Transphorm Looks To Save Lost AC/DC Energy

It's a fact of physics: There's AC and there's DC. And in the process of converting

electricity from one form to the other - going from the AC power that comes out of the

wall socket to the DC power that runs your laptop, for instance - significant energy is

lost. Maybe as much as 10 percent. How to overcome this waste? Use gallium nitride

instead of silicon in the power conversion modules. That's the solution that Google

Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and other investors are betting $38 million

on, backing a startup called Transphorm.

Transphorm says it has optimized gallium nitride for power electronics and "has

developed novel devices such as transistors, circuits, and complete modules that

include all the components needed to replace conventional systems," according to MIT's

Technology Review.

"The impact is huge - on the grid, on the planet," Tranphorm chief Umesh Mishra said at

an event at Google headquarters, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "Whenever

you use electrical energy, you're paying a hidden tax due to the inefficiencies of

power conversion."

The Transphorm technology would also work, of course, in the other direction: energy

stored in battery packs in electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf has to be converted

to AC to run the motor, and solar power systems use inverters to turn DC power into AC

for household use. Gallium nitride would help make those systems 90 percent more

efficient - and lighter and less bulky - Transphorm says. Those brick-like laptop

adapters might finally be a thing of the past.

As good as this all sounds, Grist's Todd Woody notes that long design cycles could mean

that even if everything Transphorm says is true, gallium nitride will arrive slowly in

devices. And as with most new technologies, gallium nitride modules are likely to be

expensive until volume ramps up.

Four months after a horrific crash

Four months after a horrific car crash nearly killed him, Justin Corter of Cold Spring

continues to recover.
"It's a miracle," says his mom.
Oct. 10, 2010 stands out on the Corter family calendar.
 His mom, Donna Corter was in church that morning.
Justin, 20, had hopped a ride with a friend, headed for town.
"His car was down, so she had come to pick him up. And I don't know exactly what

happened," Donna said.
They were driving along Rt. 191 when the car left the roadway and slammed into a tree.
"They hit the passenger side, Justin's side," Donna said.
Julie, the driver, was fine. "Justin broke her impact. He hit the tree and then she

slammed into him. When she slammed into him, she collapsed his lung on the left hand

side."
The extent of his injuries was staggering. 
"He had two fractures of his scull. He had bleeding and swelling of his brain. His hip

had multiple fractures. He had facial fractures all over. The right eye orbital, the

socket of the eye, was completely fractured. The first time we saw him, the best way I

could describe his face was the eyes were so swollen and sticking out from the swelling

he looked like a goldfish, you know the ones with the big eyes? I never realized

someone's eyes could swell so bad," she said.
All these months later, his mom says, "He's still not 100 percent."
But he's come a long way. "If you could have seen him two months ago, laying in a

hospital bed, to where he is today. He was on a respirator.  He was in a coma. He also

had a bruised spleen. The left lung was collapsed. And that week, he started to develop

pneumonia. It was a mess."
Was she afraid of losing him? "That thought never even crossed my mind.  I could never

see him gone," Donna said. "There was one time that I can say I panicked ...They had a

throat tube...He coughed up the tube for the respirator."
Doctors said they'd have to put a new tube down, failing that, they'd have to do an

emergency tracheotomy. " I said: What will happen if you can't get a new tube down?

They said, ‘He will die.' That's when I think it finally hit me. I lost it that day,"

Donna said.
In the ICU for two weeks, Justin remained at CMC for a full month before being

transferred to John Heins Rehab on Nov. 2 .
"In the beginning, [a therapist] would hold pictures up, and it would be of a cell

phone and he would tell her a hot dog. He couldn't tell you what things were. I spent

many a day crying on the way home," his mom said.
 Justin, his family, and the staff at John Heins continued to work hard. Nov. 30,  he

was released from the hospital.
"He's come quite a distance," his mom said. "He's doing fantastic. He's scheduled to go

next week for his reaction test for driving." If he passes, he'll be one step closer to

reclaiming his driver's license, something he's hepped on doing.
"Through all of this, I think one thing is really important — prayers," said Donna.

Ministers, priests, everyone was praying for them. "I really do believe the power of

prayer is amazing," she said. "I could start crying at the outreach of everybody, the

community, our friends. It was an amazing journey.
"We received so many cards through all of this. And Justin was on so many prayer lists.

People were sending cards, we didn't even know them," Donna said.
A pre-school teacher for the First Presbyterian Church in Honesdale, Donna was touched

by the thoughtfulness of her four-year-old students who made a poster, saying, "We miss

you Miss Donna."
Her son's accident has changed her family, she said.
"We all look at things a lot different this year. We're all learning to look at things

a lot differently. With a bigger heart. We're very, very grateful for everything that

we received through all of this, and everybody's help."

Credit card stolen in Brickell area hotel used at Aventura Best Buy

A thief stole a credit card from a hotel room at 1435 Brickell Ave. on Jan. 5. The

victim told police the thief used the card for an $855 purchase in an Aventura Best

Buy.

LITTLE HAVANA

A thief stole $1,000 cash from a house in the 1200 block of Southwest Third Street Jan.

11.

Two men stole gas valued at $100 from a gas station at 1201 NW Seventh St. Jan. 6.

A thief stole a wallet and house keys from a house in the 800 block of Northwest 13th

Avenue Jan. 5.

KINLOCH PARK AREA

A gun was stolen from a house in the 4500 block of Southwest Fifth Terrace Jan. 10.

CORAL GABLES

A burglar broke a window on a 2006 Mini Cooper parked at the Granada golf course in the

900 block of South Greenway Drive between 4:45 and 5:15 p.m. Jan. 10, but took nothing.

Damage was estimated at $300.

A thief stole 10 impact sockets, 10 wrenches and jumper cables valued at $640 from an

unlocked 1984 GMC 3500 in the 4600 block of Brooker Street between 10 p.m. Jan. 10 and

5 p.m. Jan. 11.

CORAL GABLES AREA

A man stole gas valued at $63 from a gas station at 4941 SW Eighth St. Jan. 10.

SILVER BLUFF ESTATES AREA

A car parked in the 2100 block of Southwest 24th Terrace was burglarized Jan. 10.

WYNWOOD

A man reported that he left his wallet on the counter of a store at the intersection of

Northwest 20th Street and Northwest Third Avenue between Jan. 7 and Jan. 10. When he

went back for the wallet, it was missing.

ALLAPATTAH

A thief stole a suitcase from a homeless man who was sleeping in the 1700 block of

Northwest 17th Avenue Jan. 7.

LIBERTY CITY

A purse was stolen from The Family Dollar store at 631 NW 62nd St. Jan. 5.

HIALEAH

A thief stole a temporary Florida tag from a car parked in the 7000 block of West 22nd

Avenue between 3 and 7 a.m. Dec. 11.

A thief stole a DVD player and several movies from a 2008 Toyota Four runner parked in

the 4000 block of West 20th Avenue between 12:50 and 1:50 am Dec. 3. The stolen items

were valued at $600.