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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: Cheryl Dybas Contents of this News Tip:
STEADY GROWTH CONTINUES IN ACADEMIC R&DTotal expenditures for research and development (R&D) in the academic community for science and engineering rose by three and one half percent in fiscal 1996 (1.4 percent inflation-adjusted), according to a newly published National Science Foundation (NSF) Data Brief. While some forecasts still predict future declines in U.S. R&D performance, the newest NSF data brief shows that for 1996, at least, consistency has been maintained across most R&D sectors. R&D expenditures for the year from all non-federal sources, for example, grew at four percent (almost two percent after inflation). Industry's contribution grew fastest, rising six percent overall for the year. The federal government's contribution to total academic R&D remained at 60 percent in 1996, where it has been for the past three years. The social sciences had the single largest increase in academic R&D funding for science and engineering fields, growing by 8.3 percent (6.1 percent after inflation adjustment). Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore maintained a substantial lead
over number two-ranked University of Michigan in 1996 as the leader among
the nation's top 20 institutions for R&D expenditures, primarily due to
inclusion of the Johns Hopkins-based Applied Physics Laboratory. According
to the data brief, the top 20 R&D institutions account for more than a
third of the total federally-sponsored R&D support to academia. EARLY RETURNS IN FROM ICE STATION SHEBAResearchers at Ice Station SHEBA in the Arctic Ocean have found thin ice and remarkably warm and unsalty upper ocean water at the site. To carry out the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) project, a ship has been deliberately frozen in the Arctic sea-ice for an entire year. The ship has now drifted westward with the ice to a point located some 280 miles north of Barrow, Alaska. The ice and ocean conditions measured at Ice Station SHEBA during October and November match climate model simulations of greenhouse warming, though it is not yet known whether the anomalies actually point to longer-term trends. In another preliminary result gathered over the past five months, researchers have succeeded in delineating cloud boundaries, and in distinguishing icy clouds from liquid and mixed-phase clouds. Such techniques help shed light on how Arctic clouds form, dissipate, and affect radiation, all key variables in understanding climate over the Arctic Ocean. SHEBA is coordinated by the University of Washington and funded by the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. For
more information about SHEBA, see http://sheba.apl.washington.edu/ HELPING KIDS BECOME YOUNG SCIENTISTSStudents at Kettering Middle School in Prince Georges County, Maryland, are gearing up to participate in a unique science conference by preparing their own research papers and getting ready to deliver their findings. Hosted by the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) in College Park and the American Institute of Physics, the Student Materials Science Conference is an educational outreach component of the center. NSF funds MRSEC to conduct fundamental research on thin films and surfaces of materials with potential electronic or optical device applications. This pilot learning experience will help prepare the students for high school. Students will develop their science knowledge and presentation skills and participate in a professional conference, working directly with physicists and engineers as mentors. The criteria for selecting students will be the success of their science fair projects. The program may expand next year to include participants from several area schools. Selected students attended a session on presenting a conference paper in February. These students then edited, practiced, and finalized their work during meetings with MRSEC mentors. "The idea is to inspire future scientists and engineers by communicating the usefulness of basic research," said Ellen Williams, MRSEC director. The conference will take place April 1, 1998, from 11a.m.-1p.m. Students will present their papers to teachers, parents, mentors, and friends. The two most outstanding presentations of 15 to be judged will receive awards. For more information, contact Donna Hammer or Zachary Robbins at:
301-405-8349/ info@mrsec.umd.edu,
or see: http://mrsec.umd.edu/eduoutreach/
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