Solar Energy Features
Bill Gross’s ambition to transform solar energy into electricity faces a significant obstacle: the Earth does not stay still but continues to rotate. Gross states, “Using solar energy would definitely be easier if the Earth stopped spinning.”
Indeed, the Earth’s constant rotation partially explains why electricity generated from solar energy is still limited and relatively expensive.
Ultimately, Gross’s company, Energy Innovations, founded in 2000 in Pasadena, California, appears to have found a solution. The Sunflower system designed by the company consists of a generator using 25 panels to reflect sunlight onto a small silicon collection device measuring 900 cm². A microchip within this device continuously analyzes the reflected light and adjusts the panels to capture the maximum number of photons.
Gross’s first customers, all of whom have unused rooftop space, will test the Sunflower system in 2006.
Fortigate Firewall
In the battle against computer viruses, Ken Xie, a 42-year-old Chinese-American engineer based in San Jose, California, is always at the front line of defense. Shielding is Ken Xie’s specialty because before settling in the U.S. in 1989, this 1.96-meter tall man was a professional volleyball player in China.
Transitioning from sports to the computer industry, Ken Xie continues to leverage his expertise. His security technology represents a revolution in the network security industry.
While working with firewall software – protective layers that prevent spam and attacks from viruses and hackers – Xie noticed that these programs slowed down network performance. He set out to invent a hardware device capable of monitoring Internet content remotely, without interfering with application software, while still filtering out “garbage” from viruses.
In 2000, Ken Xie founded Fortinet Inc. and developed FortiGate – a device that serves as a firewall against viruses on networks. When a virus attacks a computer network, FortiGate examines and blocks harmful programs before they can infiltrate computers.
Recycling Plastics from Industrial Waste
Mike Biddle has always hated waste. As a child, he would turn off lights at home to save electricity. Eleven years ago, when he founded a company to recycle plastics collected from industrial waste such as electronics and automobiles, many viewed his decision as quite crazy. However, Mike believed that the world could save a significant amount of energy by recycling plastics from industrial waste.
Today, Biddle’s dream is taking shape as his company, MBA Polymers Inc., based in Richmond, California, becomes one of the leading companies in the field of plastic recycling. In the U.S., approximately 50 million tons of plastic are used each year, but only 2% to 4% of this is recycled, compared to a recycling rate of 95% for steel and aluminum. MBA Polymers Inc. has recently inaugurated the largest plastic recycling plant in the world in Guangzhou, China. In 2006, Mike Biddle plans to open a similar facility in Austria.
PHUONG VO
