Technology (An Independent in 2000)

Technology has advanced much more rapidly in some areas thanks to Charles Malcolm Edwards's contributions to the fields of Aerospace, Mechanical, and Propulsion Engineering before going into politics in the early 90s. Due to his success as an engineer and as a businessman, many innovations have occurred since the late 80s that would have taken much longer to be invented in OTL.

Pulse Detonation Jet Engine
While the basics of PDEs have been around since the V-1 "Buzz Bomb" during World War II, it was Charles Malcolm Edwards's breakthrough design that ultimately made the engine a reality. Capable of flying at low speeds like a traditional Turbofan engine, and then moving into Hypersonic speeds with ease, this power-plant has become the standard of Military and Commercial aircraft propulsion. Requiring almost no fuel once it reaches hypersonic speeds, it has made non-stop travel the norm of all airlines, and has made Single Stage to Orbit space craft possible by as early as 2003 when Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne won the $10 million dollar Xprize. The engine has been applied to some of the most famous commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 777 Sonic Cruiser, as well as their newly built 787 Star-liner, the first large scale commercial space-plane. The military has also applied this technology to the F/A-22 Raptor, the F-35 Lightning II, the B-2 Spirit, and the revolutionary V-22 Osprey, the first VTOL used by the US military to not use a traditional helicopter configuration. NASA most famously used the design on the Orion Space Shuttle, the first reusable spacecraft capable of making a flight to the Moon.

Series Hybrid Technology
Introduced in 2003 by General Motors, the first production Series Hybrid car was the 2004 Chevy Impala. The technology has become the standard of all cars made in the US to keep up with the milage standards of the US Energy Independence and Security Act and the American Energy Independence Act. The technology was first introduced as early as 1969 when GM introduced its XP-883 plug-in hybrid concept car, though it never really became a practical technology until the mid 90s with the introduction of lighter materials and advanced batteries. Currently the most popular Hybrid in the world today is the 2005 Ford Jolt, a small roadster that has become the favorite car for Hot-Rodders and new drivers alike.

Superconductors
While the superconductor has always been a relatively common technology in industry, it was never made a practical battery technology until 1998, when Panasonic revealed its joint Project with Phillips on a practical superconductor. The battery made fast charges with large amounts of energy practical and it was one of the key technologies behind the development of hybrid cars in the early 2000s. Currently the technology is being applied to cell phone battery technology, in an attempt to make Lithium Ion cells more efficient. LG has stated that they expect to have a Superconductor powered cell phone on the market as early as 2010.

Adult Stem Cell Therapy
With the signing of the US Universal Healthcare Act, Adult Stem Cell research say a large infusion of research grants. The technology had been a mere concept during the late 90s, but on October 21st, 2005 the first Stem Cell therapy entered the US healthcare system. The first techniques made it possible to re-grow any organ in a lab from just a small sample, and by 2007 most of the world's organ related illnesses have come to an end in the first world, and the average lifespan of an American is estimated to be 98 years old. Currently this technology is being applied towards Cancer and Alzheimer's treatments, along with cheaper cures for HIV/AIDS Tuberculosis and other diseases that still plague the developing world today.