Belmont R&D Facility (2002-2012)

The New Renaissance Institute (NRI) R&D facility in Belmont California provides laboratory, library, and operations space and initially served as NRI’s original founding location and headquarters.

 

All the lab descriptions below are historic, spanning 2002-2012. 

Since 2018 the now smaller Belmont R&D facility provides continuing work on Biochemical Signaling Network Modeling, Next-Generation Microplate Technologies, and ongoing work on Fractional Fourier imaging (which NRI’s founder personally pioneered in 1988, five years before the next paper in the area and its subsequent immense popularity in 1993).

ADVANCED USER INTERFACES

 

NRI’s second-generation research and development work in finger-angles, gesture grammars, and other advanced aspects of touch user interfaces occurred in NRI’s Advanced User Interface Laboratory at the Belmont facility, supported in part by National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I (2008 Award 0741237) and Phase II (2009-2011 Award 0923986) funding.
            
NRI also did a great deal of work on Data Visualization and Sonification in this laboratory, particularly with use of date-modulated timbre approaches to carry multiple channels of data simultaneously in a sound field using natural easily-parsed sonic metaphors. Work was also done coordinating data sonification with data visualization and commercial implementation approaches.
 

NRI’s first generation research and development work (pre-1999) in touch user interfaces was done many years in advance of the touch user interface revolution initiated by the iPhone, also included finger-angles, gesture grammars, individual finger recognition, and multitouch gestures. The technology and licensing activities for pervasively-used touchscreen gestures (such as finger-flick, image-stretch, and image-squeeze) and downward-pressure-sensing touchscreen technologies have been transferred to NRI’s first spin-out company, Advanced Touchscreen and Gesture Technologies (ATGT) based in San Antonio, Texas.

NRI also did its early work on the timbre-based multichannel data sonification at this lab.
 
MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS AND NANOELECTRONICS
NRI’s work in analog differential amplifiers, multistage electronic circuit topologies, design tools, and CAD for graphene ribbon, carbon nanotube (CNT), and organic semiconductor molecular electronics also were developed at the Belmont facility. The intellectual property was sold in 2011, along with other patent assets in advanced signal processing and pertaining to computer mice with advanced capabilities.      
 
MICROFLUIDICS REACTIVE DISTILLATION, AND CHEMICAL LABORATORY AUTOMATION

NRI’s Belmont Chemical Science Laboratory launched NRI’s activities in software reconfigurable microfluidics systems (processors, microfluidic transport architectures), microfluidic chemistry, and microfluidic biochemical/chemical sensors array systems. NRI’s Belmont Chemical Sciences Laboratory also did work in the area reactive distillation scale-up and chemical laboratory automation for traditional chemical glassware arrangements.                                          

LENSLESS AND FRACTIONAL FOURIER COMPUTATIONAL IMAGING 
Imaging work at the Belmont facility included mathematics and optical engineering for Fractional Fourier optics, continuing NRI founder’s early (1998-1999) work in lensless light-field imaging, and new work in lensless microscopy and optical tomography.

                                                    
ADVANCED SIGNAL PROCESSING
Signal processing work at the Belmont facility included three advanced signal processing innovations: hysteresis synthesis, simplified frequency comparators leveraging symbol dynamics, and eigenfunctions for Hilbert Space mathematical models of human sensory perception.    
                                                        
MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF  BIOCHEMICAL NETWORKS AND CELL SIGNALING
Work at the Belmont facility included non-linear mathematical modeling systems for biochemical networks (especially intra-cell and inter-cell signaling), establishing the foundations for NRI’s R&D program in Biochemical Signaling Network Modeling and Instrumentation.
                                                        
ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS 

OTHER R&D AND INNOVATIONS
 
NRI business operations and life science system design moved to the landmark Crossroads Building in San Mateo California in 2010, then later consolidated with several of the expanding Belmont facility laboratories at the NRI Burlingame R&D Facility in late 2012.