Central Michigan University

• Technology advancing at a rapid rate, devices getting smaller and smaller

Topics in this story: News tips and sources, Science and Technology

Apple recently released the 4GB iPod nano -- now the smallest member of the iPod family of digital audio players. The device, which is about the size of a lighter and the width of a pencil, weighs 1.5 ounces and can hold nearly 1,000 songs. Central Michigan University engineering professor Kumar Yelamarthi is available to comment on technology as it continues to shrink in physical size.

A few of Yelamarthi's initial thoughts on the subject:

• Technology is advancing at a rapid rate accommodating the invention of devices that were once thought to be infeasible, such as the handheld computer. The foundation for all this is the Integrated Circuit (IC) invented 60 years ago. Ever since, the IC industry has achieved a tremendous growth."
• "For the past five decades, the size of most devices has shrunk by at least a half inch every 18 months. Examples of this advancement are Apple's third generation 4GB iPod and Intel's latest Atom processor, which consumes less than 10 percent of the power of today's other mainstream mobile processors."
• "Although the advancement of this technology is laudable, there is a scope for further improvement. In the new trend, the IC technology will be used with nanotechnology and biotechnology for many devices such as biochips, driverless cars and robots."

Yelamarthi specializes in a number of areas in electrical engineering, including integrated circuit design, CAD tool development, digital design automation and applied electronics.

More detailed information about Yelamarthi can be found at his faculty Web site, http://www.et.cmich.edu/faculty/yelamarthi.shtml

To set up an interview with this expert, contact: Tracy Burton, 989-774-1072, tracy.burton@cmich.edu