Newport honoring firefighters, lifeguards Newport Beach once...

Newport honoring firefighters, lifeguards

Newport Beach once again is set to honor its best firefighters and

lifeguards.

The annual Fire and Lifeguard Appreciation Beach Party takes place

this Thursday at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort. The event is

sponsored by Good Dog University and hosted by the Commodores Club of

the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Those being honored this year are: Craig Johnson, firefighter of

the year; Rob Williams, marine safety officer of the year; and Omar

Kattan, seasonal lifeguard of the year.

Tickets are $30, or a table of ten can be reserved for $350.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. The resort is at 1131 Back Bay Drive in Newport Beach.

For information on becoming a sponsor or to make a reservation,

call the chamber office at (949) 729-4400.

UC Irvine engineering wins millions in grants

UC Irvine engineering programs have received nearly $3 million in

grants over the last two months, including $1.2 million for a

professor to develop more effective communications antennas.

Electrical engineering professor Franco De Flaviis received the

grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration to

make lighter and more cost effective “phased array” antennas for

commercial use, the university announced Tuesday. The phased array

antennas deliver a stronger, adjustable signal compared to normal

single antennas.

With the new technology, De Flaviis said that large antennas that

normally cost $250,000 could be manufactured for $15,000. The lower

cost would make them more feasible for commercial use, not just for

military applications, as they are used now.

De Flaviis said the more affordable versions could be used to

improve wireless technology for laptop computers or televisions in

vehicles.

The new antennas will be manufactured in the UCI Integrated

Nanosystems Research Facility, an 8,600-square-foot clean room.

The National Science Foundation has also awarded more than $1.5

million in grants to 10 additional faculty members from UCI’s Henry

Samueli School of Engineering. Those grants will cover research

projects including ones to develop portable fiber optic sensors and

tools to analyze traffic accident data.