Skip To Content Skip To Left Navigation
NSF Logo Search GraphicGuide To Programs GraphicImage Library GraphicSite Map GraphicHelp GraphicPrivacy Policy Graphic
OLPA Header Graphic
 
     
 

News Tip

 


December 29, 1999

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) 292-8070. Editor: Amber Jones

Earthquake Network Intended to Help Save Lives and Money

A computer network linking experimentation facilities at universities across the country promises to change the face of earthquake research. The National Science Foundation (NSF) will make available to the entire earthquake engineering community monitoring and testing equipment, modeling capabilities and an integrated data repository by bringing multiple facilities under one "virtual roof." The Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation will help meet the national need of reducing and mitigating the effects of earthquakes and make more efficient use of the government's investment in earthquake science and engineering.

More than 30 U.S. institutions now have some kind of experimentation facilities, including shake tables that simulate earthquake motions, frames for testing structures and geotechnical instruments for testing soils.

Starting in 2000, the five-year NSF program will provide funds to develop the network, develop and upgrade equipment, provide real-time teleobservations and create mobile and field test facilities. [Amber Jones]

For more information, see: http://www.eng.nsf.gov/nees/About_NEES/about_nees.htm

Top of Page

S&E; Graduate Enrollments Continue Downward Spiral

The number of graduate students enrolled in science and engineering (S&E;) programs at U.S. institutions declined for the fifth straight year in 1998, according to a data brief published by NSF's Division of Science Resources Studies.

S&E; graduate enrollments dropped to an eight-year low of 405,280 in 1998 after peaking at nearly 436,000 in 1993.

The trend was different among minority groups, however. African-American enrollments in S&E; graduate programs continued on a decade-long increase, reaching more than 19,600 in 1998, up from the approximately 12,770 counted in 1990. Hispanic enrollments in graduate S&E; programs also continued to rise, from just over 10,000 in 1990 to almost 15,600 in 1998. Hispanic graduate S&E; enrollments have declined only once during the decade, in 1993.

Among science fields, the social sciences had the biggest percentage decline (2.6 percent) in graduate enrollments in 1998. In engineering, there were sharp declines in graduate enrollments for industrial/manufacturing engineering (5.8 percent) and civil engineering (4.0 percent). Overall, graduate enrollments in engineering hit a peak in 1992 (over 118,000) and by 1998 were down to almost 100,000. The data are from NSF's 1998 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering. [Bill Noxon]

For more information see: http://nsf.gov/sbe/srs/databrf/sdb00307.htm

Top of Page

Tiny Sensors Could Detect Patients' Signs

NSF-supported researchers at the University of Kentucky have created tiny, thin-film sensors that can help measure conditions such as pressure, temperature and viscosity inside the human body, holding promise for minimally invasive medical diagnostic techniques. The sensors can even analyze chemical information such as pH and carbon dioxide concentrations in the stomach.

The sensors consist of tiny pieces of magnetic tape coated with polymers that are swallowed by a patient. When exposed to a magnetic field, the sensors emit magnetic signals whose frequencies change with differing conditions in the body. The frequencies can be measured from outside the body, requiring no physical connection to the sensors.

The price is right, too: materials for one sensor are expected to cost about one-tenth of a cent. [Amber Jones]

Top of Page

 

 
 
     
 

 
National Science Foundation
Office of Legislative and Public Affairs
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22230, USA
Tel: 703-292-8070
FIRS: 800-877-8339 | TDD: 703-292-5090
 

NSF Logo Graphic