President Bush Welcomes 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury to White House VIDEO PODCAST

President George W. Bush delivers remarks to congratulate the 2007 WNBA Champions, the Phoenix Mercury, Monday, June 23, 2008, in the East Garden at the White House. White House photo by Chris Greenberg

President Bush Welcomes 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury to White House FULL STREAMING VIDEO East Garden 11:02 A.M. EDT. PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. Please be seated. Welcome to the White House. And it is fitting that we use the East Garden because,

one, this is rarely used; and two, it is an opportunity for me to welcome a lot of people to the -- that are here to see the WNBA champs, Phoenix Mercury. And we're glad you came. (Applause.)

People who follow sport in America will know that the Phoenix Mercury played together as a great team, and they brought new glory to women's athletics and the sport of basketball. As they like to say, "Mighty Mercury, we are number one!" (Laughter.) And these women proved it.

I want to thank Jay Parry, President and COO of the Phoenix Mercury, for joining us. Ann Meyers Drysdale, the General Manager of Phoenix Mercury. Where is your son? There he is. Kind of looks like the big right-hander. You're right. (Laughter.)

Corey Gaines, the head coach -- Coach, thanks for coming, proud you're here. I particularly want to pay my respects to the co-captains of the team, Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi.

Now, this is not the first time that Diana has been here to the White House. She came with the mighty UConn Huskies. And she told me she was going to amount to something in life when I saw her. (Laughter.) She said, "I will be back," and she is, as the champion. Welcome. Glad you're here.

And I wish these two -- these two great athletes all the best at the Olympics in Beijing. They're going to be carrying on the great tradition of women's basketball here in the United States. And even though it's going to be tough, a lot of teams are getting ready for them, they're going to come back with the Gold and America will be proud. (Applause.)

I welcome the other athletes on the stage and the newly -- the new athletes who have joined the Phoenix Mercury. Must be pretty cool to be playing with champs. I bet it's wearing off on you, what it means to make the sacrifices necessary to win the title and be invited here in the White House.

I want to welcome Congressman Trent Franks -- Congressman, thanks for coming. Thanks for taking an interest in the Phoenix Mercury. I know they're proud to have your support.

I welcome members of the Junior WNBA that have joined us. Thanks for coming, thanks for taking an interest in women's basketball. (Applause.) I want to -- do thank -- do want to thank the WNBA representatives and personnel who've joined us; appreciate you promoting women's athletics. As the father of twin girls, there's nothing better than having good role models for girls to look at, and there are no better role models than women basketball players. They're great athletes. They're well-conditioned people. They're disciplined.

I want to welcome the Phoenix fans here, professionally known as the "X-factor." I know these women really love the fact that they play in a city that supports them. And I hope the fans that, you know, aren't here recognize that even here in Washington D.C. we've heard of the Phoenix Mercury, and proud to -- proud to have them come.

The team's playoff slogan was, "One team, one city, one goal." And they've fulfilled the goal. You became the first WNBA team in history to win the championship on the road. For the second year in a row, you set the record for the highest scoring average in WNBA history.

You were led ably by Coach Paul Westhead. I know he is proud of the women. And Corey Gaines was the assistant coach, so he had the pleasure of being part of a championship program, and he knows what it takes to get you in a position where you can win this year, as well. Of course, I'm not going to be around to welcome you -- but play hard anyway. (Laughter.)

The thing I love about this team and a lot of champions that I get to recognize here at the White House is the fact that they understand you're a champ on the courts, and you're a champ off the courts. The -- this team spent weekends on a Habitat for Humanity program called, "Women Build." They served meals at homeless shelters. They honored breast cancer survivors. They helped sign up runners for Race for the Cure. They collected water bottles from fans and donated them to the Salvation Army's Extreme Heat Emergency Project. They participated in Read to Achieve. They helped stuff backpacks with supplies for underprivileged children.

They support the junior WNBA program, fully understanding that promoting healthy lifestyles is good for America, and there's no better way to have a healthy lifestyle than to participate in athletics. They've done their duty as citizens of the United States. I'm honored to welcome you. I'm proud of your championship trophy. I thank you for what you do for the country. May God bless you all. (Applause.)

MS. MEYERS DRYSDALE: Mr. President, on behalf of the 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury, we'd like to thank you for your invitation to the White House. The Phoenix Mercury and the WNBA is all about leadership, being a strong role model, teamwork, and making a difference in other's lives.

This team accomplished a lot last year and had a lot of firsts. The coaches, fans and players never stopped believing in themselves. Mr. President, we know your support for the Phoenix Mercury is genuine, because of the influence of the women in your life.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

MS. MEYERS DRYSDALE: All first ladies -- your graceful mother, your classy wife --

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

MS. MEYERS DRYSDALE: -- your very strong-willed daughters -- (laughter.) You think?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that's why my hair is white. (Laughter.)

MS. MEYERS DRYSDALE: We are very proud of this team. And on behalf of the Phoenix Mercury, we'd like our two Olympians, Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter, to present you with a Phoenix Mercury jersey and a replica banner of our championship. (Applause.)

END 11:08 A.M. EDT

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 23, 2008

Tiny refrigerator taking shape to cool future computers

Researchers at Purdue are developing a miniature refrigeration system small enough to fit inside laptops and personal computers, a cooling technology that would boost performance while shrinking the size of computers. The researchers collect data using a myriad of sensors to precisely measure how a refrigerant boils and vaporizes inside tiny "microchannels" in a part of the refrigeration system called an evaporator. Data are needed to determine how to vary this boiling rate for maximum chip cooling. Eckhard Groll, at left, a professor of mechanical engineering, and Suresh Garimella, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Mechanical Engineering, discuss the microchannel data at the Ray W. Herrick Laboratories. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers at Purdue University are developing a miniature refrigeration system small enough to fit inside laptops and personal computers, a cooling technology that would boost performance while shrinking the size of computers. Unlike conventional cooling systems, which use a fan to circulate air through finned devices called heat sinks attached to computer chips, miniature refrigeration would dramatically increase how much heat could be removed, said Suresh Garimella, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Mechanical Engineering. The Purdue research focuses on learning how to design miniature components called compressors and evaporators, which are critical for refrigeration systems. The researchers developed an analytical model for designing tiny compressors that pump refrigerants using penny-size diaphragms and validated the model with experimental data. The elastic membranes are made of ultra-thin sheets of a plastic called polyimide and coated with an electrically conducting metallic layer. The metal layer allows the diaphragm to be moved back and forth to produce a pumping action using electrical charges, or "electrostatic diaphragm compression."

In related research, the engineers are among the first to precisely measure how a refrigerant boils and vaporizes inside tiny "microchannels" in an evaporator and determine how to vary this boiling rate for maximum chip cooling.

The research is led by Garimella and Eckhard Groll, a professor of mechanical engineering.

"We feel we have a very good handle on this technology now, but there still are difficulties in implementing it in practical applications," said Garimella, director of the Cooling Technologies Research Center based at Purdue. "One challenge is that it's difficult to make a compressor really small that runs efficiently and reliably."

Findings will be detailed in two papers being presented during the 12th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference and the 19th International Compressor Engineering Conference on July 14-17 at Purdue. The papers were written by doctoral students Stefan S. Bertsch and Abhijit A. Sathe, Groll and Garimella.

New types of cooling systems will be needed for future computer chips that will likely generate 10 times more heat than today's microprocessors, especially in small "hot spots," Garimella said.

Miniature refrigeration has a key advantage over other cooling technologies, Groll said.

"The best that all other cooling methods can achieve is to cool the chip down to ambient temperature, whereas refrigeration allows you to cool below surrounding temperatures," he said.

The ability to cool below ambient temperature could result in smaller, more powerful computers and also could improve reliability by reducing long-term damage to chips caused by heating.

One complication is that the technology would require many diaphragms operating in parallel to pump a large enough volume of refrigerant for the cooling system.

"So you have an array of 50 or 100 tiny diaphragm compressors, and you can stack them," Groll said.

The researchers conducted laboratory experiments with the diaphragms in Garimella's Thermal Microsystems Lab, developed a computational model for designing the compressor and validated the model with data from the lab. Findings showed that it is feasible to design a prototype system small enough to fit in a laptop, Garimella said.

The model enables the engineers to optimize the design, determining how many diaphragms to use and how to stack them, either parallel to each other or in series.

"If you stack in one direction, you get more pressure rise, and if you stack in the other direction, you get more volume pumped," Groll said.

Learning how to manufacture the devices at low cost is another major challenge, with industry requiring a cost of about $30 each.

"We can't currently produce them at this price, but maybe in the future," Groll said.

Another portion of the research focuses on learning precisely how refrigerant boils and turns into a vapor as it flows along microchannels thinner than a human hair. Such evaporators would be placed on top of computer chips.

Bertsch, the doctoral student who led work to set up experiments at the university's Ray W. Herrick Laboratories, observed how refrigerant boils inside the channels and measured how much heat is transferred by this boiling refrigerant. He also created mathematical equations needed to properly design the miniature evaporators.

"This overall project represents the first comprehensive research to carefully obtain data showing what happens to heat transfer in arrays of microchannels for miniature refrigeration systems and how to design miniature compressors," Garimella said. "Eventually, we will be able to design both the miniature compressors and evaporators."

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Some of the research was performed at the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park.

The research is funded by the Purdue-based National Science Foundation Cooling Technologies Research Center, a consortium of corporations, university and government laboratories working to overcome heat-transfer obstacles in developing new, compact cooling technologies. Groll's research is based at Herrick Laboratories.

CONTACTS:

• Note to Journalists: Electronic copies of the research papers are available from Emil Venere, (765) 494-4709, venere@purdue.edu
• Writer: Emil Venere, (765) 494-4709, venere@purdue.edu
• Sources:Eckhard Groll, (765) 496-2201, groll@ecn.purdue.edu
• Suresh Garimella, (765) 494-5621, sureshg@ecn.purdue.edu

Related Web sites:

• Conference Web site: engineering.purdue.edu/Herrick/
• Suresh Garimella: engineering.purdue.edu/ME/People/
• Eckhard Groll: engineering.purdue.edu/ME/People/
• Cooling Technologies Research Center: engineering.purdue.edu/CTRC/