Daily News Briefs

Argon ST Inc. announced that it has been awarded a $9.4 million contract by the US government for communications equipment. Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., Argon manufactures systems and sensors for the command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance markets. . . . Candela Corp. of Wayland, Mass., a provider of clinical solutions to medical practitioners who treat cosmetic and medical conditions with lasers, laser systems and other technologies, has signed an exclusive three-year agreement with McKesson Medical-Surgical Inc., a US distributor to family and general practice medical specialists, for distribution of the company's full aesthetic laser and light-based products. Effective Nov. 1, McKesson will distribute products used for hair removal, skin rejuvenation, tattoo removal, vascular lesions and acne treatments. . . . Ocean Optics, a Dunedin, Fla., maker of optical sensing systems for research, development and OEM markets, said it has appointed two new European distributors: Kutay Laboratory Equipment in Turkey, and LAO Industrial Systems in the Czech Republic. Kutay is a supplier of laboratory instruments; LAO sells laser systems and optoelectronic and measuring equipment for scientific research, educational and commercial applications. . . . Nanorex, a molecular engineering software company based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., named K. Eric Drexler as the company's chief technical advisor. The company says Drexler will play a leading role in shaping its product strategy and advancing its academic outreach programs. Drexler, an author and founder of nonprofit think tank the Foresight Nanotech Institute, is often described as the "father of nanotechnology."