15 Years of Control Design: Flashback 1997-2012 - January

As Control Design celebrates its 15th anniversary, each month we bring you a look back at some of the events and developments that shaped technology during that time. In January, we survived the much publicized Y2K computer bug, and Apple unveiled the iPad.

• Jan. 12, 1998: Nineteen European nations agreed to prohibit human cloning.
• Jan. 1, 1999: The euro became the currency for 11 member states of the European Union. Coins and notes became available Jan. 1, 2002.
• Jan. 1, 2000: The much publicized Y2K computer bug passed with only the most minor of complications following years of preparation and billions of dollars spent. The U.S. Naval Observatory, the official U.S. timekeeper, was one of several national time services around the world that returned "19100?" as the current year.
• Jan. 13, 2002: Japan and Singapore signed a free trade pact that would remove tariffs on almost all goods traded between the two countries.
• Jan. 22, 2003: It was reported that scientists in China had found fossilized remains of a dinosaur with four feathered wings.
• Jan. 3, 2004: NASA's Spirit rover landed on Mars. The craft was able to send back black and white images three hours after landing.
• Jan. 14, 2005: A probe from the Cassini-Huygens mission (launched October 1997) sent back pictures during and after landing on Saturn's moon Titan.
• Jan. 4, 2010: In UAE, the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower) opened as the world's tallest tower at 2,625 ft.