IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - 3

volume 47 number 5 north american

5.10

uPdate
13 the laser turns 50-a fine
excuse for reviewing the many records
this pivotal technology has set.
By Neil Savage
14 modular nuke plants
16 tech in sight: moving people
18 batteries go with the flow
19 light at the end of the chip
19 fetching a piece of heaven
20 the big picture
A robot vends volkswagen vehicles.

oPinion

28

10 spectral lines
Google's troubles in china show why
the Internet must offer both security
and liberty. By Rebecca MacKinnon
12 forum
A corvette enthusiast finds his dream
job; another reader touts engineering
as a dream job for women.
27 reflections
Being a present-ist is a lot tougher
than being a futurist.
By Robert W. Lucky

dePartments
6 back story
Nikola tesla's old wireless-power lab
didn't die, but it is fading away.
46

bug
barbecue:
mosquitoes'
tiny brains are
no match for
our high-tech
weaponry
[top left];
electrical
power can flow
even without
wires [right] ;
andrew viterbi's
life is a modernday Horatio
alger story.

cover story

COVER:

Sending useful amounts of electrical power through the air using
magnetic induction is tricky. But that hasn't stopped people from
trying. By David Schneider

phOtO: bRad swOnEtz
this pagE, ClOCkwisE
fROm Right: hOlly
lindEm, bRad swOnEtz,
judE buffum

46 andrew viterbi's
fabulous formula

This soft-spoken IEEE Medal of Honor winner crafted an algorithm
for picking out signals from noise-and made a fortune along the way.
By Tekla S. Perry

28 backyard star wars

Lasers haven't yet been able to shoot swarms of missiles out of the
sky, but they sure can zap mosquitoes. By Jordin Kare

34 electrons unPluGGed

40 little Gizmo, biG Picture

Soon even handheld devices will contain tiny digital projectors,
allowing us to view big pictures on the go. By Jacques Lincoln
sPectrum.ieee.orG

34

8 contributors
tools & toys
22 store photos and other files on
your own personal data cloud.
By Harry Teasley
23 Neurosky's headsets may soon
allow you to control more than just
electric carts with brain waves.
By Susan Karlin
24 education
MIt has a new program that's giving
student engineers the street smarts
they lack. By Susan Karlin
25 careers
For women, leadership roles in
engineering can be isolating.
By Prachi Patel
26 books
two new biographies look at troubled
geniuses. Review by Mark Anderson
60 the data
some countries spend a lot more
than others on information and
entertainment-and not just because
they're richer. By Dana Mackenzie
MAy 2010 * Ieee spectruM * NA

3



http://sPectrum.ieee.orG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum May, 2010

IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - Cover1
IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - Cover2
IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - 1
IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - 2
IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - 3
IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - 4
IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - 5
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IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - 8
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IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - 60
IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - 61
IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - Cover3
IEEE Spectrum May, 2010 - Cover4
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/spectrum_na_1007
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