Educating for the 21st Century

NSF Director Appointed to Glenn Commission
Highlighting the need to find, educate, train, develop and keep high quality teachers for K-12 math and science education, NSF director Rita R. Colwell has accepted an appointment to the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Education for the 21st Century. The 26-member commission, formed by Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley and chaired by former U.S. Senator and astronaut John Glenn, seeks to develop a strategy to improve the quality of science and mathematics education nationwide. "What a unique opportunity we have, 30 years after America’s first moon landing, to reinvigorate the process which John Glenn did so much to inspire. I look forward with great enthusiasm to serving him on this important and distinguished body of individuals who will develop a strategy to raise the bar for mathematics and science teaching in our nation," noted Colwell.    More...

National Science Board Approves Five New NSF Science and Technology Centers
The National Science Board (NSB) on July 29 approved five new National Science Foundation (NSF) Science and Technology Centers (STCs), agreeing to commit almost $94 million over five years in a range of important scientific and technological areas. "We are delighted to have this wide range of projects before us that hold so much promise for discovery, while creating such exciting educational components," Deborah Crawford, program manager in NSF's Office of Integrative Activities, said. Among the STCs approved, is a new center for water sustainability, led by the University of Arizona. The university has established a complex partnership among a host of universities, government labs and private sources to explore water management in semi-arid regions, a particularly contentious issue that will be studied from the scientific, social, political and educational perspectives.    More...

African Dust May Be Major Factor Affecting Southeast U.S. Air Quality
Large quantities of dust, originating in Africa, are blown across the Atlantic Ocean each summer and constitute up to one half of breathable particles in the air over Miami, Florida, according to a new study funded in part by the NSF. African dust can on certain days push the total number of airborne particles above the limit set by the Clean Air Act. The study, by Joseph Prospero of the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, appeared in the July 20 issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, published by the American Geophysical Union. Describing himself as a "champion of dust," Prospero reviewed 23 years of measurements of airborne particles, or aerosols, at a coastal site in Miami.    More...

South Pole Medical Air Drop
Personnel at the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station braved intense cold and used everything from muscle power to front-end loaders to successfully recover six bundles of medical supplies and other equipment that the U.S. Air Force delivered on July 11 to treat a woman who is spending the winter at the station. The 47-year-old woman, who has asked not to be identified, recently discovered a lump in one of her breasts.    More...