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  March 13, 2000: Highlights

This Just In ...

Medal of Science See the Medals of Science Live
President Clinton will bestow the twelve 1999 National Medals of Science and five National Medals of Technology, the nation's highest science and technology honors, on Tuesday, March 14 in a White House ceremony. Live video satellite feeds will begin at 2:00 p.m. EST, and the ceremony is scheduled to begin at approximately 2:30 p.m. EST. A live web cast of the ceremony will also be available.    More...

Quasar Newfound Quasar Wins Title: "Most Distant in the Universe"
If Guinness had a Book of Cosmic Records, a newly discovered quasar in the constellation Cetus would make the front page. This distant quasar easily skates past the previous record holder, placing it among the earliest known structures ever to form in the Universe. A team of astronomers identified the candidate after nights of deep (long-exposure) imaging at the California Institute of Technology's 200-inch (5-meter) Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory, Calif., and at the National Science Foundation's 157 inch (4-meter) Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak, Ariz. A spectral analysis of the quasar’s light was then completed at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. "As soon as we saw the spectrum, we knew we had something special," said Dr. Daniel Stern of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., who played a key role in the discovery.    More...

Education Report Shows Students Improving in Math and Science Preparation
High school students nationwide are graduating with more courses in science and math, according to a recent report from the Council of Chief State School Officers, but teacher preparation and supply varies widely by state. The report, which covers 1990 to 1998, was developed with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in cooperation with state departments of education. It examined state-by-state trends in student achievement, content and instruction, teacher preparation and supply, and context and conditions of teaching. The report is valuable, says Larry Suter, deputy director for research, evaluation and communication at NSF, because "it shows that students are taking more courses in math and science and performing better."    More...

Gabon, Africa Global Seismographic Network Establishes Internet
Connection to Remote Africa

In remote equatorial Africa, university students are now able to access high-speed Internet service for the first time, thanks to a collaboration between an African university and the Global Seismographic Network (GSN), funded by NSF and run by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). IRIS scientists worked with officials in Gabon, Africa, to gain access to seismic data from a newly installed GSN station near Franceville, Gabon. With the help of the President of Gabon, the Universite des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku cost-shared a satellite link for telemetering seismic data. Seismic data from this remote region is now flowing to U.S. scientists, and the first Internet access is available to the university and its medical research center.    More...

Antarctica Marine Biology Course Uses Antarctica as its Classroom
Commuting to class on the world's southernmost continent isn't easy. But the campus, located a few hundred miles from the South Pole and on the edge of a unique marine ecosystem, offers unparalleled opportunities to explore biology's frigid frontiers. The National Science Foundation (NSF), which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), annually opens its facilities at McMurdo Station on Ross Island to host an unusual graduate-level course in marine biology. This year, 24 students -- the majority from the United States but also others from the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands -- traveled to Antarctica to study creatures unique to the Southern Ocean and their strategies for surviving at the extreme limits of life on earth.    More...

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