[Technology Opportunities: PHYSICAL SCIENCES]

> Adaptive Wireless Modems for Multimedia Data
A wireless adaptive modem with increased reliability and power efficiency that addresses the redundancy in the form of non-uniformity inherent in multimedia sources (both uncompressed and compressed).

> Attentive User Interface

"Attentive user interfaces" optimize the allocation of the attentive resources of users and systems; they enable devices that don't bug you when you're busy.

> Colour Switching Materials

A new class of photochromic materials that respond to the stimuli of light and heat with a large colour contrast. The colours of these materials can be switched between colourless and dark blue or dark green in a liquid.

> DC-to-DC Converters
Isolated and non-isolated designs particularly suitable to low voltage central processing unit applications.

> Dimmable Electronic Ballast for Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL)

A low-cost single-switch power inverter and dimmer controller technology for compact fluorescent lamps.

> Directly Measuring the Phase Change of an Optical Signal
Method and apparatus for directly measuring the optical phase transfer function of a device as a function of an external signal applied to the device.

> Diversity Coding Method for MIMO-OFDM

A novel coding method for multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antenna systems with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), or diversity-coded MIMO-OFDM.

> Efficient Power Conversion - The Resonant Gate Drive

A cost-effective, energy efficient scheme suitable for use in next generation switching power supplies that not only recovers gate drive energy, but significantly reduces switching time, and associated loss by providing a constant gate charge/discharge current.

> Enhanced Plant Growth
A "chemical-free" and effective way to improve crop growth by 10-30% without rotating crops.

> A Fibre-loop Ring-down Spectroscopy Detector for HPLC

A rugged and inexpensive absorption detector based on a patented fibre-loop ring-down spectroscopy (FLRDS) technology.

> Functionalized High Molecular Weight Polypropylene

A process to chemically modify high molecular weight (10,000 – 100,000 Da) polypropylene without significantly affecting its melt viscosity.

> Gold Recovery

A novel process for the recovery of gold from thiosulfate leaching solution. The process is suitable to either pre-existing or green-field industrial thiosulfate leaching processes.

> MCN Emitters™- "Plug, Play and Walk Away"

A novel multi-channel nanoelectrospray (MCN) emitter that uses a microstructured silica fibre as a “shower head” to split the fluidic flow, thereby enhancing sensitivity and increasing emitter robustness.

> Organophosphate Breakdown

Catalytic method to degrade phosphorous-based compounds such as pesticides (e.g. paraoxon); and chemical warfare agents (sarin, soman, tabun, VX-agents). Process is fast, occurs at room temperature, and produces non-toxic products.

> Palladium Scavenger

A functionalized mesoporous silica material has been developed using sol-gel technology. This material contains active metal binding sites not only on the external surface but throughout internal channels of the silica matrix as well.

> Platform of Multi-channel Optical Fibre Derived Analytical Tools

A series of innovative analytical products derived from multi-channel micro-structured optical fibres (MSFs). These fibres, originally designed to confine light for telecommunication, have now been transformed to manipulate fluids taking advantage of precisely patterned hole arrays.

>Superamphiphobic Materials

A new class of superamphiphobic materials that repel both water and organics. Through cross-linking, these polymer materials may be strongly bonded on a broad range of substrate surfaces including glass, metals, wood, ceramics, plastics, fibres, fabrics, and paper to generate durable superamphiphobic coatings.

> Thermal Analysis Software Package (ISAC)

A comprehensive integrated circuit (IC) chip-package thermal analysis software package, for use in IC design and synthesis and computer architecture design.

> Water Contaminant Sensor for Monitoring PAHs, BTEX, PCBs and Heavy Metals

A novel optical sensor array suited to a variety of applications in environmental monitoring. The combination of chemically selective coatings with fibreoptic sensors will result in a monitoring system that is more robust, cheaper and faster than any existing technology.