 |
      |
 |
 |
||
 |
|
 |
||
 |
|
 |
||
NSF and West VirginiaIn FY 2003, NSF provided 36 awards totaling nearly $8.5 million to 14 institutions in the state of West Virginia. Institutions in West Virginia that received NSF support in FY 2002 include the Fairmont State College, West Liberty State College, Touchstone Research Laboratory, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and Wheeling Jesuit University. Examples of Projects Currently Funded by NSF in the State of West Virginia:Identifying Magnetohydrodynamic Mechanisms of Chromospheric Heating and Flow Generation Using Models with a Realistic description of Transport Processes — The Institute for Scientific Research will develop two models to study non-thermal heating, the generation of directed plasma flows, and energetic particle acceleration processes in solar and stellar atmospheres. A critical component of both simulations will be a realistic description of transport processes in the form of anisotropic tensors for electric and thermal conductivities, as well as viscosity. Such a treatment is necessary when magnetized plasma in neither in a collisionless nor collision-dominated regime. One model will describe the propagation of small amplitude waves in two spatial dimensions with special emphasis on the role of Pedersen currents in heating the plasma where ions are "magnetized." The second model will treat time-dependent shock formation in one spatial dimension and its impact on heating and the formation of supersonic jets. Digital Government: Automated Dental Identification — An award to West Virginia University will support development of tools for rapid identification of individuals based on dental records. The technology proposed has potential for high impact in investigations, such as the World Trade Center, where only dental records are available to aid in victim identification. Technically, the work will involve the creation of a pilot digital image repository, include image manipulation, high-speed databases, neural nets, and parallel computation using a network of work stations. Small Business Innovation Research — An NSF SBIR award to ProLogic will support the investigation of the feasibility of developing temporal extensions to a commercial geographic information system (GIS). In many fields, temporal information is a key part of the domain models. For instance, a demographer studying population changes, and environmental biologist investigating migration patterns, or a public official looking for patterns of criminal activity all need a system that can work with data that have both spatial and temporal dimensions. Temporal extensions would leverage the strength of an existing GIS system and market demand for spatio-temporal support is growing. The research will lead to the development of a marketable product in the form of extension software to be sold to current and future customers of existing GIS systems. Studies of Neotropical Plasmodial Slime Molds — Plasmodial slime molds are fungus-like organisms usually present and often abundant in terrestrial ecosystems. Most of what is know about the assemblages of slime molds associated with particular types of terrestrial ecosystems has been derived from studies in temperate forests; relatively little information is available on assemblages associated with tropical forests. This Research at Undergraduate Institutions project at Fairmont State College seeks to characterize the assemblages of species associated with microhabitats and vegetation types in the Neotropics. The project will include several undergraduates as active participants, and collaborations developed with scientists in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, England, Spain, Russia, and Germany will be continued. For more information on West Virginia and NSF, please contact the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs at 703-292-8070. Useful Links: West
Virginia State Government |
||||
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |