MTECH Press Release: MIPS IAN

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3D"MTECH:
Press Releases

FOR=20 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2008

Contact: Eric Schurr,
(301) = 405-3889,
schurr@umd.edu=20

Providing Power When There is=20 None
Instant=20 Access Networks, Frostburg Faculty Developing=20 Renewable-Energy-Fueled Power Grids Safe From=20 Electromagnetic Pulse Attacks

COLLEGE PARK, Md.--Imagine if = electronic devices=20 in the U.S. were disabled. Your car would not = run. You=20 couldn=92t make a phone call. Television, radio, = GPS,=20 computers and their related financial and = military=20 systems could be down. Power could be out for as = long as=20 two years.

Sound far-fetched? A one-megaton = nuclear bomb=20 detonated 250 miles over Kansas could cripple = many=20 modern electronic devices and systems in the = continental=20 U.S. and take out the power grid for a long = time.=20

=93A rogue state or terrorist = organization could=20 easily acquire nuclear material for a smaller = weapon for=20 $20 million,=94 says Charles Manto, president of = Instant Access = Networks=20 LLC (IAN). =93That weapon could be fitted = onto a Scud=20 missile for as little as $100,000, fired and = detonated=20 80 miles into the air and affect the entire U.S. = east=20 coast, causing up to $10 trillion in damage = before you=20 spend a nickel to fix anything.=94

A solar storm similar to the one that = occurred=20 in 1859, which shorted out telegraph wires in = the United=20 States and Europe, could wreak havoc on = electrical=20 systems. Each of the above scenarios can create = a=20 powerful electromagnetic pulse that overloads = electronic=20 devices and systems.

IAN staff and Frostburg State = University physics=20 and engineering professor Hilkat Soysal are=20 teaming=97through a $165,000 project recently = approved by=20 the Maryland=20 Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program=97to = create=20 renewable energy-powered, electromagnetic pulse=20 (EMP)-protected microgrids that could provide=20 electricity for critical infrastructure = facilities in=20 the event of a disaster.

=93The MIPS award enhances our = commitment to=20 renewable energy research,=94 says Frostburg = State=20 University President Jonathan C. Gibralter. = =93It builds=20 upon the $738,000 Sustainable Energy Research = Facility=20 (SERF) award we just received from the = Department of=20 Energy and illustrates our interest in = supporting=20 workforce and economic development in western=20 Maryland.=94

IAN has developed a patent-pending = shielding=20 technology that encloses a room or similar = structure and=20 protects it from EMP events. IAN=92s shielding, = which=20 includes electrically isolated layers of steel = and=20 aluminum, is up to 70 percent lighter than = materials=20 traditionally used by the military and other = sources for=20 EMP protection. This enables EMP-safe rooms to = be=20 portable.

IAN=92s shielded rooms can protect=20 mission-critical fiber optic network nodes and = data or=20 communication centers. They can also house = generators,=20 which, when several are connected, create a = micro power=20 grid, or microgrid, that can provide power to a = campus=20 or entire communities.

=93A microgrid could easily power the = city of=20 Annapolis, a hospital, or the University of = Maryland=20 campus,=94 says Manto. =93The idea is to create = islands of=20 power to reduce the cascading effects of a = wide-scale=20 failure.=94

The challenge is finding a long-term = energy=20 source for microgrids, as it could take years to = rebuild=20 power infrastructure after a strong EMP event. = That is=20 where the MIPS project comes in.

Soysal=92s research team will evaluate = wind and=20 solar solutions and the optimal locations for = them in=20 western Maryland and the surrounding region. = =93FSU=20 physics and engineering faculty Oguz Soysal and = Eric=20 Moore will guide a group of students to evaluate = the=20 energy consumption profile of mission-critical=20 facilities and infrastructures, identify the = wind and=20 solar energy potential of possible sites, and = develop an=20 optimal design for the sustainable energy supply = units=20 and microgrid,=94 says Hilkat Soysal. FSU senior = research=20 fellow David Blank will provide prototype = computer=20 simulations for a next-generation multi-flex = fuel=20 generator that is 40 percent more efficient than = traditional engines. The FSU team and IAN staff = together=20 will investigate additional renewable energy = subsystems=20 that the company can integrate into the = EMP-protected=20 microgrid.

=93Long-term, renewable energy is = critical for=20 powering back-up electrical systems,=94 says = Manto.=20 =93What=92s more, in EMP scenarios the cost = model for=20 renewable energy changes because you have to = eliminate=20 the cheap, non-renewable fuels and the = availability of=20 the present electric grid. Renewable energy, = even at a=20 higher price, becomes cost-justified. We are = effectively=20 jump-starting alternative energy=20 development.=94

FSU is acquiring a residential-scale = wind=20 turbine for the project, which will be used to = develop=20 models for powering the microgrid. University=20 researchers and IAN staff will also create = designs to=20 protect a wind turbine from an EMP attack. =

FSU and IAN are also planning to build = the=20 nation=92s first EMP-protected business = continuity park.=20 It will be located next to the FSU Renewable = Energy=20 Center at the university and include input from = the=20 Public Technology Institute (PTI). The park will = give=20 urban area businesses and government agencies a = remote=20 place to backup their data and an alternative = place to=20 work in the wake of a disaster, in keeping with = a=20 Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). Federal = Agencies=20 are required to have COOPs as part of Federal=20 Preparedness Circular 65. Businesses and other = entities=20 are recommended to do the same through the = National Fire=20 Protection Agency=92s code 1600 for business = continuity.=20 PTI plans to review the EMP-protected business=20 continuity concept among local governments=20 nationwide.

=93Assisting local governments in = creating COOP=20 plans that protect them from natural and = human-caused=20 disasters requires innovation and support from a = variety=20 of entities,=94 says PTI Executive Director Alan = Shark.=20 =93We are excited to be part of this team = working on this=20 groundbreaking project.=94

Based in Frostburg, IAN was founded in = 2004=20 through $1 million in seed money from IAN staff = and=20 private investors. The company received a = $70,000 TEDCO=20 Maryland Technology Transfer Fund grant in July, = 2007 to=20 develop prototypes of lightweight shielding = systems that=20 can be mass-produced and offer critical = infrastructure=20 protection from electromagnetic = interference.

For photos of IAN staff and mobile = EMP-protected=20 rooms, visit http://www.mtech.umd.edu/IAN.=20 More information about renewable energy related=20 activities at FSU can be found at http://www.frostburg.edu/ren= ewable/.

More = information

Instant Access Networks: http://stop-emp.com/
Initial Economic Assessment of = Electromagnetic=20 Pulse (EMP) Impact upon the=20 Baltimore-Washington-Richmond Region by The = Sage=20 Policy Group: http://stop-emp.com/econimpac= t.pdf
CRS Report for Congress: High = Altitude=20 Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) and High Power = Microwave=20 (HPM) Devices: Threat Assessments: http://stop-emp.com/crs.pdf=20
Report of the Commission to Assess = the Threat=20 to the United States from Electromagnetic = Pulse (EMP)=20 Attack: http://stop-emp.= com/EMPCExecRpt_Final072204.pdf
Frostburg State University: http://www.frostburg.edu/

About MIPS (http://www.mips.umd.edu/)=20
The Maryland Industrial = Partnerships=20 Program, an initiative of the A. James Clark = School of=20 Engineering=92s Maryland Technology Enterprise = Institute=20 (Mtech), brings university innovation to the = commercial=20 sector by supporting university-based research = projects=20 to help Maryland companies develop = technology-based=20 products. Through MIPS, faculty members engage = in=20 research that furthers the development of = high-tech=20 products for Maryland companies. Projects must = be=20 technology-focused and possess commercial = potential.=20 Both the company and the University of Maryland=20 contribute funding for each project. All funding = goes to=20 the participating faculty.

ABOUT PTI (http://www.pti.org/)
Public = Technology Institute is a national, = member-supported=20 organization based in Washington, D.C. As the = only=20 technology organization created by and for = cities and=20 counties, PTI works with a core network of = leading local=20 government officials - the PTI membership - to = identify=20 opportunities for research, share best = practices, offer=20 consultancies and pilot demonstrations, promote=20 technology development initiatives and present=20 educational programming.

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Chuck Manto, president of Instant = Access=20 Networks, and Robin Frazier, vice president of = Instant=20 Access Networks. Full-resolution=20 photo.

A=20 pickup truck pulling an EMP-protected mobile = command=20 center with Chuck Manto, president of Instant = Access=20 Networks, and Robin Frazier, vice president of = Instant=20 Access Networks. Full-resolution=20 photo.

Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH)
A. James Clark School of=20 Engineering
Glenn L. Martin Institute of Technology
University of Maryland, College = Park, MD=20 20742
301.405.3906
Copyright =A9 2002 University of = Maryland
E-mail web=20 developer