IBM, AT&T Co and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have agreed to pool resources on high-temperature superconductivity research, and have created a Consortium for Superconducting Electronics, which will co-ordinate the research efforts of each of the partners to eliminate duplication of effort and ensure that work done at each is complementary. The four areas to be researched are signal distribution and conditioning networks, exploratory devices, junctions and superconducting quantum interference devices; advanced devices and integrated circuits; and hightemperature materials and technology. MIT will seek $4m in government funds to cover the first year, and the corporate members will pay $200,000 up front and $100,000 a year. The consortium will be open to other companies, academic institutions and government agencies.
