Microsoft Research helps five young faculty members pursue breakthrough research as part of its New Faculty Fellowship Program. Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship program provides $1 million in unrestricted funding each year ($200K for each faculty member). According to the eligibility criteria, only one nominee per university may be entered into the program’s rigorous, multitier selection process. About 100 young faculty members from the United States and Canada were nominated for the 2008 awards. We are proud to announce that one of the five 2008 Microsoft New Faculty Fellows is a sensornets researcher; Phil Levis (Stanford). Microsoft press release here. Feature story here.

MeshNetics, a leading provider of ZigBee modules and embedded software for OEMs and system integrators, announced its launch of the ZigBit 900, the “world’s first RF module for sub-1 GHz band that uses the ZigBee PRO Feature Set.” The new IEEE 802.15.4-2006 module is designed to operate in the ISM bands of 915 MHz in the U.S. and 868 MHz in Europe.
The ultra-compact ZigBit 900 module features exceptional sensitivity of –110 dBm and output power of 11 dBm, which result in the line-of-sight range of as much as 6000 m (over 3.7 miles). Power consumption stays at <6 µA in sleep mode, 11 mA in receive mode, and 26 mA in transmit mode, which translates into many years of battery life. The ZigBit 900 operates in the European ISM band from 863 to 870 MHz and in the North American ISM band from 902 to 928 MHz. The ZigBit 900 offers regional alternatives to the global 2.4 GHz band, where the channel characteristics of the lower frequencies can result in performance advantages in certain environments.

More info here.