UC Davis professor of civil and environmental engineering Bassam Younis has developed a more effective UltraV technology.

An improved version of existing ultraviolet technology may be used to keep our swimming pools and hot tubs clean instead of chlorine in the near future.

“It is easy to set up, much easier to maintain because everything is accessible, and has low energy costs. [It] doesn’t require enormous infrastructure we see with the existing ultraviolet technology,” said Younis regarding the recently built UltraV 2.0 model.

Most consumers use chlorine, which has detrimental effects on skin, eyes and other organic material in the environment. UltraV 2.0 can alleviate these negative impacts and produce safer water for all kinds of uses from drinking to gardening.

The need to refine current ultraviolet technology became necessary because it was not accessible for the everyday user. The cost of energy, difficulties in disposing mercury and maintenance of the product itself have deterred consumers from purchasing the existing product.

Younis’ model of this ultraviolet technology, now referred to as UltraV 2.0, accounts for the disadvantages posed by other UV technologies.

This new model is a cylinder that has xenon lamps that do not touch the water unlike previous structures, which reduced algae build-up. It also does not contain the harmful chemical agent mercury. More importantly, the unique design of UltraV 2.0 makes it 1000 times more energy efficient.

“The water travels through a vortex of the cylinder while radiation is disrupting the DNA of the pathogens, taking away their ability to reproduce. If the pathogens cannot reproduce, they cannot form a colony in our bodies, therefore they cannot harm us,” said Younis. “Basically, it is not a purification method, it is a disinfection method, to stop it from coming back to harm you later.”

Not only can UltraV be used in swimming pools to disinfect water from unsafe pathogens, but it can be utilized in horticulture, dairy farms and agriculture.

UCD Energy Efficiency Center connected Younis with a team of graduate students involved in engineering and business management that are working to bring his technology to the market. At the Big Bang Business Plan Competition at the University of California this past May, UltraV won first prize receiving $15,000 to help fund initial marketing of the product.

Considering California’s water woes, Younis believes that UltraV 2.0 “is a very small solution to a very big problem.”

The UltraV 2.0 model will be tested beginning next year at the UCD Waste Water Management Facility.

SRI RAMESH can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

If you’ve purchased a cell phone in the last few years or know even the slightest bit about technology, you know about the Apple iPhone. The phone has reached critical acclaim and has become immersed in our pop culture, appearing in the hands of celebrities on TV shows and movies. AT&T’s exclusive deal with Apple has been both a prize and a burden. Although it’s been a huge money maker for the company, it has also started a smartphone war. Competitors including HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung have rolled out touch screen devices often labeled as “iPhone-killers” by the media, but just about all have failed to catch on. The announcement of the Motorola Droid on the Verizon Wireless network sets a new milestone. There’s a lot that the Droid does. It’s better than the iPhone, but there’s one thing it won’t be doing – killing the iPhone on its own.

Until today, the right ingredients to create a device truly superior to the iPhone just weren’t available. Companies have tried everything, but the results just never settled well with customers. Fortunately, the Droid has the right mix to back it: Android, Google, Motorola and Verizon Wireless.

The Android OS

The Android OS is a fairly new open source platform, which was a project initiated by Google. In simpler terms, it’s the name of the mobile operating system the Droid runs on. There’s plenty of other ones such as BlackBerry’s OS, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and Palm’s WebOS. But none have generated as much recent buzz as the Android OS. UC Davis even offers computer science majors a class, ECS 152A Computer Networks, that asks students to develop on the Android OS. It may sound complicated, but in reality the interface is just as simple as the one on the iPhone. It’s easy to learn, looks fancy and even runs fast. The Droid also allows something the iPhone doesn’t: multitasking. For example, you can stream Pandora and browse the web or play a game at the same time without any issues.

Google

Google’s additions to the Droid are the next major advantage the Droid has over the iPhone. Before they transferred their Android project into the hands of the Open Handset Alliance, they integrated all their services into the phone. As a result, the Motorola Droid has features such as Google Search, Maps, Talk, Calendar and YouTube included by default. They even did what no one else has done before, including a completely free 3D voice-guided GPS Navigation application that offers turn-by-turn directions. It even integrates Google Street View and satellite imagery so you’ll always know what the next turn and your destination really looks like. GPS Navigation usually costs an extra $15 per month with other phones and a one-time $100 fee on the iPhone; yet they don’t offer nearly as many features.

The phone also integrates a powerful voice search engine. For example, you can speak a phrase such as “Pizza near me.” The phone will instantly bring up a list of pizza places near your GPS location, links to their website to view their menu, a number to place a phone order and, of course, directions to get there.

For UC Davis students who are almost obliged to have a Facebook account, the phone automatically imports all friends as phone contacts. It’s not just their names and numbers either; it also pulls in their e-mail addresses and their profile photo, which appears during an incoming call. And once again, with the voice search, just say something as simple as “Call James Smith,” and it will cross-reference all your contacts and do so immediately.

Motorola

The other missing ingredient to create a great smartphone was the hardware. Although Motorola seems like it’s been out of the game since the days of the Moto RAZR, they’re back. For starters, the Motorola Droid is built like a tank. Although it’s about an ounce heavier than the iPhone, it’s a lot more durable. Other expensive smartphones almost seem as though they’ve been designed to break with even the slightest tremble.

The Droid houses a 3.7-inch touch screen display that is larger and packs more than twice the number of pixels than the iPhone. The phone has a built in 5 megapixel camera with a LED flash for dark shots and can even record DVD quality videos. It’s still not good enough to replace a traditional camera, but it’s a huge step up from cameras on most phones. Plus, you can instantly upload high quality content to web services such as Facebook and YouTube.

If you aren’t a fan of either a touch screen or a physical keyboard, there’s no need to panic – the Droid has both. The touch screen emits haptic (vibrating) feedback for each key entry. There’s a landscape and portrait mode for typing. There’s also a slide out keyboard that feels great to type with even though it felt a bit cramped at first.

If you’ve wanted to replace your MP3 player and phone for an all-in-one solution, the Droid is a great option. Verizon Wireless includes a 16GB microSD card with the phone that can be swapped out for larger one if you run out of space. It syncs with the included standardized USB cable with both Windows and Macintosh computers. It comes bundled with the Amazon MP3 music store to browse, preview and purchase songs. However, it can also playback just about any major music file format including support for iTunes Plus tracks. The Droid also has a standard headphone jack, so you can continue to use your favorite headphones. Plus with a great built in speaker that is impressively loud and clear, it’s great for media playback when traveling or hanging out with friends.

The Droid also features a convenient centralized notification system that helps organize your life. A dropdown toolbar displays alerts for missed calls, voicemails, new e-mails, new text messages, calendar reminders, Facebook notifications and even Twitter mentions. Responding or reacting to any notification is just one click away.

Verizon

Did I mention this thing can make calls? Well, yes it can. And it runs on Verizon Wireless, the largest calling network in the country. The iPhone on the other hand, which runs on AT&T network, has become infamously known for its dropped calls and slow 3G data speeds. After almost a week of testing, the results show that the Verizon Wireless network was truly superior. Call quality was excellent, signal was strong and data speeds were often twice as fast as AT&T. Plus if you don’t have signal for some odd reason, the Droid can quickly connect to Wi-Fi networks such as UC Davis’s famous moobilenetx. Unfortunately this also means the Droid is a big distraction during lectures.

So that brings us to the big question, “Would you recommend the Motorola Droid over the Apple iPhone?” Yes and no. If you’re even a bit of geek and enjoy customizing and doing more with your mobile phone, go with the Droid. If you just want a feature-packed phone that might be limited in ways, but is truly simple to use, get the iPhone. The Motorola Droid won’t be killing the iPhone on its own, but there’s a good chance that phones running on the Android platform will. For example the HTC Hero and Samsung Moment on Sprint also use the same Android platform. This means the Apps downloaded through the Android Market, similar to Apple’s iTunes App Store, can run on any of these devices.

If you’re ready to break away from the iPhone trend, the Motorola Droid will hit Verizon Wireless stores on Nov. 6, 2009. Due to its high demand, Verizon Wireless Stores will be opening earlier than normal at 7 a.m. Compared to other smartphones, it is not that expensive, and will only set you back about $199 after signing a new 2-year contract and sending in a $100 mail-in-rebate. If you’re an existing customer who’s eligible for an upgrade, you should be entitled to an additional $50 or $100 discount based on the price of your current calling plan.

Please visit Skatter Tech (skattertech.com) to read Ian Thackston’s full in-depth review of the Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid to get any questions answered.

SAHAS KATTA can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Mosquitoes bite; it’s no revelation. But amid new research, scientists now know what entices them to do so – blame it on the nonanal.

Pronounced “nawn-uh-nawl,” it is a chemical naturally produced in humans and acts as the dominant odor that attracts blood-feeding Culex mosquitoes, according to a study recently published by UC Davis entomology professor Walter Leal and postdoctoral researcher Zain Syed, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

To humans, nonanal smells like roses. To Culex mosquitoes, it smells like lunch.

“Before, we knew that mosquitoes were attracted to carbon dioxide,” Leal said. “But this is the first time anyone has shown they’re attracted to nonanal.”

It’s true that mosquito bites can be irritating. But much more importantly, they can transmit diseases such as West Nile virus, malaria and dengue fever, making the study a significant development in the progress toward mosquito and disease control, researchers say.

“Leal and Syed have identified a human odor that is detected with great sensitivity by the antennae of mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus,” said Yale University professor John Carlson, a leading scientist in insect olfaction in a press release. “In addition to its scientific interest, the study may have important practical applications in the control of these mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.”

Infected mosquitoes, which become carriers of the virus after they feed on infected birds, most commonly spread West Nile virus to humans and other animals.

Since 1999, there have been 1,147 deaths from West Nile virus in the United States and 23 deaths in 2009 thus far, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Currently, mosquitoes are largely controlled with pesticides, Leal said.

“But now that the effects of nonanal are better understood, we may be able to develop ways to direct and control mosquitoes with attraction instead of deterrents. Pesticides can be centralized instead of being spread everywhere.”

After testing hundreds of naturally produced chemicals from humans and birds, the researchers determined the specificity and sensitivity of those compounds to the mosquitoes’ antennae.

Leal and Syed then found that nonanal acts synergistically with carbon dioxide to increase trap captures by more than 50 percent, compared to mosquito traps with carbon dioxide alone, according to a press release.

Though this research makes significant strides toward mosquito control, researchers still do not understand the effects of nonanal concentration on attraction or the reasons why mosquitoes are more attracted to some humans compared to others.

Leal says there is still work to be done.

“This research will have significant implications,” Leal said. “But there are many steps that take a long time. Labs here at Davis are working on them.”

DAVID LAVINE can be reached at features@theaggie.org.