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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: Peter West Contents of this News Tip:
Photosynthesis in a Beaker: Energy Harnessed From the SunThe African violet on your windowsill converts sunlight into a high-energy fuel in a complicated, yet very efficient, process that scientists have been unable to duplicate. However, National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported researchers have taken an interim step toward harnessing and storing the energy of sunlight, through a type of artificial photosynthesis. Their work, reported in the August 31 issue of Science, could be useful in the development of cheap, clean energy sources. In photosynthesis, plants collect and store energy from sunlight for future use. Daniel G. Nocera, a chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and former graduate student Alan F. Heyduk developed a compound that collects and stores energy from a light source, in the form of hydrogen gas. Creating a molecule to replace a leaf -- essentially, photosynthesis in a beaker -- could help revive interest in the sun as a source of energy, Nocera believes. "We have been seeking a future alternative fuel source by studying the principles that govern the conversion of photon energy into chemical potential," he said. The goal of the project was to trap the energy of the
absorbed light in a structurally well-defined molecule
and control the subsequent reactions to convert this
energy into hydrogen. Researchers Study Currents Off Oregon CoastA major NSF-funded research project off the Oregon coast this summer will examine the complex forces that move ocean waters. Scientists supported by a five-year, $9 million NSF grant will also study life forms, and the debris between the shoreline and deeper waters. The findings have implications for fisheries management, pollution control, coastal tourism, shipping, and the control of invasive species, among other issues. "A great deal is known about the currents off the Pacific Coast that transport water and sand in northerly and southerly directions," says Jack Barth, an oceanographer at Oregon State University in Corvallis and one of the study's lead investigators. "Much less is known about the transport of waters across the continental shelf: how do things move in an east-west direction? Wind is a key factor, but so are the topography of the ocean floor, temperature, and weather." The aftermath of the sinking of the ship New Carissa in 1999 off Coos Bay, Oregon helps to illustrate the importance of understanding of these processes. Hundreds of gallons of oil leaked from the vessel and, in spite of the use of sophisticated models of currents and wind direction, the oil washed up on beaches and in estuaries in surprising places. These predictions, scientists believe, could be improved with a better understanding of offshore processes. [Cheryl Dybas] New Web Site Unifies Advanced Computing ResourcesScientists who would like to use high-end computational resources provided through NSF's Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (PACI) program can now find all the information they need at a new Web site, http://www.paci.org. The new site focuses exclusively on the needs of researchers who use high-performance computing systems. Each year more than 5,000 scientists from across the U.S. use PACI resources for simulation, data analysis and scientific visualization. Combining information about the two PACI partnerships -- the National Computational Science Alliance (Alliance) and the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI) -- and the Terascale Computing System at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), the site features a specialized grid computing portal, the PACI HotPage (https://hotpage.paci.org). This allows users to view the status of PACI resources and supports secure, interactive access to those resources. For the first time, researchers may submit resource-allocation proposals online. The site also provides hardware and software information, user guides, information on consulting, security and training, and a link to science success stories made possible through the use of PACI resources. [Tom Garritano]
NSF is an independent federal agency which supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of about $4.5 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states, through grants to about 1,800 universities and institutions nationwide. Each year, NSF receives about 30,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 10,000 new funding awards.
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