Terra Magnetica

University of Delaware wins $4.4 million to develop next-generation magnets

Saturday, November 14, 2009

My thanks to RareMetalBlog’s Ian London for pointing this article out: Oct. 27, 2009 – by Tracey Bryant – The University of Delaware has won a $4.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) to lead a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research project to develop the next generation of high-performance permanent [...]

The Problems Of Sourcing Wind Turbines And Rare Earth Metals From China

Thursday, November 12, 2009

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Last weekend, Democrat US Senator Chuck Schumer of NY made headlines with his comments on a recent plan to fund a wind farm in Texas, using Federal stimulus money to pay for Chinese-built wind turbines. Rare metals commentator and analyst Jack Lifton has posted a new article on the subject, called “The Rare Earth Crisis [...]

DMTC Hosts 2nd Annual Strategic Materials Conference

Sunday, November 8, 2009

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The Defense Metals Technology Center [DMTC], based in North Canton, Ohio, is hosting its 2nd Annual Strategic Materials Conference [SMC] during Feb 1-2, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio. According to the DMTC Web site: The Defense Metals Technology Center (DMTC) was formed in January, 2007 in order to establish an industrial base capable of affordably producing [...]

21st Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Workshop [REPM10]: Call For Abstracts

Friday, November 6, 2009

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Earlier today, I was pleased to learn that the Organizing Committee of the 21st International Workshop on Rare Earth Permanent Magnets and the Applications [REPM10] announced their first Call for Abstracts. This meeting takes places in Bled, Slovenia from August 29 to September 2, 2010. Held every two years, the Workshop was inaugurated in 1974 [...]

It’s Official: Feds Required To Report To Congress On Rare Earths In The US Defense Supply Chain

Sunday, November 1, 2009

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As I’ve posted about extensively here at Terra Magnetica, the US National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 contained language that required that the Federal government look at the role of rare earth materials in the US defense supply chain. Earlier this week, the bill was finally signed into law by President Obama. Section [...]

USMMA Forms New Advisory Board

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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Earlier today, the United States Magnet Materials Association [USMMA] announced the formation of a new Advisory Board, comprising three highly-respected members of the magnetics & rare earths community. Joining the USMMA in this capacity are: Jack Lifton, of Jack Lifton LLC and The Jack Lifton Report, who is a well known commentator and consultant with [...]

Correlated Magnetics Research Launches “Programmable” Permanent Magnet Materials

Sunday, October 4, 2009

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I saw an intriguing news item over at the Magnetism & Electromagnetics Interest Group yesterday, and I see that it’s starting to make its way into the press. The Huntsville Times is reporting that “Larry Fullerton, formerly of Time Domain, has developed a process to ‘program’ magnetic and electromagnetic materials so they will only attract [...]

Permanent Magnet Topics At SMMA Fall Technical Meeting

Saturday, October 3, 2009

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The SMMA (Motor and Motion Association) Fall Technical Conference takes place Nov 3-5, 2009 in Arlington Heights, Illinois this year. Dr. Stan Trout of Spontaneous Materials will be giving a half-day pre-conference seminar titled “Permanent Magnets Fundamentals“ in the afternoon of Nov 3. As I’ve said before, Stan is one of the best instructors I know [...]

The Beginning Of The End For Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Motors?

Friday, October 2, 2009

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Okay, okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating just a little… but if the news from Japan today is anything to go by, perhaps we’re not far off. According to a report at TradingMarket.com, Japan’s Daikin Industries has teamed up with Professor Shigeo Morimoto from Osaka Prefecture University, to create an electric motor that produced high torque [...]

Running the Gauntlet: Rare Earths, Specialty Metals and Turf Wars Inside the Beltway – Part 4

Sunday, September 27, 2009

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This is the last in a four-part series of articles on the current scrutiny being given to rare earths by the US Congress and US Department of Defense, in the context of national security considerations. The third part can be accessed here. The full white paper can be downloaded as a PDF file from here. [...]