Daily News Briefs

Frontier Carbon Corp. America (FCCA), established in December by Frontier Carbon Corp. (FCC), of Tokyo, announced it has begun production of fullerene materials in the US. Fullerenes are large carbon molecules with unique properties that are particularly suited to nanotechnology-based applications. The most common fullerene is C60, also known as "buckyballs" -- round, hollow molecular cages of carbon atoms about a billionth of an inch in diameter that resemble soccer balls. Other relatively common fullerenes are C70, C76 and C84. FCCA said it will market fullerene products under the brand name "Nanom." Frontier Carbon Corp. was founded in Japan in 2001 as a joint venture of Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp. Mitsubishi Corp. also has an exclusive license of a fullerene material patent in certain countries from Fullerene International Corp., based in Tucson, Ariz. . . . Neil Barrett was appointed technical sales engineer and Jenny Warwick as general manager at Optima Research, the European distributor for Zemax optical design and analysis software, made by San Diego-based Zemax Development Corp. Barrett has a master's degree and DIC in physics from Imperial College London. Warwick has worked at Optima Research for three years as an optical design specialist. . . . Palomar Technologies, a supplier of automated high-precision assembly systems, has moved to a 39,000-square-foot facility in Carlsbad, Calif. The new plant will serve as its international headquarters. It comprises design and manufacturing space, a larger cleanroom and an extensive applications, process development and prototyping lab with advanced test and measurement capabilities. The new office is 35 miles north of San Diego, near Palomar Airport and the I-5 corridor. The address is 2728 Loker Avenue West, Carlsbad, CA 92008; phone: (760) 931-3600, fax: (760) 931-3444.