The Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation recently issued its 2024 Talent Demand Report that focuses on three areas Business, computing, and engineering.

The IVEDC a collaborative effort between private businesses and local government driven by the shared goal of expanding and diversifying the economy created the Employer Working Group to address workforce needs among employers.

This assessment aims to communicate the collective demand and strengthen the local pipeline of entry-level talent in Imperial County, the report reads. The Employer Working Group will identify barriers and challenges to securing talent in areas of business, computing, and engineering, with additional sectors being included in future editions.

According to the report, representatives from academia will be involved to learn how to develop curriculums commensurate to industry needs identified throughout the process. Industry representatives will stay engaged with academia to ensure curricula stay relevant to their ongoing needs.

The report reads between 2018 and 2023 the number of jobs has increased by 3 percent, from 70,764 to 72,965.

The report also reads the labor force participation rate rose by 1.5 percent during the same period. However, 41.2 percent of those 16 years of age or older are not in the labor force.

According to the 25-page report, 7.7 percent of Imperial County residents hold an Associates Degree, 23.3 percent have some college attainment, 12.2 percent hold a Bachelors Degree, and 4 percent hold a Graduate Degree. About 28.3 percent or 31.200 residents have less than a high school diploma.

Also, the IVEDC report shows unemployment as of May 2024 was 15.4 percent a decrease from 5 years prior.

Since 2018, job opportunities have been steadily increasing, the report continues. With the development of Lithium Valley now underway, we anticipate continued job growth in Imperial County in the coming years.

The report highlights the fact that over 10,000 students attend local education institutions each year, whether part-time or full-time.

The IVEDC report reads that with the introduction of the Lithium Industry Force Training programs at the Imperial Valley College and the $80 million state-of-the-art STEM Innovation Hub at the Brawley Campus of San Diego State University the Imperial Valley is expected to meet the growing industry demand for a skilled workforce within Lithium Valley.

Strong partnerships between industry and local educational institutes are essential to bridging the gap between industry needs and training programs, the report reads.

The IVEDC said through the report the Employer Working Group was formed to provide insight into employer challenges and needs. The Corporation added that the report does not aim to reflect the needs of all employers in Imperial County but to outline important skill requirements for entry-level talent.

By sharing this information, we hope to identify a list of skills that employers agree are crucial for entry-level talent to be successful in their roles, the IVEDC report reads, acknowledging the EWG that represents multiple industries participated in a survey to share their local demand for talent. Their combined insights highlight the specific skills and qualifications needed to meet their workforce demands in Imperial County.

The report also says the EWG initially focused on three skill sets in business, engineering, and computing, but within varying industry sectors from utilities, renewable energy, public sector, construction, and engineering. The report highlights the hard skills, soft skills, software skills, and industry-specific skills essential for entry-level candidates.

Companies reported little to no turnover across all occupations surveyed and encountered minimal difficulty when filling business entry-level positions, the report adds. Despite having a sufficient number of applicants per position, a notable challenge in hiring for these roles was the lack of candidates having the necessary training and/or education.

According to the report, across various fields, the most common degree requirement for business entry-level positions is a Bachelors Degree, closely followed by a High School Diploma.

Companies highlighted a gap in proficiency among entry-level candidates in hard skills such as research and data analysis, communication skills, and presentation skills, all of which were rated as highly important for their roles.

While soft skills like verbal and written communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking were deemed crucial, findings from the survey indicate that many entry-level candidates demonstrated only basic proficiency in these areas.

Employers ranked hard skills from most to least important communication tools, computer proficiency, presentation skills, research and data analysis, marketing/social media management, and cold calling , as well as soft skills collaboration, dependability, verbal communication, critical thinking, detail-oriented, customer service, problem-solving, adaptability, and written communication.

Regarding software, employers enlisted Microsoft projects on top of the essential skills required, followed by systems, applications, and products, Paycom, Quickbooks, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Suite, and Adobe Acrobat.

In the business industry, employers require a Bachelors Degree in 66 percent of cases for entry-level positions, and 33 percent require a High School Diploma.

While employers found little to no difficulty in finding qualified candidates for customer service representatives and marketing and communications, business owners reportedly found some hardship in finding candidates for finance, accounting, supply chain, and logistics, as well as some to great difficulty for project managers.

Typically, employers need from one to three months to hire entry-level candidates for finance, accounting, marketing, communications, supply chain, logistics, and purchasing, and less than that time to hire customer service representatives. Once again, surveyed employers assured it takes up to half a year to hire entry-level candidates as project managers.

For the computing industry, companies reported varying demand levels among computing entry-level positions, with higher demand observed for information technology (IT) support technicians and system/network administrators compared to cybersecurity analysts, while software developers showcased the least demand, the IVEDC reported.

The most common degree requirement across all entry-level positions was an Associates Degree or Vocational Certificate, closely followed by a Bachelors Degree.

Computer companies highlighted a mismatch between their expectations and candidates qualifications, despite receiving sufficient applicants. Many candidates lack the required training and/or education for these roles, particularly in critical hard skills considered very important by employers such as troubleshooting, fundamental networking knowledge, effective communication, and documentation skills.

Additionally, companies emphasized the importance of soft skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, adaptability, and customer service, areas where candidates often demonstrate novice experiences, the IVEDC report reads.

Consulted computing industry employers also set a list of hard skills from the most to the least important: troubleshooting, operations systems basics, effective communication and documentation, fundamental network knowledge, active directory and user management, and programming basics.

Regarding soft skills, computing employers underlined verbal communication and collaboration as the most important, orderly followed by customer service, dependability, written communication, and detail-oriented.

In terms of software knowledge, computing industry employers included Windows Active Directory, Windows Operating Systems, Systems, Applications, Products in Data Processing (SAP), Geographic information systems, supervisory control and data acquisition, Microsoft Suite, and Adobe Acrobat skills.

Employers in this sector said in the survey had no to some difficulty finding qualified entry-level IT support technicians or software engineers, but some to great difficulty for system and network administrators and cybersecurity analyst jobs.

These same employers told the IVEDC it takes from one to three months to find qualified entry-level candidates in the first two cases and up to six months in the last two.

Companies across engineering reported some turnover and significant challenges in filling entry-level engineering positions, the report reads.

Despite having a sufficient number of applicants per position, a notable challenge in hiring for these roles was the lack of candidates having the necessary training and/or education, the report adds. On average, it takes companies 1-3 months to find qualified entry-level engineering candidates.

According to survey results, for entry-level engineering positions, a Bachelors Degree is the most common degree requirement, while an Associates Degree or Vocational Certification has been listed for Engineering Technician roles.

Companies emphasize high importance on both hard skills and soft skills for entry-level candidates, the IVEDC wrote in the report.

The skill level of entry-level candidates in areas of important hard skills such as safety training, equipment testing/maintenance, basic tool knowledge were often rated as deficient or neutral, the report reads. This highlights areas where classes or programs involving hands-on training could significantly benefit candidates.

Surveyed engineering respondents said basic engineering principles and basic tool knowledge were the most significant hard skills to find in candidates, followed by safety training and data analysis equipment training and maintenance.

Regarding soft skills, from most to least important engineering employers enumerated dependability, verbal communication, problem-solving, written communication, adaptability, detail-oriented, and critical thinking.

Asked what type of software entry-level candidates skills should have, employers responded AutoCAD Systems, Applications, Products (SAP) 2, Microsoft Projects, MATLAB/Simulink, Civil 3D, Primavera, Deltek, Microsoft Suite, and Adobe Acrobat.

While finding qualified entry-level candidates for engineering technician positions was described as having little to some difficulty (from one to three months), employers said having some difficulty finding qualified candidates for general engineering jobs (over six months).

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Imperial Valleys Talent Demand Report focuses on business, computing, and engineering - Imperial Valley Press

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It should come as no surprise to those of us with even a cursory understanding of the history of U.S. imperialism that the once sovereign Kingdom of Hawaii became the very first state in the nation to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Hawaii is an occupied nation, and has been since 1893 when the U.S. launched a coup to overthrow the sovereign rule of Queen Liliuokalani. We dont need to dive that far back into historical memory to discover that even this imperialist overthrow was acknowledged by none other than then president Bill Clinton, who, in 1993 (on the centennial of the coup) issued an official apology to the Hawaiian Kingdoman apology that notably did not include a return of the land to the people of this occupied island nation.

In fact, we only need to turn the dial of history back less than one year to the devastating wildfires that occurred in Maui in August of 2023 to understand the imperial and settler colonial legacies of U.S. intervention in Hawaii a legacy so potent that it even made it to the opinion pages of the New York Times, as Yarimar Bonilla put it,

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has acknowledged that the climate crisis is rooted in the exploitation and degradation of the environment, people and cultures, which were foundational principles of colonialism. Settlers prioritized immediate resource gains over long-term ecological health, shunning Indigenous land management practices as outdated barriers to progress.

Although partial credit is perhaps due to the The New York Times for this as well as their earlier reporting on the colonial history of U.S., French, and Canadian intervention in Haiti, readers of the so-called paper of record should ask why NYT journalists were censored from using words like Palestine, genocide, and ethnic cleansing in their reporting in the midst of Israels ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza.

A quick peek at NYT reporting during the U.S. occupation of Haiti (1919-1934) might yield a historical clue: while U.S. colonialism exported its brand of Wall Street imperialism and expansion to the island nation during the military occupation of 1915-1934 (and after), the NYT normalized this legacy for its millions of subscribers; a relation that continues up through our present moment.

That the NYT was just awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for International Journalism adds insult to injury: as reported by The Grayzone, The Intercept, and, most recently, The Times of London, the NYT has been systematically debunked for their coverage of mass rape and other falsified atrocities alleged to have been committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

That Minouche Shafik, president of Columbia University, currently sits on the Pulitzer Prize Board should not be a surprise, given their recent involvement in authorizing the violent suppression of student journalists who were covering the police raids on anti-genocide student encampments on the Columbia campus. This entanglement is seamlessly aligned with the NYTs frequent normalization of colonial, imperial, and genocidal violence.

It should also not come as a surprise that Israels genocidal campaign in Gaza, backed ideologically, financially, and materially by the U.S. State Department has caused an uproar on college campuses across the countryand around the world. These Students, not unlike the Hawaiian state legislature, are not only directing their passionate demands for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza but also focalizing the long history of settler colonialism and imperialism that continues to be disavowed by the media and the U.S. ruling elite. How else can we understand Israels ongoing genocide in Gaza, which includes forced starvation, ecocide, ethnic cleaning, and, at the time of this writing, upwards of 35,000 people murdered, nearly 15,000 of which are children, unless we situate it in the longue dure of settler colonialism and U.S. imperialism?

Contemporaneous with sublime acts of historical disavowal such as President Bidens recent rhetoric regarding Hamas ancient desire to exterminate the state of Israel, and Antony Blinken and Mitt Romneys dorm room, pseudo-intellectual struggle session linking the congressional ban of Tik-Tok to Israels failing PR image, students on university and college campuses are on the frontline of an ideological war, struggling against the tides of historical amnesia and modern day capitulation to fascism; their collective demands that institutions of higher education divest immediately from Israel and U.S. weapons manufacturers are an organized, measured, and ultimately strategic national and international political intervention which recenters the twin legacies of settler colonialism and U.S. imperialism, as well as, to borrow the title of Alberto Toscanos recent book, the late fascism that marks our present moment.

In tandem with the ongoing history wars taking place in professional circles, college campuses, as well as state legislatures, former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton recently took to the airwaves to berate students protesting genocide, telling the hosts of MSNBCs Morning Joe, that students dont know very much at all about the history of the Middle East, or frankly about history, in many areas of the world, including in our own country.

We must remember, following the lead of students protesting Israels genocide, that the mentality that spurred on the colonization of Turtle Island was the deeply held conviction behind the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny, which served as the justification for the genocide and forced removal of millions of Indigenous people while also, over time, permeating both the European-American psyche and the United States legal system (in another moment Americans like to forget, even the liberals sweetheart, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, cited the Doctrine in 2005 as reason to rule against tribal sovereignty).

Such creation and ownership mythology is also at the root of the Zionist project, exemplified not only through the old adage used in the creation of Israel about a land without a peoplebut also in fictions of birthright narratives. European settlers colonized Turtle Island with similar creation myths and strategies used by the European Zionist settlers who have been colonizing Palestine. And the cultural forgetfulness that conveniently downplays residential schools in America is the same that allows for Israel to bury the history of the Yemenite Children Affair, in which thousands of babies and children from Yemen, Morocco, Iraq, and other nearby countries were kidnapped out of absorption camps by Israeli authorities and adopted into Israeli families two contemporaneous tragedies on the historical timeline. It becomes all too clear how the descendants of the early Puritan settlers and the original Zionists are so easily able to come together in their joint willful ignorance of the brutality of their practices, both past and present.

For decades, Israel, like many colonizing nations, has been able to hide under the security of the blanket of historical amnesia. Its been all too easy for Israel to float by in the public eye as the world pays little attention to its past supporting violent regimes. For instance, its rarely broached by our politicians or mainstream U.S. media that Isreal supplied weapons and surveillance technology to the right-wing government and military in El Salvador; planned and helped to execute scorched earth plans against the indigenous populations of both El Salvador and Guatemala; provided military training and support for General Jose Efrain Rios Montts successful coup and violent dictatorship; and gave weapons and training alike to the Rwandan military and Hutu militias before and throughout the 1994 genocide.

The mobilizing of the global Palestinian solidarity movement happens simultaneously with the receding of this historical amnesia the very selective forgetting which has both served to keep empire safe from mass resistance has also been weaponized by political leaders to discredit the movement and the people leading it. Its not hard to read the fear cloaked in disdain in Hillary Clintons remarks. Ironic, though unsurprising, for such commentary coming from someone who has relied on the general historical ignorance of her own problematic history; recall her time using prison labor for yard and house work while in the Arkansas governors mansion, among other misdeeds of imperialism which bear her bloody signature.

Her commentary also conveniently neglects to address the fact that if young people in America dont know about history, its because it has been kept from them through deliberate attempts to facilitate and spread such historical amnesia. The American education system has long been known to erase and whitewash much of its history, and major publishers of school textbooks have a record of purposely publishing discrepancies in their history books. In the case of SWANA history in particular, students often find the history skipped over entirely, and one major publisher, McGraw Hill, was forced by Zionist lobbyists to discontinue a book with a map of Palestine in it. Meanwhile, those very students Clinton speaks of are educating themselves and each other by creating content and leading teach-ins about the historical and current connections of settler colonialism across the globe.

Clintons interview reveals her own insecurity and anger that the younger generations are calling attention to what she and the ruling powers would like to keep hidden: the reality of the historical and ongoing colonial violence of both Israel and the United States. Such insecurity is also at the root of Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles introducing a bill to convict and send the Palestinian solidarity student protestors off to Gaza. The historical amnesia they feel receding from the minds of the young masses terrifies them because their positions of power are reliant on maintaining a culture of minimizing and outright denying past and current atrocities.

The struggle for Palestinian liberation is intricately tied to the historical and current struggles against colonialism around the globe, and many of these violent forces are intertwined. Consider that Elbit, the very same Israeli company which built the Apartheid wall in Palestine, provided design recommendations and surveillance technology for the US-Mexico border wall as well as on Indigenous reservations in Arizona. There is a reason that Mexico City was a major location of escalation against the Israeli occupying forces in Palestine; protestors threw stones at police officers and set ablaze the Israeli embassy because they were compelled to act against the interconnected forces of colonialism and imperialism which work to violently oppress Indigenous people globally.

In 2017 and 2019, a delegation of Chicanx, Indigenous, and Black activists from Turtle Island visited Palestine to build solidarity in the struggle against apartheid walls and colonial borders. In 2023 and 2024, the chant repeated at protests, From Palestine to Mexico, these border walls have got to go, isnt just symbolically referring to imperialism-made borders, it directly calls out the creators and enforcers of these militarized boundaries.

Meanwhile in May, during the ongoing invasion of Rafah, former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley signed her name on a U.S.-provided Israeli artillery shell, and adorned it with a heart, encouraging the IDF to Finish them! On the same trip, she participated in a fear-mongering interview, saying When these Iranian terrorists say death to Israel what do they say next? They say Death to AmericaIsrael is fighting Americas enemies. What her statement reveals is that the ruling class knows what the masses are awakening to not only the connections between the colonization in Palestine and oppression globally, but also the power of resistance movements to fight them off.

Empire always reacts to movements and moments of liberatory potential by tightening its grip, by pushing down their boot on the neck of the colonized because they know what is coming for them when the time is up as the recent SCOTUS decision regarding presidential immunity seems to indicate (although, there is plenty of evidence that presidential immunity has been the status quo for centuries in the United States, particularly in terms of its application abroad, as the history of U.S.-sponsored political assassinations, coups, and other covert actions clearly indicates).

Historical amnesia seeks to have us forget not just how these systems of oppression have functioned, but also how they have been resisted. Just as the Doctrine of Discovery was met with Pontiacs Rebellion (1763 1765); U.S. chattel slavery saw Turners Rebellion in 1831 and John Browns Rebellion in 1859; French colonial rule of Saint-Domingue was met with the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), which, to quote historian Gerald Horne, ignited a general crisis of the entire slave system which could only be solved by its collapse. Meanwhile, the larger cultural milieu under the rule of the colonizers works to have its populace demonize or, better yet, entirely forget the history of these rebellions altogether.

Now that a large Palestinian solidarity movement is erupting as the details of the Israeli colonialist expansion come to mainstream media, our political leaders are reacting from a place of fear that is at the core of every colonizers heart. In 1972, Dr. Angela Davis put it well: They dont want us to relate to this world wide movement because they feel that we might become a little bit more confident about our ability to win. We might be a little bolder, we might start doing more things to challenge the power of the monopolies here. But things are gonna change.

We suspect we will continue to see these eruptions in escalation tactics to be led by Indigenous and other people of color around the globe against the tides of settler colonialism and neo-fascism. Hillary Clinton and other rich, white lawmakers know deep in their core that the clock is ticking on their time in power; they can perhaps detect the steady march of the growing peoples movement pulsing like the tell-tale heart pounding beneath their floorboards.

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Settler Colonialism and the Engineering of Historical Amnesia - CounterPunch

The winners of the EADT Business Awards 2024 have been announced and Jackson Civil Engineeringhas been named winner of the Large Business of the Year award, sponsored by Larking Gowen.

Jackson Civil Engineering employs around 320 staff, operating out of seven offices across England, with around half that number working from its head office in Ipswich.

Founded in 1952, the firm undertakes civil engineering projects ranging from 500,000 to 50 million in value.

It works with some major clients, including the Environment Agency, National Highways, Canal & River Trust and Anglian Water, as well as many private clients and local authorities.

Recent projects in East Anglia include the infrastructure for the Gateway 14 business park in Stowmarket, upgrades to the Ipswich Tidal Barrier and flood defences at Woodbridge, and the construction of the Beccles Southern Relief Road.

Jacksons values run through every aspect of the business, with some of its core values being collaboration, health and safety and environment. The company looks to reduce its impact on the environment using new methods and materials, and is aiming to be net zero by 2035.

The judges said it was great to see that Jackson has such an emphasis on reducing its carbon footprint, something all businesses should be aspiring to.

They were also impressed by the companys leadership and growth. Clearly this is due to delivering value and quality through solid leadership and clearly defined values which are visibly being met, they added.

Commenting on the award, Brian Crofton, contracts director at Jackson Civil Engineering, said: It means so much to us. Were a Suffolk-based business thats been here for 70-odd years and to get this award means we really now are represented as a Suffolk business.

We want to be a regional business with national influence, and the award really emphasises that the impact were having on the local community is really being recognised by people around us, which is great.

Claire Finbow, HR and training director, added: Its an amazing achievement for us.

Bacton Transport Services

Bacton Transport Services, based just outside Bury St Edmunds, is a family-owned business that aims to deliver exceptional service across its range of distribution and logistics services, as it consistently invests in its fleet.

The judges called its sustainability and driver training remarkable, with a willingness to try new ways of doing things.

DPL Group

Ipswich-based DPL Group is a family-run business, working in design, installation and maintenance of building services.

The company collaborates with local councils and more, covering all aspects of its industry.

The judges said that DPL is ahead of its market, with a clear focus on sustainability, and that staff care in its core beliefs.

Spectra Packaging

Spectra Packaging in Holton is a leading UK manufacturer of plastic bottles and caps for the personal care sectors.

Its core values are rooted in sustainability, with its product offerings made using recycled materials.

The judges called its knowledge on sustainability world class, and the company culture wonderful and inspiring.

Larking Gowen is a local, independent UK top 50 accountancy firm operating in Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk.

The firms values are centred around service and commitment to its clients, as well as its people and local community.

It builds strong, dedicated teams that share knowledge and expertise for the benefit of all clients, delivering a friendly one-to-one service you can count on.

With a team comprising specialists in audit, tax, VAT, private client, corporate transactions, tourism and leisure, medical, not for profit and more, whatever your financial needs, Larking Gowen is committed to securing your future and helping you reach your goals.

Find out more about all of the winners here.

For more information on next year's EADT Business Awards, please keep your eyes peeled for updates at eadtbusinessawards.co.uk

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Ipswich civil engineering firm named Large Business of the Year - Yahoo News UK

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Engineering The Trade - tastylive

In our recent podcast, we sat down with Dr. Kenneth O. and Dr. Wooyeol Choi, two pioneering researchers who have developed an innovative terahertz imaging chip. Like Supermans X-ray vision, this breakthrough technology could revolutionize various industries by allowing us to see through objects such as walls, packages, and certain materials.

Dr. Kenneth O is a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas and the director of the Texas Analog Center of Excellence (TxACE). TxACE is a hub for cutting-edge integrated circuit technology advancements funded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation, a consortium of semiconductor companies. Dr. Wooyeol Choi, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University in Korea, has been an integral part of this research since his time as a postdoctoral researcher at UT Dallas.

The terahertz imaging chip was inspired by X-ray vision, though it utilizes terahertz frequencies instead of harmful X-rays. As Dr. Kenneth O explained, Our work is inspired by X-ray vision, instead of X-rays that can be harmful. That can be harmful to humans. Instead, the chip operates within the electromagnetic spectrums 200 to 400 gigahertz range, which is safe for human exposure.

When asked what inspired the chip, Dr. Kenneth explained that the journey to develop this technology has been long and complex. Dr. O and his team have spent over 15 years refining the chip, improving pixel performance by 100 million times, and incorporating digital signal processing techniques.

This painstaking research has led to a chip that is small enough to be integrated into mobile devices while still providing high-quality images.

The basic principle behind terahertz imaging is the emission and detection of high-frequency signals. As Dr. O described, We have a 300 gigahertz signal source that generates the signals to illuminate whatever object you want to see, and then we pick up the reflected signal to create images. We typically refer to this capability as terahertz imaging.

Dr. Choi added, This frequency can be a sweet spot. It is low enough frequency so that you can still go through walls and some nonmetallic materials, but it has a short enough wavelength so that humans or computers can interpret or process it easily.

The terahertz frequency range allows the waves to penetrate materials like walls and envelopes, providing images without bulky optics. This makes the technology highly suitable for integration into compact devices such as smartphones.

The potential applications of terahertz imaging are vast and varied. One of the most immediate uses is in package inspection. Dr. O noted, This technology will allow you to see through walls to locate wires, pipes, and studs. It can also inspect packages, detect hidden defects in materials, and even authenticate documents and currencies.

The chip could revolutionize the way we handle everyday tasks. Imagine being able to verify the contents of a package without opening it or ensuring that walls are free of hidden defects before renovation work. The implications are significant for the construction, logistics, and security industries.

While the technology has some limitations in the medical field due to its shallow penetration depth into tissues, it can still offer valuable applications. Dr. O mentioned, One of the areas that Im excited about is its sensitivity to water in the skin, which can be used to monitor hydration levels. This could be a wonderful capability, especially in medical settings where hydration monitoring is challenging.

With the ability to see through objects comes the responsibility of ensuring privacy. Dr. O emphasized, Privacy is of utmost importance because this kind of technology cannot be utilized broadly on mobile devices if you cannot ensure that privacy can be protected. To address this, the current technology is designed to operate at a very close range, typically up to about 1.18 inches (3 centimeters). This makes unauthorized scanning difficult, as it would be noticeable.

Future iterations aim to extend this range to about 7.87 inches (20 centimeters), which would still be manageable regarding privacy concerns. The technologys physical limitations also help protect privacy, as creating devices with much longer ranges is technically challenging.

The journey of this technology is far from over. The researchers are working on increasing the number of pixels in the chip and improving the resolution. Dr. Choi explained, We are certainly going toward the wider field of view and more pixels. Our ongoing goals are improving signal-to-noise ratio, range, resolution, and power consumption.

The team is also exploring various applications beyond mobile devices. For example, terahertz imaging could be integrated into smart glasses, providing users with augmented vision capabilities. In the automotive industry, the technology could enhance safety features by detecting objects on the road in adverse weather conditions.

While commercialization plans are still in development, the researchers are focused on creating prototypes that can demonstrate the technologys full potential. Dr. O remarked, We believe that these are the necessary critical steps to really excite the investment community so that we can take another step toward commercialization.

The terahertz imaging chip represents a significant leap forward in imaging technology. By harnessing the unique properties of terahertz frequencies, Dr. Kenneth O, Dr. Wooyeol Choi, and their teams have created a tool that can see through everyday obstacles, opening up new possibilities across various fields.

As development continues, we can look forward to a future where this innovative technology becomes integral to our daily lives, making the invisible visible in ways we never thought possible.

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Christopher McFadden Christopher graduated from Cardiff University in 2004 with a Masters Degree in Geology. Since then, he has worked exclusively within the Built Environment, Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Consultancy industries. He is a qualified and accredited Energy Consultant, Green Deal Assessor and Practitioner member of IEMA. Chris’s main interests range from Science and Engineering, Military and Ancient History to Politics and Philosophy.

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Making the invisible visible with terahertz imaging chips - Interesting Engineering