Boston, MA –The NITON X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzers from Thermo Electron Corp. (thermo.com) were awarded a Gold IDEA (Industrial Design Excellence Award) for Medical & Scientific Products. The award-winning portable analyzer line was designed by Altitude Inc., a Massachusetts-based strategic product development firm.

The analyzers are used for a variety of nondestructive testing applications, including RoHS and WEEE compliance, metal alloy sorting, positive material inspection, mineral exploration and mining, precious metals analysis, environmental risk assessment and lead paint testing. According to the company, the small size, light weight, ruggedness, ease of use and good ergonomics are critical for the demanding field applications of XRF, where instruments must work in a range of environmental conditions and take upwards of one thousand readings per day.

Altitude's designers worked with Thermo engineers and scientists to develop XRF analyzers that maximize productivity. The XLi, XLp and XLt series XRF analyzers determine approximate sample chemistries and identify many types of samples in as little as one second. All are water resistant, dust proof and built to meet the demands of rigorous testing conditions.

New York -- Dr. Jennie Hwang will share her 15-year lead-free development knowledge and real-world production know-how in a series of lead-free courses in the New York area next week.

Attendees to each half-day course will receive a workbook and Dr. Hwang’s three current textbooks, including: Environment-Friendly Electronics and Implementing Lead-free Electronics.
 
Register for any or all courses at: blackfox.com/leadfree/LeadfreeRegistration.pdf.

August 8, AM: Part 1 & 2, Lead-Free Preparation for Implementation
August 8, PM: Part 3, Lead-Free Implementation & Production
August 9, AM: Part 4, Lead-Free Reliability & Manufacturing
August 9, PM: Part 5, Lead-Free System Compatibility--Materials and Processes
August 10, AM: Part 6, Lead-Free & the Role of Bi
 
For more info and individual course details, visit:
blackfox.com/leadfree/LeadFreeWorkshop.pdf

Dr. Hwang holds a number of patents and is the author of over 250 publications. She has served as National president of the SMTA and on the board of ASM International. Dr. Hwang is a member of the U.S. Commerce Department Export Council and the newly formed National Research Council Globalization Committee. She is currently a partner of H-Technologies Group Inc. and an adjunct professor at the Engineering School of Case Western Reserve University.

YAVNE, Israel - Valor Computerized Systems showed continued growth for the ninth quarter in a row, and released financial results for the six-month period ending June 30.

Revenues were $9 million in the second quarter of 2005, an increase of more than 20% over Q2 2004 revenues of $7.45 million. Revenues increased year-on-year, growing from $14.6 million in the first half of 2004 to $17.7 million in the first half of 2005.

Net profit in the second quarter was $408,000, an increase of 133% over the adjusted profit for the same quarter last year. Net profit for the first half of the year was more than $1 million – up 200% from the same period last year.

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. -- Organic electronics -- thin film transistors and displays for electronic products in which the key component is organic -- are forecast to hit $30 billion by 2015, driven by logic and memory, displays and lighting.

The author of the study, research firm IDTechEx, says organic electronics will not affect sales of silicon chips, however.