 |
      |
 |
 |
||
 |
|
 |
||
 |
|
 |
||
|
For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer at the end of each item at (703) 306-1070. Editor: Peter West Contents of this News Tip:
NSF Supports Workshop on Internet VotingThe National Science Foundation (NSF) has made a $95,000 grant to the Washington D.C.-based Internet Policy Institute (IPI) -an independent, nonprofit organization -- to organize a workshop that will examine the feasibility of Internet voting on a national scale. The October workshop, which will be held in the nation's capital, will help chart a course for research into this complex issue. Although there have been some limited, local experiments with Internet voting, President Clinton instructed NSF last December to study ways to overcome barriers to making online voting much more widely available. Some concerns that surround Internet voting include security, privacy and authentication. The President also asked NSF to examine social aspects of the problem, including access to telecommunications. The workshop's organizing committee is chaired by C. Dan Mote, the president of the University of Maryland, and includes former NSF director Erich Bloch. The grant comes from NSF's Digital Government Program, part of the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). Panel discussions during the two-day public workshop will feature about 30 invited experts from government, the private sector and academia. IPI expects to issue a preliminary report on the workshop's findings in December 2000. [Tom Garritano] For more information about IPI, see http://www.internetpolicy.org/ Airborne Sea Salt Particles Influence Air PollutionNSF-supported scientists have shown that sea salt particles -- a common ingredient of coastal and ocean air -- undergo a previously unrecognized chemical reaction in daylight to release chlorine molecules, which can influence ozone levels in the lower atmosphere. Researchers Barbara Finlayson-Pitts and Donald Dabdub of the University of California at Irvine have discovered that, in sunlight, chlorine molecules decompose into highly reactive chlorine atoms. When these atoms are formed in the presence of pollutants emitted from fossil-fuel energy sources such as oil, coal and gasoline, they may lead to the formation of ground-level ozone. Because ground-level ozone has proven detrimental health effects at quite low levels, both state and federal authorities have established air quality standards for this pollutant. "The ocean is two-thirds of the earth's surface, so to understand global climate issues and the chemistry of air pollution in coastal regions, you need to take into account the role of sea salt particles," explains Finlayson-Pitts. Dabdub plans to introduce the information on sea-salt chlorine creation into a computer model that analyzes and predicts the air quality of the South Coast Air Basin of California -- a populous coastal area that records some of the highest levels of air pollution in the U.S. -- to gauge its effects on ozone levels and other pollutants. [Cheryl Dybas] NSF-Funded Software Helps Put Math on The WebEverything mathematical -- from Einstein's equations to algorithms for three-dimensional visualizations -- can now be more easily displayed on the World Wide Web, thanks to software developed with NSF support. WebEQ, a suite of computer applications for displaying and editing mathematical equations, was developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota's Geometry Center. Originally developed to help scientists communicate mathematics over the Internet, the software has become popular as a teaching aid for demonstrating mathematical concepts such as calculus and string theory. It is now being marketed by Design Science, Inc. "As a research project WebEQ found applications all over the world, but the real success of WebEQ is one of technology transfer," said Robert Miner, who led the development of WebEQ and now works for Design Science. "For a technology to make a significant difference, it needs to enter the market, and WebEQ has achieved that step." [Amber Jones] For more information, see http://www.webeq.com
|
||||
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |