CORVALLIS - A miniature personal air conditioner that could cool U.S. soldiers fighting in the deserts of Iraq. A car air conditioner powered by waste engine heat captured from the vehicle's exhaust. A portable kidney dialysis device that treats patients in their homes and while traveling. Miniature chemical processing plants that would allow astronauts to create fuel from resources at hand such as soil on Mars. A microreactor the size of a credit card that can manufacture biodiesel anywhere.

Those products and more are being studied at the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute, a collaboration between Oregon State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The MBI is housed in a building on the Hewlett-Packard campus, where it shares space with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute.

Landis Kannberg was named director of the MBI last week, taking over full time a position he previously shared with Kevin Drost, an OSU professor of mechanical engineering who is ramping down toward retirement. Kannberg holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University. His undergraduate degree is from Gonzaga University. He spent more than 20 years as a researcher at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash.

"I'm used to weather in Corvallis," Kannberg said as rain pounded outside the MBI building.

Although the MBI has collaborated on more than $10 million worth of research and development projects since its inception in 2002, Kannberg said one of his three key goals is to see that number grow to at least $15 million annually.

Other key goals include enhancing the reputation of the programs at both the MBI and ONAMI and accelerating the rate of commercialization for microtechnologies and other innovations so they more rapidly move from concept to reality.

Kannberg also wants to secure adequate space for the MBI and ONAMI, either in the current building on the HP campus or elsewhere. HP has donated the space up to this point. "We're using about 8,000 square feet now, and we're at capacity," Kannberg said.

Kannberg heads up a program that focuses not only on scientific research but also spotlights projects that will have commercial appeal. The hope is that technology created by MBI and ONAMI research will lead to more jobs throughout Oregon, Kannberg said.

Much of the millions of dollars' worth of equipment used by MBI and ONAMI researchers has been donated or is on loan from private companies. There are about a dozen projects under way at any given time, Kannberg said.

The MBI works with materials as small as one atom, Kannberg said. Microchannels used in energy research projects are about as wide as a human hair. Primary research materials are metals, plastics and ceramics.

There are currently three staff members assigned to MBI projects, Kannberg said. In five years, it would not be unreasonable to see four or five commercialized products that were incubated at MBI. Current projects range from one to three years in the research stage.

Alex Paul can be reached at alex.paul@lee.net or 812-6076.