay costs of £9,000.
HSE inspector Stuart Parry, speaking after the sentencing said: “Every year in the UK, two people are killed and many more injured when mechanical plant and machinery comes into contact or close proximity to OPLs.
“This was a very serious incident and it is fortunate nobody was injured as a result.
“A suitable and sufficient assessment would have identified the need to contact the Distribution Network Operator, Western Power, to request the OPLs were diverted underground prior to the commencement of construction.
“If this was not reasonably practicable, Mick George Ltd should have erected goalposts either side of the OPLs to warn drivers about the OPLs. “
There are less than two weeks left to enter the Construction Enquirer Awards 2018 as companies come forward to face an industry vote to pick Top Ten winners.
The categories have been shaken-up a bit this year so you can now nominate your favourite projects to work on as well as the industry’s best companies and consultants.
Nominations take minutes and are all done online.
So if you are proud of your firm, have worked on a great project or like the way another company does business it’s time to nominate them for some well deserved recognition.
Anyone can put a company or project forward so you don’t have to wait for the corporate entry – just click here and tell us who deserves an accolade.
Our awards are nominated by real construction people and voted for by your staff and suppliers rather than a room full of judges.
Last year more than 10,000 people voted in the Enquirer awards making them a true reflection of who is doing business in the right way.
Top Ten winners will all be nominated by the industry and voted for by the industry.
Our awards night in Birmingham is a non-stuffy affair where you won’t be fleeced a fortune for a ticket.
You’ll just enjoy a laid-back evening of celebrating success and networking with the best in the business hosted by industry legend George Clarke.
Sponsors are already signing-up months before the October event to guarantee branding alongside construction’s newest and most vibrant event.
Industry titans Laing O’Rourke and Kier are confirmed as sponsors plus software recruitment specialist Engage Tech, expanding contractor Torsion Group and insurance giant JLT.
Enquirer editor Aaron Morby said: “We know how hard people work in the industry so now is the time to celebrate your success.
“Putting forward a company or project is easy online and we want to hear from as many people as possible.”
The big night is in October alongside UK Construction Week
The nomination process is now open and you can enter here before the deadline of June 8.
Entering is nice and simple and all online – no stacks of forms to fill-in or time-wasting interviews with judging panels.
Sponsorship slots are also still available – for more details click here
The collapse of M&E specialist Vaughan Engineering Ltd has left subcontractors and suppliers holding unpaid bills totalling more than £9m.
The firm called in administrators at its three UK offices in March blaming its demise on the knock-on effects of Carillion’s collapse.
Administrators from KPMG have now filed their report at Companies House highlighting Vaughan Engineering’s financial troubles.
Trade creditors are owed £9.2m and are unlikely to receive a penny.
The firm also owed £2.9m to Danske Bank and was holding £1.37m in retentions cash at the time of its failure.
KPMG said Vaughan hit cash flow troubles following two contract disputes and the failure of Carillion who were a “key customer”.
The company had enjoyed rapid growth in recent years with turnover hitting a peak of £50m in 2016.
But that increased revenue led to a loss of £800,000 in 2016 which rose to an operating loss of £2.57 in 2017 as turnover dipped to £38m.
Family-owned parent company Vaughan Group in Northern Ireland is a separate company which is unaffected and continues to trade strongly.
Brankin, a leading ventilation ductwork contractor operating throughout the UK and Ireland is also part of the Vaughan Group and continues to trade unaffected.
Researchers have unveiled that brittle diamonds can be bent and stretched elastically when made into ultrafine needles.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180527105738.htm
Flooring specialist Polydeck Group has gone into administration with the loss of more than 100 jobs.
The Wiltshire based firm also had offices in Warwickshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and Scotland.
The Enquirer understands Polydeck Group had been in a long-running £1.7m payment row with Balfour Beatty over work carried out at the RAF Marham base in Norfolk.
Latest results at Comapanies House show Polydeck Group had a turnover of £12.5m for the year to May 31 2017 generating a pre-tax profit of £425,000.
It is understood staff had the details of the administration confirmed on Friday morning.
One supplier said: “Word started going round on Thursday and it has come as a surprise to everyone.
“We are owed money by them and it’s another knock we will have to ride.”
Polydeck Group was established in 2001 as a specialist resin flooring contractor.
Researchers using powerful supercomputers have found a way to generate microwaves with inexpensive silicon, a breakthrough that could dramatically cut costs and improve devices such as sensors in self-driving vehicles.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180524081722.htm
Researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, a chip-based dual-comb spectrometer in the mid-infrared range, that requires no moving parts and can acquire spectra in less than 2 microseconds. The system, which consists of two mutually coherent, low-noise, microresonator-based frequency combs spanning 2600 nm to 4100 nm, could lead to the development of a spectroscopy lab-on-a-chip for real-time sensing on the nanosecond time scale.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523172313.htm
Aberdeen Standard Investments has submitted plans to build 1,368 student room for the University of Lincoln.
Subject to planning approval from the city council work could begin on the complex as early as November with a phased completion between 2020 and 2022.
If planning is approved and works commence, this will be the first major construction milestone in the £150m redevelopment of St Marks.
The mixed-use development has outline planning and will create new private and affordable housing and retail space.
The student accommodation is an important component of the overall scheme, which will include new retail and leisure, residential, a hotel and improved parking.
David Stewart of Aberdeen Standard Investments commented: “Submitting this planning application with the University of Lincoln’s support is a major endorsement of our plans and a key step on the road to delivering our vision for a revitalised St Marks.”
A University of Lincoln spokesperson said: “Students are at the heart of everything that we do at the University of Lincoln and we are committed to providing a total learning experience which includes ensuring high quality student accommodation.
“The location of this development is perfect for the campus and we are confident that Aberdeen Standard Investments share our ethos and belief about enhancing every element of the student experience.”
Father and son tax fugitives are finally behind bars after being captured in Spain and extradited to the UK.
The £1 million VAT fraudster tried to avoid jail by fleeing to France in a light aircraft, while his accomplice father escaped by ferry before they both headed to Spain.
Former Sandbanks resident Jamie Colwell, 51, has now started his prison sentence of five years and three months for stealing almost £1m in VAT repayments on new-build houses that never existed.
His father, Brian Colwell, 76, of Bournemouth, has started his two year and eight month jail term.
The pair were tracked down by HM Revenue and Customs investigators to a villa near Benidorm and returned to the UK this week.
Richard Wilkinson, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “The Colwells thought they could evade prison and use their criminal cash to fund a new life on the Costa Blanca but they were wrong.
“With close cooperation from our international law enforcement partners we tracked the fugitives down, so they can now look forward to jail instead.
“HMRC is determined to ensure absconders face justice. We will pursue those criminals who blatantly steal from the public services we all rely on, and look to recover the proceeds of their crimes from current and future wealth.
His Honour Judge Fuller QC, said that future sentencing will take place for the breach of bail.
The pair along with Jamie’s former partner Briony James, 45, of Salisbury had claimed to have spent £14m building new houses to fraudulently claim VAT repayments totalling £965,897 – but a HMRC investigation revealed not a single brick had been laid.
Both men were sentenced in their absence at Bournemouth Crown Court in January.
Scientists demonstrated that scanning photocurrent microscopy could provide the optoelectronic information needed to improve the performance of devices for power generation, communications, data storage, and lighting.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523133321.htm
Paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Johannes Vermeer have been delighting art lovers for years. But it turns out that these works of art might be their own worst enemy – the canvases they were painted on can deteriorate over time. In an effort to combat this aging process, one group is reporting that nanomaterials can provide multiple layers of reinforcement.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523133256.htm
Clear, plastic aligners have been growing in popularity as alternatives to bulky, metal braces. And once the teeth are straightened, patients graduate to plastic retainers to maintain the perfect smile. But these appliances can become contaminated, so one group is now reporting that they have developed a film to prevent bacteria from growing on them.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523133250.htm
The country’s largest water company United Utilities has started the hunt for firms to deliver maintenance services for its vast water and wastewater network.
The framework will be awarded for an initial six-year term, with a facility to extend the agreement in one year increments up to a maximum of four years.
Services will be split over three streams covering core water, waste water renewal and repair work and non-core work for smaller projects and specialist works.
Shortlisted firms will be invited to tender on 19 July, with around four bidders expected to be pitched against each other for the main lots in streams one and two.
Stream 1 — Water core. Lot 1 North (worth £120m). Lot 2 South (worth £120m)
Resolution, repair or renewal of linear assets and ancillary fittings on the water network.
Stream 2 — Wastewater core. Lot 3 North (£135m). Lot 4 South (£140m).
Resolution, repair or renewal of linear assets and ancillary fittings on the wastewater network.
Stream 3 — Non-core. Lot 5 — Water small projects (£80m). Lot 6 — Wastewater small projects (£90m). Lot 7 — Proactive inspection and investigation (£24m). Lot 8 — Specialist water services (£35m). Lot 9 — Specialist wastewater services (£80m).
Further information is available from the website with expressions of interest due in by 21 June.
This Steve Mogford, Chief Executive Officer, said the water company was on track to submit its PR19 business plan in September 2018.
United Utilities has pumped more than £817m of investment into the pipes, reservoirs and treatment works which deliver water and wastewater services to the North West’s seven million people.
The money – revealed in its annual results today – represents just 12 months of work in the firm’s record-breaking five year investment programme totalling £3.8bn.
He added that the group has met leakage targets for 10 consecutive years, and has cut leakage by half since the 1990s.
Reducing leaks remained a top priority and the use of satellite imagery to detect leaks, and in-pipe assessment techniques are being explored.
United Utilities is also the first water company to train a sniffer dog to specifically help pinpoint problem pipes in rural areas where the water does not always show on the surface.
‘Snipe’ – the UK’s first leakage sniffer dog.
The London Borough of Brent has awarded Wates Residential a £23.4m project to build 149 new homes by December 2021.
The Knowles House redevelopment in Harlesden will include the construction of two new buildings, providing 92 homes for temporary accommodation and 57 for independent living to support some of the borough’s most vulnerable residents.
The housing is being provided as part of the council’s Temporary Accommodation Reform Plan, which will result in £130m spent on up to 600 new homes over a three-year period and improve housing for vulnerable residents in the borough. Work is set to commence later this year.
As part of the project, Wates Residential and Brent Council have also made a joint pledge to provide employment and training opportunities for local residents, delivering a lasting legacy for the community.
Paul Nicholls, Managing Director of Wates Residential South, said: “Wates Residential is proud to have been chosen as the London Borough of Brent’s trusted partner for the Knowles House redevelopment.
We are excited to start work on the project, which will provide much-needed high-quality housing for some of the people who need it most.
Investigators have made a major breakthrough in nanophotonics research, with their invention of a novel ‘home-built’ cryogenic near-field optical microscope that has enabled them to directly image, for the first time, the propagation and dynamics of graphene plasmons at variable temperatures down to negative 250 degrees Celsius. If researchers can harness this nanolight, they will be able to improve sensing, subwavelength waveguiding, and optical transmission of signals.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523133205.htm
Scientists have created the first thermally stable organic molecular nanowire devices using a single 4.5-nm-long molecule placed inside electroless gold-plated nanogap electrodes.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523104253.htm
A metabolic research group has developed a recombinant E. coli strain that biosynthesizes 60 different nanomaterials covering 35 elements on the periodic table. Among the elements, the team could biosynthesize 33 novel nanomaterials for the first time, advancing the forward design of nanomaterials through the biosynthesis of various single and multi-elements.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523104305.htm
The Scottish Procurement Alliance has selected the line-up of 20 firms it will use to deliver a £1.5bn housing programme funded in the main by the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.
Robertson Construction snared places on all project size lots covering the five regions of Scotland. Other firms to do well were Bancon, ENGIE and Hadden Construction.
The new house building framework will be open to use by all publicly-funded bodies throughout Scotland for houses and flats including sheltered accommodation, care homes, student accommodation.
