Selah Technologies lands $1.5M for nanotech materials
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GREENVILLE, SC—Selah Technologies, a company making advanced nanotechnology materials, has closed on a $1.5 million Series A private financing round. The company says the funding will help it commercialize it's core nanomaterial platforms.
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GREENVILLE, SC—Selah Technologies, a company making advanced nanotechnology materials, has closed on a $1.5 million Series A private financing round. The company says the funding will help it commercialize it's core nanomaterial platforms.
The company has also received support and a $200,000 investment from SC RA and SC Launch.
Selah, founded in 2006, makes Selah Dots and Selah Tubes. Selah Dots are carbon-based quantum dots that can be used for various applications, including life sciences, solar cells and anti-counterfeiting, among others. One potential application is in cancer treatment.
Selah Tubes, enriched carbon nanotubes, have a number of applications due to their impressive electrical conductivity properties. That includes potential for use in LCD screens, HDTVs, and other electronics.
"We are grateful for the confidence our investors have shown in our company. We appreciate the investment they have made and recognize the important responsibility we have to remain good stewards of that investment and their trust," says Michael Bolick, CEO of Selah Technologies.
The company's Web site says its growth strategy is to leverage relationships with market leading companies to establish joint research and development agreements that provide it with working capital such as personnel, equipment and materials or cash from licensing fees.
Selah moved into lab space in the Clemson University incubator facility in Pendleton, SC in Janurary. The company licensed its intellectual property on nanotech from Clemson.
On the Web: www.selahtechnologies.com
Nanotechnology revolution
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Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the nanoscale. Traditionally, the nanoscale has been defined as involving miniscule particles that measure between 1 and 100 nanometers where one nanometer is equivalent to 10-9 meters or smaller than 1/10,000 of the thickness of the average human hair!
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Dr Ali Mohammad
Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the nanoscale. Traditionally, the nanoscale has been defined as involving miniscule particles that measure between 1 and 100 nanometers where one nanometer is equivalent to 10-9 meters or smaller than 1/10,000 of the thickness of the average human hair! Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field, which involves physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and medicine. Still newer, more efficient methods are being developed which will rely on the creation of sophisticated biomaterials. However, the challenge lies in interfacing these biomaterials with existing technologies, and creating the required infrastructure needed for mass manufacture.
Nanotechnology manufacturing has a promise of producing new materials a hundred times stronger than steel, and more efficient and cheaper to produce as compared to the existing production techniques. Mind boggling examples of some of these products include: very small devices that can be implanted under the skin, and pincers that can be injected in the veins to perform medical procedures; self - contained portable factories ready to make cheap products efficiently at the molecular scale; and development software that can process enormous amounts of data involving diverse sources of science.
Other benefits may include: 1. Molecular manufacturing would greatly reduce water requirements, and also cheaply run greenhouses would be a means of saving water, land, and food. 2. The efficient and inexpensive generation of electricity, using solar and thermal power, will make electric power available to basically everyone in the world. 3. Faster, cheaper, and more powerful computers will be available that could help improve information and communication systems even in the remotest areas. 4. Manufacturing of new technologies will be self - contained and clean, and will have less of an environmental impact. 5. Cheap and advanced equipment for medical research and health care will make improved medicine widely available. It will be feasible to restore human organ engineered tissue while simple products will greatly reduce infectious diseases prevailing in many parts of the world. 6. Nanotechnology will enhance capabilities in space ventures and operations.
However, while nanotechnology has a promise of great benefits to the future, there are some very serious risks. Imagine, for example, weapons that could be packed in a small match box, but carrying enough lethal material that is capable of wiping out the entire population of a major city. Other risks include: 1. The stakeholders — manufacturers, salesmen, and marketing agencies — will have to revise their investment plans to survive involving tens of trillions of dollars spent on everything from basic necessities to communication devices, recreation, and our environment. Huge monopolies, command over unprecedented wealth, and control of employment and product prices, enjoyed by the manufacturers could lead to anti-competitive practices and Schumpeterian creative destruction — the process by which a new product, or new production techniques, replace existing products and techniques resulting in the replacement of one monopolist by another. 2. Criminals and terrorists equipped with stronger, more powerful, and more compact devices can cause unimaginable harm to society.
Deadly chemical and biological weapons with remote - control devices will be easier to conceal. Moreover, black market and "home factory" operations in manufacturing and marketing of these products could flourish. The government agencies could use supercomputers for constant surveillance that could lead to abuse of individual freedom. 3. From the military point of view, nanotechnology weapons are more dangerous then nuclear weapons and, therefore, could further destabilize the world. For examples: Lighter and high - performing aerospace hardware will be much harder to spot on radar systems.Embedded computers and improved robots would allow remote activation of any weapon. Moreover, they can be developed much more rapidly due to faster, cheaper prototyping. Reduced ability of powerful nations to "police" the international arena.
In sum, the emerging technologies are capable of fundamentally transforming science, technology, and society. They can revolutionize human life and the consumption patterns. Moreover, they can have great implications for the economy, the society, social infrastructure, the environment, ethical and legal systems, and war and peace. On the other hand, some of these developments could be dangerous to stability and peace while others technologies could threaten the very existence of the human race. Also, tremendous opportunities for huge profits may lead to large - scale fraudulent practices. Most importantly, declarations or regulations may not have much effect on covert programs that are intended to develop products for military uses. Thus, it is imperative that all nations cooperate in finding effective solutions, which take into consideration the needs and sensitivities of the rich and the poor alike.
For Pakistan, it is crucial that its policy - makers, scientists, and industry must understand the implications of nanotechnological developments on the country's security and prosperity. The Pakistani nation must not miss an opportunity for developing useful nano products for the future generations. The leadership must develop a clear R & D policy towards nano technology in various fields from agriculture to electronics, from consumers' products to defense uses, from searching water and mineral resources deep down in the earth to exploring outer space, and from medical uses to advanced engineering feats. On their part, multidisciplinary teams, professional societies and organizations, industry, and educational institutions must work not only in the development process but also to inform and educate the general population about scientific developments and social and economic impact of nanotechnology. These institutions must also provide the students with ample experience in nanoscale fabrication, manipulation, and characterization techniques.
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http://pakobserver.net
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