Author: Serkadis

General Motors announced today that it is doubling the size of the largest automotive battery lab in the United States to expedite the development of electric-vehicles for consumers. The Detroit automaker will invest $8 million to improve on-site testing of all current and new batteries, module and pack technologies by expanding the GM Technical Center Campus by 30,000 sq. ft to 63,000 sq. ft.

“GM is building on its commitment to lead the development of electric vehicle technology – from battery cell design to the charging infrastructure – and today’s investment furthers our work in this area,” said Micky Bly, GM executive director, global electrical systems, hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries. “This addition will benefit consumers by helping us put cleaner, more efficient vehicles, including the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle with extended range, on the road more quickly and affordably.”

The facility is used by GM’s growing team of more than 1,000 engineers working on advanced batteries and electric-vehicles.

Make the jump for the press release.

Press Release:

GM Doubling Size of Most Technologically Advanced Automotive Battery Lab in the United States

o Bolsters GM’s leadership in automotive battery technology and electrically driven vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Volt
o $8-million expansion doubles size of Global Battery Systems Lab on the GM Technical Center campus in Warren, Mich., to 63,000 sq. ft.
o Improves on-site safety, charging, engineering and manufacturing testing capabilities for all current and new battery cell, module and pack technologies

WARREN, Mich. – General Motors is doubling the size of the largest and most technologically advanced automotive battery lab in the U.S. to expedite the development of electrically driven vehicles for consumers.

The $8-million investment will improve on-site testing of all current and new battery cell, module and pack technologies by enlarging the Global Battery Systems Lab on the GM Technical Center campus by 30,000 sq. ft. to 63,000 sq. ft. The addition will be located adjacent to the existing lab inside the Alternative Energy Center facility. Areas previously used for engine testing will be renovated for battery development, with construction beginning this month and scheduled for completion in the summer.

GM’s Global Battery Systems Lab began operations in January 2009 and became fully operational in May 2009. http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/news/news_detail.brand_gm.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2009/Jun/0608_BatteryLab

It is used by GM’s growing team of more than 1,000 engineers working on advanced batteries and electrically driven vehicles. More than half of the current lab is dedicated to testing the electrochemical battery cells and their enclosures, known as modules. The lab’s remaining floor space is committed to evaluating completed battery packs.

The expansion will add capability in six areas, including:

* Safety and Abuse Tolerance. Powertrain test cells previously used for engine altitude testing will be retrofitted for crush, penetration, water immersion, overcharge, discharge and short circuit tests
* Buildup and Teardown. Reuse storage areas to prepare batteries before tests and provide secured rooms for supplier evaluation
* Manufacturing Engineering. Reuse space previously occupied by engine dynamometers to improve manufacturing processes, such as laser welding and cell stacking
* Charger Development and Integration
* Thermal Development. Radiant heat, thermal stability and thermal shock testing
* Battery Storage

“We’ve made the commitment to design, develop, validate and manufacture automotive battery technology in-house,” said Bly. “Consolidating these testing capabilities at the Global Battery Systems Lab will reduce costs, provide a competitive advantage, quicken the pace of development and ensure we will design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles.”

The Global Battery Systems Lab equipment and test automation systems are being integrated with GM’s global network of battery labs, including Mainz Kastel, Germany and Shanghai, China, to facilitate seamless data exchange and work sharing. http://www.gm.com/experience/technology/research/news/2009/csl_092409.jsp

The Global Battery Systems Lab recently received world-class accreditation from the ISO-certified American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), a nonprofit, public service group that evaluates the competency and capability of labs across all fields of testing. Auditors from the A2LA reviewed testing procedures and results, equipment calibration, operations documentation, personnel competency and the lab’s quality policy. The benefits of being an ISO-certified lab include: ensuring that data is accurate and avoiding expensive retesting from unreliable results.

The lab is equipped with 176 test channels and 49 thermal chambers duplicating extreme real-world driving patterns, hot and cold temperatures and calendar life.

This lab includes many environmentally conscious features such as a center hallway with high-efficiency LED lighting and a floor made from recycled tires. Approximately 90 percent of the electricity used for battery testing can be returned to the local energy grid for use by homeowners and businesses. The Global Battery Systems Lab received an honorable mention for Green Project of the Year by the Construction Association of Michigan.

Additional benefits offered by the Global Battery Systems Lab include a thermal shaker table for testing the structural integrity of the battery and electronic controls; a battery teardown area for failure analysis and competitor benchmarking; an integrated test automation system and improved Design of Experiments methodology – an information-gathering exercise that allows GM to perform more thorough battery tests more quickly.

In addition to battery labs in Warren, Mainz-Kastel and Shanghai, GM also has facilities dedicated to vehicle electrification in Honeoye Falls, N.Y., and the GM Technical Center’s Research Chemical Engineering facility.

GM’s battery lab network is part of a corporate battery research and development strategy that includes:

* Ramping-up “in-house” battery development capability by increasing the staff of GM’s global electric vehicle and advanced battery organization
* Becoming the first major automaker to manufacture an advanced lithium-ion battery pack in the U.S. at GM’s Brownstown Battery Pack Assembly Plant in Brownstown Township, Mich., in January. http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/news/news_detail.brand_gm.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2010/Jan/0107_brownstown
* Joining with the University of Michigan to create a new automotive advanced battery lab in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a specialized curriculum within U of M’s College of Engineering to develop automotive battery engineers
* Growing and establishing a robust lineup of battery suppliers and universities for cell development and manufacturing and battery integration expertise, including companies LG Chem, A123 Systems, Hitachi Ltd. and Compact Power Inc.
* Collaborating with government organizations and industry consortia, such as the U.S. Department of Energy, United States Council for Automotive Research, the United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC and Electric Power Research Institute to advance the development of, plug-ins and electric vehicles, and the necessary electric infrastructure to support these vehicles

Energy alternatives and advanced technologies that reduce dependence on petroleum, improve fuel economy and reduce emissions are keys to developing sustainable transportation. GM is pursuing several options to best meet the varied needs of customers around the world – from advanced gasoline, diesel and biofuel technology to electrically assisted vehicles and, ultimately, electrically driven extended-range, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. GM believes that electrically driven vehicles, based on battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology, offer the best long-term solution or providing sustainable personal transportation.

Facts: Global Battery Systems Lab

Location

* Alternative Energy Center, GM Technical Center, Warren, Mich.

Timing

* Battery system test area opened January 2009
* Cell and module test area opened May 2009
* Phase Two scheduled to open summer 2010

Size

Total floor space: 63,000 sq. ft.

* Pack testing and development – 14,400 sq. ft.
* Cell and module development – 17,400 sq. ft.
* Technical support – 2,000 sq. ft.
* Phase Two – 30,000 sq. ft.

Benefits

* 40 cyclers (serve as treadmills for batteries)
* 80 test channels (available for individual battery tests)
* 33 thermal chambers (duplicates extreme temperature conditions)

* Pack testing

* 32 cyclers
* 96 test channels
* 16 small thermal chambers

* Cell and module testing

* New humidity-controlled walk-in chambers
* New airflow benches to provide specific temperatures and levels of humidity to test air-cooled battery packs
* New coolant chillers to cool or heat liquid-cooled battery packs

* Environmental control capability to allow for test correlation and repeatability

* Walk-in test cells for battery pack, module and cell crush, penetration, water immersion, overcharge, discharge and short circuit tests.

* Phase Two
* Safety and abuse tolerance testing

* Laser-welding and cell-stacking development tests to improve manufacturing processes

* Manufacturing engineering

* Charger development and integration
* Thermal development tests for radiant heat, thermal stability and thermal shock

– By: Omar Rana

The unibody Honda Ridgeline is likely to be killed off after the 2011 model year. Introduced in 2005, the Ridgeline shares the same chassis components as that Acura MDX SUV and was one of the few unibody pickups ever made available for sale in the United States.

“There will be a model-year 2011 Honda Ridgeline but we haven’t announced anything beyond that,” Honda spokeswoman Christina Ra said.

Click here to get prices on the 2010 Honda Ridgeline.

Demand for the Honda Ridgeline never approached that of traditional, full-sized, body-on-frame trucks from the Big 3 domestic automakers. After a minor refresh for 2009, Honda planned no other significant changes

Sales of the Honda Ridgeline hit their peak in 2006 at 50,193.

“It’s a very nice concept, a very nice car. But the sales aren’t so successful,” executive vice president Koichi Kondo said of the pickup in 2008.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoWeek

Sony is unveiling the newest addition to its CineAlta line of high-end acquisition systems: the SRW-9000PL camcorder. The new model expands the capabilities of Sony’s previously announced SRW-9000, adding a 35mm imager and PL mount to increase its flexibility and offer shooters more image creation options.

“Demand for digital shooting with a 35mm size sensor is rising for both motion picture and prime-time TV drama productions, two areas where our F35 has had great success,” said Chris Marchitelli, senior manager of CineAlta and Production Systems at Sony Electronics.

“This new model’s S35mm one-chip CCD sensor and PL lens mount are similar to the F35, so it combines the SR portability of the 9000 with the high-end optics of the F35, giving DPs an incredibly powerful and versatile tool for creating any ‘look’ they need.”

The SRW-9000PL offers full RGB image capturing (without color sub-sampling), ultra-wide dynamic range (over 12 T-stops), variable speed (SR Motion) with speed ramp capability, S-Log and HyperGamma capability. The camcorder is capable of 4:2:2 10-bit recording at 1080/23.98PsF, 24PsF, 25PsF, 29.97PsF, and 1080/50i, 59.94i. It can also record 4:2:2 1080/50P as standard configuration. The range of option boards developed for the SRW-9000 (2/3-inch version) can also be used with the SRW-9000PL (S35mm version) for additional performance and functionality.

• The HKSR-9001 HD-SDI expansion board adds dual-link HD-SDI outputs and an extra AUX input port, which works as an HD-SDI audio input for providing connectivity to an external audio multiplexing device. This allows users to multiplex up to 12 channels of audio to the HD-SDI input. The latest firmware version of the HKSR-9001 also provides 3G HD-SDI output capability.
• The HKSR-9002 picture cache board enables the camcorder to capture and record images with variable speed (SR Motion capability) from 1 to 50 fps. With this board, the camcorder can continuously record up to three seconds of images while the camcorder is in stand-by mode. When the record button is pushed, the stored images are recorded to HDCAM SR tape and the camcorder can continue recording in real time.
• With the HKSR-9003 RGB 4:4:4 processing board, the camcorder offers full-bandwidth digital 4:4:4 high-definition RGB recording and output capability. The option also offers S-LOG Gamma, essentially a “digital negative,” allowing users to tailor their images during post-production in the same way they would in a film-based work flow.

Both the SRW-9000 and the SRW-9000PL will be available with an upgrade path to Sony’s next-generation high-speed memory recording system. In addition, Sony will also offer a 35mm upgrade kit (HKSR-90PL) for the SRW-9000 2/3 inch imaging system. The SRW-9000PL camcorder and the HKSR-90PL are planned to be available in the fall, with suggested list pricing of approximately $125,000 and approximately $60,000 respectively.

(press release, pdf)

By John F. Terzano

San Francisco’s top public defender, Jeff Adachi, recently called for the city’s crime lab to become independent of the police department. This announcement comes on the heels of a series of scandals in the San Francisco Police Department’s forensic laboratory initiated by the discovery that a criminalist was stealing cocaine from evidence storage facilities. What initially seemed to be a problem with one unethical employee has led to the unearthing of myriad problems within the lab, including two cases of tainted DNA samples. Moreover, a troubling audit was released showing an improper maintenance of chain of custody of evidence, inadequate record keeping, and a lack of cleanliness in the overall facility. Multiple legal challenges raised in the aftermath of the scandal, including a murder case, have pointed to the possibility that police and prosecutors withheld vital information about the drug thefts from defendants’ attorneys.

Adachi is right to push for an independent crime lab. The majority of publicly operated crime labs are part of a law enforcement agency. As a result, crime lab employees may come to see themselves as part of a crime fighting team, rather than objective agents of science. Given that many forensic examinations involve subjective interpretations of data, the risk for bias is greater when the lab is structurally part of law enforcement. Independent crime labs help to ensure that analysts operate maintain an impartial environment to ensure accurate, unbiased and reliable testing. The National Academies of Science recognized these concerns when they recently recommended that laboratories become independent of law enforcement agencies.

Independence alone, however, will not guarantee objective, reliable science. Substantive and consistent oversight plays a key role in ensuring that crime labs maintain high standards of accuracy, reliability, and objectivity. Each state has a compelling interest in maintaining stringent scientific standards, and relying on private accreditation programs with infrequent site reviews does not provide the level of oversight necessary when so much is at stake.

Heightened oversight of forensic laboratories is one of the most important recommendations The Justice Project makes in its policy review, Improving the Practice and Use of Forensic Science. States need an independent oversight commission for forensic crime labs that can set and enforce quality standards and provide more rigorous, ongoing oversight of forensic testing to ensure that the labs operates with the highest scientific standards. Such a commission could ensure that all lab employees have the proper training and appropriate professional certifications. Furthermore, the commission could implement safeguards against inadvertent bias in forensic analysis which would promote the objectivity and reliability of forensic testing and analysis.

Given the increasing use and importance of forensic evidence in the criminal justice system, it is imperative that the crime labs function accurately, objectively, and reliably. Both independence and ongoing quality oversight of forensic laboratories will increase the fairness and accuracy of the criminal justice system and help reduce the risk of wrongful convictions. Forensic science can be a powerful tool. Only by implementing meaningful structural reform will we acknowledge the importance of what is at stake.

On Monday, April 5, an explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia killed 29 workers and raised new questions about the safety record of Massey Energy, the company that owns the mine. But as Mike Lillis reported, other Massey mines have been cited for a slew of safety violations that could put miners’ lives in danger. The Freedom Energy Mine #1 in Pike County, Ky., for example, has received 66 citations for safety violations since the Upper Big Branch accident, including 23 violations deemed “significant and substantial,” meaning they are “reasonably likely to result in a reasonably serious injury or illness under the unique circumstance contributed to by the violations.”

Using data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, TWI has compiled a running tally of safety violations racked up by the ten most cited Massey-owned mines. Check back daily for updates:

Mine	Violations This Year	Violations Since Upper Big Branch Explosion	“Significant and Substantial” Violations Since Explosion
Freedom Energy Mine #1	249	66	23
Independence Justice #1	115	0	0
Process Energy #1	102	7	3
Spartan’s Ruby Mine	102	0	0
Aracoma’s Alma # 1	98	7	5
Solid Energy #1	92	4	1
Mammoth’s Alloy Powellton	80	0	0
Spartan’s Road Fork #51	76	6	0
Independence’s Allegiance	76	2	0
Rockhouse’s Mine #1	72	2	0

From Green Right Now Reports

About 175 nations will continue climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, later this year, but the United Nations’ top climate official predicts a full treaty won’t be completed in 2010.

Delegates at the April 9-11 talks in Bonn agreed to meet November 29-December 10 in Cancun as debate between rich and poor nations on the subject of global warming continued to produce little in the way of substantive agreement. The recent discussions came in the wake of last December’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which produced the Copenhagen Accord that stated objectives but largely left open the question of how they might be accomplished.

“We had an outcome that was pretty positive,” Johnathan Pershing, head of the U.S. delegation, said as the Bonn sessions came to a close. “That is a good augury for what comes next.”

Still, the U.N.’s Yvo de Boer suggested a focus on smaller steps in 2010, citing aid to poor nations to cope with the impacts of climate change, protection of tropical forests and new clean technologies.

“I don’t think Cancun will provide the final outcome,” de Boer told Reuters near the end of the Bonn meetings.

From Green Right Now Reports

Technology experts from across the nation will gather in Tyson’s Corner, Va., on Earth Day (April 22) to discuss the latest enhancements in green computing. The Green IT Economic Summit will address changes that can combine environmentally-friendly practices with future profitability.

Research organization Forrester will unveil findings of a nationwide survey of current practices and progress toward greener services. Microsoft is scheduled to present both the innovations now being implemented through its worldwide operations and the changes that lie ahead for Green IT.

Others expected to contribute include HP, British Telecom, SRA, Marriott, Symantec, Raritan, Carbonfund, and Green Science Exchange.

Among the topics to be discussed:

• How to reduce energy costs
• How to power down servers without affecting applications or users
• How to green your data center
• How greener IT can reduce the need for expansion and demand for space

Organizers hope the summit will provide attendees with good information on how to incorporate green initiatives into successful, profitable business practices.

“It is an economic summit, not a technology summit,” conference director Teresa Moraska said.

Sony is bringing the stunning OLED technology that revolutionized consumer displays to its line of professional monitors. The new PVM-740, available this April for $3,850, is the first field display to use an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display panel with Sony’s unique Super Top Emission technology to efficiently deliver superb high contrast, high color images, even in ambient light.

The 7.4-inch high-resolution (960 x 540 pixels) portable monitor can fit a range of professional monitoring applications, including studio editing, ENG and EFT production, OB trucks, and even research and development. The versatile new monitor is also ideal for use in 3D camera rigs with its flip mode.

The display panel creates smooth gradation from the dark to the bright portions of scenes such as a sunrise or a sunset. The PVM-740 offers outstanding high-contrast images – for example, the deep black of a night scene can be accurately displayed and the black portion of an image is not raised even in a low-illumination edit suite. Its blur-free, quick response to fast motion is perfect for sports or camera monitoring during panning and text scrolling.

The monitor can flip a picture horizontally or vertically without frame delay. This feature is useful during 3D image acquisition using a 3D rig camera with a pair of 2D monitors. The monitor can be connected to the camera systems directly without need for an external signal converter, making system integration simpler.

Its picture contrast is greater than a CRT display, is less affected by ambient light, allowing clear images to be viewed even in strong sunlight. For further protection, the optional VF-510 ENG kit provides a viewing hood, carrying handle, and connector protector.

An AR coating provides protection from scratches and enables a high transmission rate of the internal light source to keep the picture as bright as possible, while keeping reflection from ambient light to a minimum. As a result, when used in bright lighting conditions, high contrast is still maintained even in dark areas of the picture. Sony’s unique 10-bit panel driver and ChromaTRU technologies work effectively to emulate colors and gammas of CRT monitors, and to support broadcast standards (SMPTE-C, EBU, and ITU-R BT.709).

The new monitor also adds DC/AC operations, a convenient control panel with luminous and assignable buttons, a camera focus function, a wave form monitor, 8-channel audio level meter, a variety marker setting, and native scanning capabilities.

The PVM-740 monitor is also equipped with a Sony’s unique feed-back circuit system. This system works to monitor the emitted lights all the time, and feed the monitor-result back and adjust the white balance. It also ensures color and gamma stability.

The PVM-740 is 3.8U high and half-rack wide. Using the optional MB-531 mounting bracket with a 10-degree-forward and 10-degree-backward nonstop-tilt capability, two units can be installed side by side in a 19-inch EIA standard rack. With 3/8-inch and 1/4-inch screw holes on its base, the PVM-740 can be installed in a camera system on a pedestal, for example.

The PVM-740 can display a center marker and aspect markers, and the brightness of these
markers can be selected from either gray or dark gray levels. Users can also select a gray matte to
fill the outer area of the aspect markers.

A unique native scan function reproduces images without changing the input signal’s pixel count – mapping the pixel of the input signal on the panel pixel-to-pixel. For example, when an SD signal is input, the monitor reproduces the image at picture sizes of 646 x 487 pixels in 480i and 480p, and 768 x 540 pixels in 575i and 576p. When an HD signal is input, the PVM-740 displays a center portion of the HD image.

The PVM-740 is equipped with standard interface connectors: a composite video, a 3G/HD/SD-SDI, and an HDMI interface.

It accepts most SD or HD video formats. For extra mobility, it incorporates various video interfaces as standard, including composite, SDI interface for SD-SDI, HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, and HDMI interface. With the 3G-SDI interface, it accepts 1080/50p and 1080/60p formats, which is compliant with the SMPTE 425 standard, transmitting up to 4:2:2/10-bit 1080/60p and 1080/50pvideo data using one SDI cable. As sports and live production move toward a 1080p system, this single-link 3G-SDI system can be an ideal solution.

HDMI connectivity further expands the monitor’s potential applications. For example, the PVM-740 monitor can connect with professional video systems such as Sony’s XDCAM HD,XDCAM EX, NXCAM, and HDV series. Consumer video products such as Blu-ray Disc and digital cameras can also be connected, ideal for Blu-ray video authoring or digital photo image previews.

(press release, pdf)

New production switcher announcements have become a tradition for Sony at NAB, and this year’s line-up features two new models that offer high performance at each end of the product chain.

The MVS-8000X (picture courtesy of AV Watch), available this spring, is the latest in Sony’s MVS switcher family, which has become the standard in live and control room production. The new MVS model provides a bridge from 2D 720P and 1080i high-definition production to the growing need for 1080P/59.94 3Gbps and 3D stereoscopic production capability. The DFS-900M is an entry-level, multi-format (SD/HD) switcher perfect for regional broadcasting, small remote productions, houses of worship, government and education use.

“These new switchers were developed and built using experience gained over a decade of designing and delivering market-proven systems and as a result we enjoy a well-earned reputation for leadership in high-definition production switching,” said Chris Marchitelli, senior manager of CineAlta and Production Systems at Sony Electronics.

The MVS-8000X is multi-format and fully scalable up to 5ME and 200 input/100 output, including dedicated interfaces for DME at 3Gbps 1080P/59.94. The switcher’s 3D-on-3G mode enables the full performance of 5MEs and simplified operation for 3D production. In 3D 1080i/720P mode, complex link settings are not necessary since 2D and 3D signal sources can be assigned to crosspoint buttons, enabling flexible production of 2D/3D sources. If the left and right signals are reversed, users can exchange signals easily through the switcher’s menu display. The Digital Multi Effects of the MVS system can adjust depth for 2D graphics using a newly supported Parallax menu.

The MVS-8000X processor (1080i/720P) incorporates eight keyers with digital video resizers, border generators, and advanced chroma key, all as standard; and an advanced frame memory system, including 16 channels of still and clip recording and playback, available as an option. Also available are format converters, including up-, down- and cross-conversion for both inputs and outputs; and color correction, featuring RGB and six-vector correction modes. The MVS-X offers powerful MultiProgram2 technology, which allows splitting a single ME to two Mix/Effect sections. This enables 5ME systems to perform with the equivalent capabilities of 10ME, with four keyers for each ME.

The DFS-900M, available late summer, is a multi-format HD and SD production switcher available in either 1M/E or 1.5M/E configurations, selectable by panel choice. It features a 3RU compact processor with optional redundant power supply, expandable up to 24-inputs and 12-outputs of HD/SD-SDI, or optional input/output for Analog and DVI. It also offers 4 keyers (Chroma key standard) + 2 DSK, up to 6 channels of 3D DVE (including warp), 4channels of frame memory ( video and key pairs), and up to 2 sets of multi viewer outputs that can display 4, 10, or 16 screens.

(press release, pdf)

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter believes that the new deal Vince Zampella and Jason West signed with EA is “the ultimate screw you” to Activision. Oh, and to EA too.

Article Tags: Doug L. Hoffman

[Thanks to Gabriel Rychert of ClimateRealists.com for pointing out the ES&T article to me. You were right, it is my sort of thing.]

Once again, scientists have proposed that planet Earth has been so altered by human activity that we are entering a new geological time period—the Anthropocene. A viewpoint article by some stratigraphic heavy hitters, just published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, has proclaimed a new age caused by anthropogenic global warming and man’s savaging of the environment. According to these experts, the effects of human activity have become so pervasive that Earth has been transformed and the 11,000 year old Holocene epoch is now a “lost world.” Is this really the start of a brave new epoch, one of our own making?

The name Anthropocene is not new. Nobel Prize-winner Paul Crutzen, a co-author of the ES&T paper “The New World of the Anthropocene,” first proposed it a decade ago it was not immediately accepted, but periodically the term seems to resurface. Crutzen’s intention was to call attention to the “unprecedented” changes humans have inflicted on the planet in the +200 years since the industrial revolution began. Indeed, the term has been picked up by some practicing scientists to denote the current interval of time dominated by human activity. Here is how the authors described the quest for mankind’s own epoch:

The notion that humankind has changed the world is not new. Over a century ago, terms such as the Anthropozoic, Psychozoic, and Noosphere were conceived to denote the idea of humans as a new global forcing agent. These ideas received short shrift in the geological community, seeming absurd when set aside the vastness (newly realized, also) of geological time. Moreover, the scarring of the landscape associated with industrialization may appear as transformation, but the vicissitudes of the geological past—meteorite strikes, extraordinary volcanic outbursts, colliding continents, and disappearing oceans—seemed of an epic scale beyond the largest factories and most populous cities.

Click source to read FULL report from Doug L. Hoffman

Source: theresilientearth.com

Read in full with comments »   

Designed to reduce the amount of mechanical adjustments made to 3D camera rigs during live shoots, Sony’s new MPE-200 3D Processor announced at NAB provides a variety of digital alignments to stereo imaging HD cameras, allowing a control experience similar to the use of mechanical servos.

The MPE-200 processor works in conjunction with Sony’s MPES-3D01 stereo-image processor software to digitally simulate the adjustments that are currently performed mechanically. This allows stereographic engineers to easily manage multiple camera and rig parameters. The MPE-200 will also be used during the FIFA World Cup for the first ever recording of that event in 3D.

“Adding the ‘3rd Dimension’ creates a number of production challenges,” said Rob Willox, director of 3D business development for Sony Electronics. “True stereoscopic work requires two identical pairs of lenses, cameras and camera processing equipment. The cameras must match perfectly for color, and all imaging parameters must be matched between the two cameras. Our new processor can greatly reduce the error rate in live 3D production, leading to precisely aligned, high-quality 3D images.”

Using Sony’s high-performance Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E) microprocessor, the MPE-200 can – in real time – detect, analyze, display and correct adjustment errors, such as mismatching of optical axes, or inconsistent color settings. Each multi-image processor displays actual camera images with waveform information that indicates alignment and set-up errors. Operators can use this information to identify problems and easily correct them by changing various parameter values at their computer while watching the GUI. They can also take “snapshots” of frequently used settings and store them in a “shot box” to be recalled as needed.

• Vergence correction
  Corrects for camera misalignment that may occur when moving cameras together or apart so as to converge the lines of sight at the perceived position of the 3D image plane.
• Trapezoidal correction
  Corrects for trapezoidal distortion that may occur when twin cameras are toed-in about their center during shooting.
• Reflected image correction
  Inverts the reflected image when shooting with a rig that uses a half mirror.

These capabilities free the camera operator from having to visually detect errors and spend considerable time adjusting and readjusting the cameras. Using the MPE-200, operators can receive critical adjustment information from their monitors, making camera setup faster and more reliable.

The MPE-200 can also convert the results into various transmission-ready formats, for example side-by-side or top-and-bottom images for viewing on a monitor, or a signal suitable for broadcast.

(press release, pdf)

Recycled Reading

When you’re done turning the pages of the book on your nightstand, consider turning it into something else. That’s the challenge issued by Harper College’s Library in its first annual Recycled Books Contest – a competition urging community members, students, staff and faculty to imaginatively reuse their favorite read in an entirely new way. “It’s kind of a different way to go green,” Instructor Michele Ukleja says. “We’re encouraging competitors to come up with new uses for a book that’s sitting on their shelf right now. It could be a work of art, or a functional object. As is always the case in the world of books, the possibilities are endless.” The contest is part of Harper’s celebration of National Library Week, kicking off Monday, April 12; other events include a book sale (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, April 13 and 14 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 15) and a “Library After Dark” open house featuring refreshments, games, prizes and activities. (5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 15). Entry forms for the Recycled Books Contest are available online at http://libguides.harpercollege.edu/natlibweek and are due by 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 13. Entries must be set up between 5 and 6 p.m. Thursday, April 15 in the Harper Library, Building F on the main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. They’ll be judged by popular vote at the Library After Dark open house. First prize includes four movie passes and a variety of other library-themed goodies.

Press Contact: Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected]. 

Barn Photography

Students in one of Harper College’s newest classes will have unique homework after each session: leave the bustling Northwest suburbs and find a barn to photograph. It’s not as much a challenge as it may seem, Instructor Ernest Schweit says, and that’s part of the point: there are plenty of farms within a 45-minute drive of Harper’s campus, offering students a chance to digitally capture a bit of iconic Americana as they test their photography skills in the increasingly nostalgic arena of barn photography. “The simple way to photograph a barn is to snap a picture like you would for a real estate section,” says Schweit, the photographer behind a Farcountry Press book on Wisconsin barns. “But there’s also a way to approach it where you take just a piece of the picture. You capture those abstract angles and unique textures: a roof line, for instance, against the rounded curve of a silo.” His course, Barn Photography: Preserving an American Icon, is open to all local photographers. It combines classroom sessions on specific techniques and philosophy with individual photo shoots – Schweit will provide students with lists of public barns to photograph – and in-class critiques. “The sight of barns evokes a feeling of years gone by and recalls a time when life was simpler,” Schweit says. “In 20 years, a lot of them will be gone. In this class, we’re showing students how to preserve them through perfect digital pictures.” Schweit spent two and a half years traveling through Wisconsin, chronicling some 100 barns through his camera lens for his book. Raised in Chicago and the suburbs, he fell in love with farms as a college student traveling by train to and from school in Lincoln and Carbondale. His five-week course is $99 and runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays, beginning April 12. It is a non-credit class and open to the public. Students should have a working knowledge of a single lens reflex camera and the ability to bring prints or digital files to class. To register or for more details, contact Continuing Education at 847.925.6300, or visit www.harpercollege.edu/ce.

Media Note: A jpeg image of Schweit’s book, which he compiled with Lake Barrington resident Nancy Schumm-Burgess, is available. For samples of Schweit’s barn photography, visit www.ernestjschweit.blogspot.com. For interviews with Schweit or photography students, contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Hot Health Careers

Jobs in Health Insurance Billing and Medical Transcription are on the rise nationally, with employment opportunities expected to grow by more than 15 percent. They’re also hot fields at Harper College, with prospective students filling up seats at related College information sessions. “Changes in America’s healthcare system are creating – and will continue to create – many new jobs in these two fields,” says Geri Kale-Smith, who oversees Harper’s certificate programs in Health Insurance Billing and Medical Transcription. “The positions are in-demand, can come with great salaries, and can be extremely rewarding. These programs give students who are interested in the healthcare field some new, viable career options.” The two programs are available at Harper in both traditional and Fast Track – Harper’s accelerated program for adults – formats, allowing students to complete their certificates in 15 months or less. The College’s programs also feature an externship component, giving a jumpstart on their careers by working in the field. Graduates can land a variety of jobs in medical clinics and offices. An information session for adults interested in the College’s Fast Track certificate programs in Health Insurance Billing or Medical Transcription will run from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 13 in the Student Center, on the main floor of Building A. An information session for students interested in the traditional certificate programs in the two fields is at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 14 in Room X250, Building X in the Avante Center. Both sessions are free and open to all.

Media Note: Reporters and photographers can attend Harper’s Health Insurance Billing and Medical Transcription information session to talk with prospective students about the career fields. Harper health careers faculty also are available to comment on the programs’ popularity. Contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Speech Team Victories

The Harper College Speech and Debate Team continued its winning tradition this spring, capturing one national championship and finishing fourth at another national tournament. The squad was crowned National Champion among community colleges at the annual Pi Kappa Delta tournament in Minneapolis, Minn. Fifteen of Harper’s 27 speeches won awards, and two students finished in the Top 10 at the tournament, which drew 60 teams from colleges and universities across the nation. At the Phi Rho Pi National Tournament in New Orleans, Harper’s team finished fourth in its division and took seven speeches to the Finals round. Teams from 64 community colleges competed. “Our team members continually impressed us with their strong public speaking skills, their teamwork and their leadership,” Coach Jeff Przybylo says. “These victories were a group effort, and all of us are extremely proud of our showing this season.” Przybylo also was victorious: he won the Distinguished Service Award, presented annually to a coach who exemplifies longtime leadership in the national organization. Przybylo, of Streamwood, is in his fourteenth year coaching Harper’s team, and has been a member of Phi Rho Pi since 1996, serving in various roles – including, currently, Vice President. Harper’s Speech and Debate Team has a history of success. The group has won six state titles. This year, the team came in second among two-year schools at the Illinois state competition, taking more than half of its 27 speeches to the Finals round and boasting one state champion.

Press Contact: Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Small Works Exhibit

Nearly two dozen pieces from artists across the United States are on display through April 22 in Harper College’s 33^rd annual National Small Works Exhibition. The exhibit, a Harper tradition, showcases small-scale photography, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, digital art and more. All works measure less than two feet. “This show is interesting because of the variety of approaches to the subject matter and the innovative uses of media,” Harper Art Curator Margaret Buchen says. “The small scale of the work creates a more intimate relationship with the viewer.” The Harper exhibit, which this year drew more than 1,040 submissions from more than 340 artists across the nation, requires every piece to measure 22 inches or less, including display frames. Submitted art was judged by Douglas Stapleton, Assistant Curator at the Illinois State Museum, Chicago Gallery. Several local artists – including Harper College students Kasia Stachowiak of Mount Prospect and Karen Murphy of Schaumburg – were among those chosen to be part of the show. Stachowiak is fascinated with color, patterns and structural forms, and incorporates those into her etched prints. Murphy explores various materials and forms in her ceramic sculptures. The Small Works exhibit is sponsored by the Harper College Educational Foundation. Viewing times are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays through Thursday, April 22 in Room C200, Building C, on Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. Call in advance to confirm times, 847.925.6568. The show is free and open to the public.

Media Note: This year’s exhibit features work from several local artists, including residents of Glenview, Naperville, Chicago, Schaumburg and Mount Prospect. For more information, including a list of artists, contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected]. High-resolution color images of the works also are available.

Visiting Author

In his 16-year-old novel “Greene’s Summer,” expatriate American author Thomas E. Kennedy drew on his experience as an editor on a psychiatric treatment handbook to shape a story of a man who struggles to overcome physical, mental and emotional scars after being jailed and tortured for political reasons. Kennedy will read from the book – which recently was republished in the United States under the new title “In the Company of Angels” – at noon on Thursday, April 15 in Harper College’s Drama Lab, Room L109, Building L on the main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. The reading is free and open to the public. Kennedy has published more than 20 novels and won many literary prizes. He’s now receiving national acclaim for his work in American publications, including the Washington Post and New Yorker Magazine. For more information on the reading, call 847.925.6242 or visit www.harpercollege.edu.

Press Contact: Terry Karow, Marketing and Public Relations Specialist, 847.925.6627, [email protected].

Southern Shakespeare

The National Players traveling drama company will bring Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” to the Harper College stage this month – with a bit of a twist. The play, originally set on the island of Sicily, will be set instead in the deep American south in the early part of the 20^th century. “The costumes are from the Dixieland Jazz period. The props have a decidedly New Orleans French Quarter feel,” says Clay Hopper, who will direct the troupe in its production of the Bard’s famous tale. The play tells the story of Beatrice and Benedick, a pair of would-be lovers who have engaged in a war of wits. They’ve disguised their true feelings for one another, and build a tangled web of obstacles and charades on their path to the altar. Founded in 1949, the National Players is celebrating its 61^st season. The self-contained group – members carry their own lights, set and costumes – performs across the country, with actors playing multiple roles onstage and offstage, as actors, managers and technicians. They’ll take Harper’s stage at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 18 in the Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. Tickets for “Much Ado About Nothing” are $15 for general admission, with discounts for seniors and students. For tickets or information, call 847.925.6100 or visit www.harpercollege.edu/boxofifce.

Press Contact: Terry Karow, Marketing and Public Relations Specialist, 847.925.6627, [email protected].

Disney-Style Success

Disney’s secret to success isn’t magic. It’s a thoughtful approach to customer service, honed over a half-century of experience in the face of fierce competition and the public’s ever-changing tastes and attitudes. Harper College will share tips and tricks from one of the world’s entertainment empires at a special daylong Disney Institute aimed at arming local businesses for success as the economy begins its economic rebound. “Disney’s Approach to Quality Service,” hosted by Disney Institute facilitators, is geared to all types of businesses – from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies – and will help owners and others anticipate customer demands, exceed client expectations, understand the need for consistency and create a service plan that promotes Disney-level quality. “We’re offering a rare chance to get Disney’s success secrets straight from Disney,” says Mark Mrozinski, Continuing Education Dean at Harper. “This program will challenge you to see your organization in a new light, and help you inspire your business leaders, energize your workforce and boost your bottom line.” The session, offered through Harper’s Continuing Education Department, is appropriate for all business sectors – from retail outlets and restaurants to healthcare providers, developers and government organizations. It runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29 at the Wojcik Conference Center on the College’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $349. To register or for more information, call 847.925.6300 or visit www.harpercollege.edu/ce.

Media Note: Disney Institute leaders are available in advance of the program for interviews. They are able to offer tips for finding success amid a down – but rebounding – economy, and offer suggestions for preparing a business to thrive once the recession is over. Contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

College Savings Aid

Statistics show the cost of college tuition, room and board at four-year public institutions rose by 30 percent from 1998 to 2008 – and it’s still growing. This spring, Harper College will host a free seminar aimed at showing parents, grandparents and others how to financially prepare for higher education. The “Saving for College” session is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 21 in the Wojcik Conference Center on Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. The event will offer tips from college experts and professional advisors, who will cover the basics of saving for higher education and provide tools to help attendees navigate the college savings process. “Whether the young person in your life is 4 or 14, it’s not too early – or too late – to start investing in their education,” says Katherine Sawyer, Associate Executive Director of the Harper College Educational Foundation. “Saving that money, though, can be daunting, particularly amid rising tuition and a gloomy economy. This seminar will give attendees the confidence and know-how they need to start saving the right way.” The event, hosted by the Harper Heritage Society’s Professional Advisor group – an offshoot of the College’s Educational Foundation – also will include Harper financial aid experts. To register, visit www.harpercollege.edu/foundation and select the Professional Advisor Seminar Series, or call 847.925.6490 for more details.

Media Note: Reporters are welcome to attend the event and talk with participants about the task of saving for college amid shrinking financial aid resources and rising tuition costs.

Press Contact: Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Entrepreneur Help

Making a small business flourish can be a daunting task, particularly in a difficult economy. But it’s not impossible. With an eye on helping small business owners compete and excel in a continued rough-and-tumble climate, Harper College is hosting Entrepreneur’s Quest 2010, a daylong seminar filled with expert tips on marketing, sales, branding, business strategies and the latest technology. Social media trends – including details on promoting businesses, boosting sales and improving customer service via networks like Facebook and Twitter – will be among the topics. This year’s edition also will include a panel discussion offering strategies and wisdom from successful, seasoned entrepreneurs. “Staying in business can be difficult struggle for any small business owner anytime, but especially in a time when America is still battling the effects of a devastating recession,” Small Business Development Manager Bonnie Richter says. “This workshop will offer strategies for surviving and thriving despite economic challenges, and competing in the nation’s new business landscape.” If small businesses go out of business, many jobs go, too: more than 70 percent of jobs are created by small business clients like the ones Harper is targeting at the Quest event. Sam Glenn, an author, comedic speaker and founder of the motivational resource company EverythingAttitude.com, will serve as the keynote speaker. Glenn’s new book, “A Kick in the Attitude,” offers tips for using positivity to achieve success. The event also will feature Mike Muldoon, a marketing and management professor and president of a consulting and business coaching practice. Entrepreneur’s Quest 2010 runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at the Wojcik Conference Center on Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine. The cost is $60 for those who register by April 1, and $75 afterward. That includes lunch. To register or for more details, visit www.harpercollege.biz, call 847.925.6520 or email [email protected]. The event is sponsored by the Small Business Development Center at Harper College, which provides free resources and one-on-one counseling and advice for small business owners and entrepreneurs. For appointments, call 847.925.6520.

Media Note: The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Harper College has had many success stories, despite the poor economy. To interview successful entrepreneurs for this story or others, or for comments on small business start-up tips, contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Photo Opportunities

Event: Visit from Geof Manthorne of Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes”

Time: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 13

Location: Sports and Wellness Center, Building M

 

Event: Book reading by author Thomas E. Kennedy

Time: Noon on Thursday, April 15

Location: Drama Lab, Room L109, Building L

 

Event: National Small Works Exhibition

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays through Thursday, April 22

Location: Art Exhibition Space, Room C200, Building C

 

Event: Entrepreneur’s Quest 2010 for small businesses

Time: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 24

Location: Wojcik Conference Center

 

 

You only have a few days left to save $200 on your tickets to ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit 2010! The ticket price goes up to $595 on April 15. Register now!

The ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit will take place May 7, 2010, in Mountain View, California and will be an exploration of the latest mobile development trends, both the technology and the emerging business applications.

Sponsor

As with our first event, the Real-Time Web Summit last October, the Mobile Summit will be in the “unconference” format. We discovered in October that the unconference is a perfect complement to our brand, because it encourages a high quality two-way dialog. Not only that, but the knowledge and ideas that came out of our Real-Time Web Summit were practical and useful – we got a lot of great feedback about that.

As with our previous event, the Mobile Summit will be facilitated by Kaliya Hamlin, who in our opinion is the best in the business at this style of event. We’re using the same venue too, the beautiful Computer History Museum.

Mobile was one of our top five trends last year and continues to undergo explosive growth, so our aim with this event is to help you navigate the opportunities. Get ready to explore, think and create the future of mobile! Because it will be you – the attendees – who ultimately set the agenda. You can begin adding your suggestions now.

We will have two main tracks at this Summit, Development and Business. Here’s a sample of some of the topics we’ll explore in both of these tracks:

• Geo-location services – what can you do using location as a platform?
• Commerce & Marketing – as more and more consumers use smartphones, how can businesses utilize this channel?
• Content, Publishing & Recommendations – the technologies and best practices.
• Mobile Social Networking – how to tap into communities on mobile devices.
• Internet of Things – the emerging opportunities from sensor and RFID data.
• Augmented Reality – the technology and business applications of AR.
• Native App vs. Browser Based – Including iPhone, Android, RIM, Palm, Windows Mobile and Symbian.

If you’re a company in the Mobile Internet market, you may be interested in helping sponsor this event. Please contact our COO Sean Ammirati for more information on the sponsor options.

The ReadWriteWeb team is excited about our second event and we can’t wait to discuss the opportunities in Mobile with you on May 7. You can find banners and logos to link to our event here, if you’re so inclined.

We hope to see you on May 7!

Discuss

Filed under: Aftermarket, Sedan, Europe, Chevrolet, Misc. Auto Shows, Diesel

Fair is fair. If North American buyers will have the option of equipping their Chevrolet Cruze with the RS sports package – unveiled just a couple of weeks ago at the New York Auto Show – when it finally comes home to roost, don’t the Europeans deserve a little something to? After all, they’ve had the Cruze on the market there for a while. So to keep them interested, General Motors’ European operations have teamed up with tuning house Irmscher for a sporty little number of their own.

Irmscher has fitted the Cruze with a 25-mm lowered suspension, a rear spoiler and a set of nifty looking 18-inch turbine-style alloys. But the real news is the car’s freer-flowing exhaust system that gives the 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine a 36-horsepower boost to bring output up to 186hp and the 0-62 mph sprint down to eight seconds flat.

Best of all – for German customers, at least – the Cruze Irmscher Edition can be ordered directly from their Chevrolet dealers. The package was unveiled at the AMI show in Leipzig, Germany.

[Source: CarScoop]

Cruze RS, Euro style: Chevrolet unveils Irmscher Edition at AMI Leipzig originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bentley, which was amongst the world’s most popular luxury brands three years ago, is finally feeling the bottom of the recession as customers hold off on spending on luxury items and superluxury vehicles. Nonetheless, Bentley is remaining optimistic and says it expects sales to improve to about 5,000 units this year – even though that’s half of 2007.

Bentley “will come back to a successful phase — whether it is 8,000 or 9,000 cars,” said Franz-Josef Paefgen, CEO of Bentley Motors Ltd.

Paefgen said that the Chinese market is exploding and that “it is a big market and has the biggest growth” He said that the Middle East is pretty stable and America has been on the difficult side.

Bentley sales peaked in 2007 when the luxury brand sold 10,014 cars worldwide, including 3,990 cars in the United States. Bentley sold 1,367 cars in the United States last year, down 49 percent from 2008.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Analyst David Rosenberg talks about the obvious this morning: corporate profits.

If you take a look at Q409 or Q110 earnings from a lot of big companies, you’ll almost surely notice a sea change as losses from 2009 have turned into healthy profits. Rosenberg notes that 85% of the overall increase in corporate earnings can be attributed to the financials sector.

Breakfast With Dave: Total U.S. corporate profits (national accounts basis) rose 30.6% YoY in Q4, a huge swing from the -25.1% trend a year ago. Almost the entire story is in the Financial sector where profits have soared 240%, which is unprecedented. With the banks shrinking their asset base, the surge in earnings has been due to the ability to ‘extend and pretend’ post the FASB 157 changes a year ago and the ability to play a super steep yield curve.

Financial sector profits have accounted for 85% of the overall increase in corporate earnings. Total nonfinancial earnings are up the grand total of 5.2% on a YoY basis, though this is still much better than the -17.9% pace a year ago.

The financial share of total profits bottomed at 10.8% in 2008 Q4 and has since soared to 28.2%, one of the highest shares ever (and never higher before the credit bubble of the last cycle). This does not look sustainable to me.

Not surprisingly, many of these names ar ekilling it this year.

Let’s take a look at the obvious: YTD % gains of financial stocks:

• Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF): +15.31% YTD
• American International Group (AIG): +34.56% YTD
• Bank of America (BAC): +24.03% YTD
• Wells Fargo (WFC): +20.12%
• Citigroup (C): +38.36%
• CIT Group (CIT): +43.60%

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Many developers are up in arms about a new policy from Apple that mandates all iOS applications to be written in either a flavor of C or JavaScript. It’s original motivation is apparently to prevent Adobe’s imminent Flash-to-iOS compiler in CS5 from working, but the collateral damage is much greater than that.

There’s a wealth of cross-compilers in the wild that looks to be outlawed by the same provision. Titanium, Gambit Scheme, MonoTouch, and Unity3D are a few of the bigger ones. These layers allow you to write applications in programming languages like Scheme or C# and compile that into a native iOS applications (as well as other platforms like Android).

Lots of developers, me included, have had such a gut-turning reaction to Apple’s new policy that we have a hard time thinking and speaking rationally. The emotions take over and we start screaming “fascists!”, which isn’t very persuasive to non-developers who don’t have the same instinctual reaction. So instead, allow me to go through five (mostly) rational arguments for why this is a bad idea.

More…

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Ferrari

Chances are you probably haven’t seen the 458 Italia in person in the United States. The company’s newest mid-engined V8 coupe missed out on expected appearances due to Ferrari’s absence at the major auto shows this year, and only top clients and celebrities were invited to the private party and auction held for the 458 Italia in Southern California last month.

Ferrari did finally show off the 458 Italia to the public this past weekend – not at a major auto show or concours event but rather near the small town of Tooele, Utah. The decision wasn’t completely random, however, as Miller Motorsports Park was hosting the second Ferrari Challenge event of the year.

The 458 Italia was prominently on display next to the garage filled with Corse Clienti and F430 Challenge cars, and it definitely attracted its fare share of attention. Check out the gallery of live photos below, and check back soon for more coverage from the Ferrari Challenge.

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Ferrari 458 Italia makes North American public debut in…Tooele, UT originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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