2004

2003

2002

Team Probes Pluto's Atmosphere During Cosmic Event

 
Astronomers who observed a rare cosmic event in July have announced that Pluto's atmosphere has undergone drastic changes in the past 14 years. Pluto, the farthest planet from the sun, has never been seen clearly from Earth, or even from space telescopes. However, in an "occultation" on July 19, the planet passed directly in front of the star P126A, blocking the star's light. Marc Buie of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Oscar Saa of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile used a 14-inch portable telescope in northern Chile to observe the event. By recording the dimming of the starlight, Buie's team was able to calculate the density, pressure and temperature of Pluto's atmosphere.
Read the full story . ... posted 8/29/02

 

Recipients of the Most Distinguished Prizes in Mathematical Sciences Are Announced

 
NSF Director Rita Colwell congratulated Vladimir Voevodsky and Madhu Sudan, recipients of the most distinguished prizes in the mathematical sciences, in a statement issued today. "Their accomplishments reflect the recognition that mathematics underlies all fields of science and engineering…. We are proud that NSF has supported the groundbreaking work of these honorees," noted Colwell. Voevodsky, currently at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., shares the 2002 Fields Medal with Laurent Lafforgue, a colleague in France. The Fields Medal is the world's highest honor for mathematical research. Sudan, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is receiving the 2002 Rolf Nevanlinna Prize, which recognizes outstanding work in the mathematical aspects of computer science.
Read the full story . ... posted 8/20/02

 

National Tragedy Survey Reveals Continuing Impact of 9/11

 
Although most Americans returned to their normal activities with resilience after the events of September 11, 2001, the impact of the tragedy continued to be felt throughout society, reports the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago in a follow-up to an earlier NSF-supported study. A research team found that people's feeling of national pride, enhanced by public response to the 9/11 events, continued to be unusually high. The researchers also found that people's faith in others, which was also heightened by the response to the events, did not fade with the passing of time.
Read the full story . ... posted 8/19/02

 

Images from the Western Shelf-Basins Interactions Cruise Aboard the Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy

 
More than 30 NSF-funded scientists conducted research aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, a specially equipped icebreaker, in July and August as part of the Western Shelf-Basins Interactions cruise. The research program is designed to understand how the shallow and deep areas of the Arctic Ocean work together to support life, whether there are indicators of earlier climate change and what predictions might be made about the future of the Arctic shelves. A slide show illustrates two days in the life of researchers on the SBI cruise.
Read more about SBI and view slides . ... posted 8/16/02

 

Internet Link Moves Gemini Closer to Becoming "Cyber Observatory"

 
Astronomers and officials in the United States and Chile on Aug. 13 inaugurated a high-speed Internet connection for Gemini Observatory's telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, putting Gemini well on the way to becoming an international "cyber observatory." The connection, developed with NSF funding and support, will allow real-time remote observations and sharing of scientific data generated by Gemini's twin 8-meter telescopes located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and on Cerro Pachón in the Chilean Andes. The link's capabilities were demonstrated at a four-way videoconference at NSF in Arlington, Va., Florida International University in Miami, Fla., and the telescope's headquarters in Hilo, Hi., and La Serena, Chile.
Photo courtesy: Gemini Observatory
Read the full story . ... posted 8/14/02

 

School Rooftops Catch the Rays in Statewide Experiment

 
The rooftops of schools throughout Nebraska are becoming high-energy physics research stations as part of the Cosmic Ray Observatory Project, one of the numerous summer learning programs supported by NSF. During the summer, students and teachers gathered at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, to learn how to collect data to study cosmic rays, particles that arrive from space in extensive showers. The four-year project began in 2000 and will eventually place equipment in all of the state's 314 high schools. Students use computers to gather information on cosmic ray showers and then compare their findings with those of students in schools elsewhere in the state.
Read the full story . ... posted 8/14/02

 

Positive Outlook Aids Americans Distressed by 9/11

 
The search for goodness in oneself and others, or a form of behavior called "moral cleansing," led to recovery for many Americans distressed by 9/11 events. Those people who made efforts to improve themselves or did something positive, such as donate blood or fly an American flag, were more likely to become politically tolerant and come to an earlier sense of closure after the events, according to NSF-supported research by a University of Illinois team led by Linda Skitka, associate professor of psychology, and researchers Christopher Bauman and Elizabeth Mullen.
Read the full story . ... posted 8/9/02