Getting Warmer?

Scientists Kick Off Major Field Experiment on Role of Aerosols in Climate Change
Pollutants known as aerosols play a role in cooling the planet and mitigating the effects of global warming. Scientists from around the world are now trying to find out how; the intensive field phase of an experiment sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) began in February. The $25-million Indian Ocean Experiment, or INDOEX, will be coordinated by the Center for Clouds, Chemistry and Climate (C4) at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). "INDOEX scientists will document the chemical and physical properties of natural and human-produced atmospheric aerosols and use these observations to study and model the complex interactions among atmospheric aerosols, clouds and climate," says Jay Fein, program director in NSF's division of atmospheric sciences, which funds INDOEX.    More...

NSF-Supported New Scientists and Engineers Receive Presidential Award
President Clinton awarded 20 National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported researchers, including nine women and three minorities, with the 1998 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) on February 10. This third annual presidential award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding new scientists and engineers who are in the early stages of establishing their independent research careers. "These are the 'Golden Globe Awards' for the Albert Einsteins and Marie Curies of tomorrow -- our nation's most promising scientist and engineering educators," said NSF Director Rita Colwell.    More...

Adaptive Technologies Encourage Independent Learning
James Lynds runs a small defense engineering company in Farmington, Utah. Following the birth of his granddaughter Darci, who has physical disabilities, he was inspired to develop products that could help the disabled use computers. First, with his own funds, he designed an external box called "Darci Too," which could be used in place of a keyboard and mouse configuration. Then, with the help of an NSF grant, Lynds expanded this technology into the "Darci card," a PC card that enables the user to activate the computer with either an on-screen keyboard or Morse Code.    More...

Video and Data Link Provides Unique "Seal's Eye View" of the World
Imagine a lion, poised to bring down its prey, drawing and holding a breath, then giving chase for 20 minutes. Few, if any, large land-based predators could do such a thing. But seals and other marine mammals regularly do. Now a team of researchers, supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), has devised a way to enter the alien world of Antarctic Weddell seals as they hunt. Using a small video system and data logger attached to the seals' backs, they have tracked the animals below the sea ice of McMurdo Sound.    More...