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It's looking like the TV show "The Big Bang Theory" may become a reality series, of sorts.

Jim Parsons, one of the show's geek protagonists, is working on creating a television series that profiles real-life young geniuses, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series will be based on a YouTube show by the THNKR channel called "Prodigies."

"I knew within a few minutes of viewing my first episode of 'Prodigies' that I wanted to be a part of the team bringing the digital series to a wider audience via television. Spending time with … Read more

In each of the three years of EcoCar2 Challenge, General Motors will give away approximately $100,000 in prizes to the students participating in the alternative fuels vehicle competition. But for some students, the real prize will be a steady paycheck.

Headliners GM and the Department of Energy, along with 25 suppliers, sponsor EcoCar2, a three-year alternative fuels vehicle competition, as a way to encourage college students to enter the automotive industry. It provides a chance for young engineers to apply the theoretical education they gain in the classroom in the lab, giving them an advantage when it comes to … Read more

Bright Automotive designed a unique plug-in electric vehicle, but failure of a government loan to come through has forced it to shut down.

The CEO and chief operation officer of Bright Automotive earlier this week sent a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu saying the company has withdrawn its loan application. Without financing to build a factory, the company cannot build its product and so it is shutting down.

Bright Automotive made one prototype utility van, which used lightweight materials and a hybrid electric power train to achieve up to 100 miles per gallon. With the vehicle designed specifically for … Read more

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--There's good energy at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit.

The conference, held this week and organized by the ARPA-E agency, brings together the movers and shakers in clean-energy technologies who are trying to take inventions from research labs and make them viable commercial products.

So far, no startups which received grants have gone on to become a Google or Apple of green tech. But ARPA-E, which operates with a $180 million budget this year, has had a big impact on entrepreneurship by setting a high bar for technical performance and asking technologists to think big.

Here'… Read more

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--Even with the exciting work being done on energy at countless labs and startups, Bill Gates isn't counting on a repeat of what happened with info tech.

Speaking at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit here today, Gates argued that the amount of government funding for energy research and development should be doubled to speed the pace of innovation.

Even with a massive increase in research and other policy mechanisms, such as a tax on carbon emissions, Gates said energy moves slowly just by its nature. Unlike IT, the energy industry is capital-intensive and heavily regulated, and … Read more

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.-- Steven Chu is on the hunt for technology breakthroughs that will make renewable energy affordable and thus improve the long-term economic health of the U.S.

During a keynote talk at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit here today, the Department of Energy secretary used the history of aviation and automobiles to demonstrate how innovations in science, often funded by government, have changed how we live and brought prosperity to the U.S.

Looking ahead, he said rapid advances in renewable energy and storage mean that electricity can be delivered without transmission lines in remote areas of … Read more

U.S. government-backed battery supplier Ener1 has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the third U.S.-backed energy company to file in as many months.

Ener1 posted a notice today stating that it "has reached agreement with its primary investors and lenders on a restructuring plan that will significantly reduce its debt." This action will pave the way for up to $81 million for recapitalization, the company said.

A "pre-packaged" Chapter 11 case was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. Ener1 is planning to complete the restructuring process within … Read more

A technique first developed to print flexible electronics has helped engineers at start-up Semprius reinvent the shape of concentrating solar technology.

The company's tiny solar cells, each a dot the size of a ballpoint pen tip, have been validated to convert 41 percent of solar energy to electricity, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory announced yesterday. Semprius is in the process of building a manufacturing facility in Henderson, N.C., to make concentrating solar arrays using its "micro-transfer printing" technique, according to the Department of Energy.

The semiconductor printing technique can be used for many applications, including improving … Read more

Beacon Power, the energy storage company that received a federal loan and later declared bankruptcy, said it intends to sell off its assets to repay the loan.

The Tyngsboro, Mass.-based company said yesterday it reached an agreement with the Department of Energy where it will sell the Stephentown, N.Y., flywheel storage facility financed by a DOE loan guarantee. The sale of that facility need to be before January 30 next year.

Beacon Power owes $39.1 million on a $43 million loan guarantee it secured to build a 20-megawatt power plant that uses spinning flywheels to supply quick … Read more