Paleontological Research Institution: Touring the Collections
The Paleontological Research Institution has a museum containing "a world-class collection, containing everything from dinosaur eggs of China to one of the most comprehensive Paleozoic trilobite, brachiopod, coral and crinoid collections in the United States." The Touring the Collections page allows visitors to view some of the museums most valued items. Students can currently choose from either arthropods or echinoderms, and then from several subcategories from the virtual specimen drawers. The
History of Energy
This latest Topic in Depth delves in the Web�s offerings on the history of energy. The first site is maintained by the US Department of Energy, which is called Milestones in the History of Energy and Its Uses (1). From fire to the discovery of nuclear energy, the site gives short descriptions on significant events in the history of energy for each century, events by particular fuel type, events by energy uses, how energy uses have changed, energy consumption changes, and more. The next site
National Environmental Data Index
The National Environmental Data Index is maintained by the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration Environmental Information Service. The service provides a full text search of information from twelve governmental agencies including the US Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA. Users can choose to search from all or individual agencies, by type of information, and by several specific subjects. Results display th
The Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies
The Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas "brings together the considerable expertise of a network of researchers with a long-standing history of GIS development at the University." Visitors of the site will find links to geo-data delivery systems, interactive mapping programs, reports and publications, and a wide array of other geographical information related to the state. One highlight is the newly released GeoStor version 2.0, which allows users "seamless acc
Brain Explorer
Brain Explorer is an educational Web site from the Lundbeck Institute that provides a highly visual and informative tour of the brain. Brain Atlas offers a good starting point, with well-designed diagrams of the brain and spinal cord, detailed explanatory information, and a handy pop-up glossary (which contains great graphics of its own). The section titled Neurological Control describes neuron structure and function. Other features include a section on brain disorders and an extensive image gal
Human Genome Project Information: DNA Forensics
A detailed introduction to DNA forensic identification can be found on this Web site, provided by the US Human Genome Project (coordinated by the Department of Energy and the national Institutes of Health). The site includes descriptions of or links to a number of fascinating case studies, such as proving the son of executed French King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette did indeed die as a child in prison, and testing claims that African Lemba tribesmen are directly descended from the ancient tribe
Caltech-MIT/ Voting Technology Project
In light of the 2000 presidential election controversy and troubles with voting in Florida, the Caltech/ MIT Voting Technology Project (VTP) was formed to evaluate election systems to prevent these problems from recurring. Several studies and press releases by the VTP are documented on its home page, including one that found a "35% improvement in Florida's voting technology" for the 2002 election, as compared to past primaries. A detailed report is also presented that examines the current state
Catalogue of New World Grasses
This website was developed by agrostologists from several institutions to present the Catalogue of New World Grasses (CNWG). CNWG is "an on-going project to database ...and link all nomenclature, types, synonymy, current taxonomy, and distribution for grasses occurring from Alaska and Greenland to Tierra del Fuego." CNWG uses TROPICOS and provides a search mechanism whereby one can enter scientific names and receive current information on his or her entries. CNWG also offers three indices-Accept
Energy Ideas Clearinghouse
The Energy Ideas Clearinghouse, managed by the Washington State University Extension Energy Program and supported by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, offers over 5,000 resources on energy efficiency. The resources are arranged by topic or by business type. Some of the topics include: appliances, heating/cooling, lighting, motors, and renewables. Businesses range from agricultural to residential to commercial. The website also has a section with links to recent news stories regarding ene
Conservation International: Biodiversity Hotspots
The nonprofit organization Conservation International (CI) aims to "conserve Earth's living natural heritage, our global diversity, and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature." This Web site from CI's Center for Applied Biodiversity Science explains how biodiversity hotspots are designated and offers visitors a look at efforts to protect "these biologically rich areas around the world under significant threat of destruction." The highlight of this site is t
Atrevida: Game Programming Tutorials
Although it is labeled as an introduction to PC game programming, the tutorials given on Atrevida additionally cover many aspects of mathematics and general computer science. A modest background in the C language is suggested, but many of the sections involve more theory than actual programming. There are nearly twenty topics that explain basic computer operation, graphics programming, and the 80x86 assembler. A very interesting section describes sound waves and compression techniques, while ano
Jantar Mantar: The Astronomical Observatories of Jai Singh II
This website, created by the Cornell University Professor of Art, Barry Perlus, presents the five astronomical observatories in west central India. After reading a short introduction to the observatories, users can explore interactive panoramas of the observatories, built in the 18th century, using QuickTime. The website also offers still images and animations of the Samrat Yantra. Visitors can learn about the latest design plans and additions to the website. The website features downloads of ar
University of Maryland: Astronomy Workshop
Professor Douglas P. Hamilton and his students at the University of Maryland created this website to provide individuals with astronomy tools and tutorials. At the Astronomy Classroom, students can create scaled models, find out how long it takes to get to interesting places in the Universe, and explore the history of the cosmos. The website offers solar system calculators, animations of solar objects' orbits, simulations of the seasons, and much more. Visitors can also check out the newest addi
Ultrascale Simulation for Science
When Japan's Earth Simulator supercomputer eclipsed its US counterparts in terms of speed and processing power, America was faced with a challenge to regain its dominance of supercomputing capability. The Ultrascale Web site studies this challenge, and the implications it has on the nation's scientific objectives. Several short documents about the importance of and applications for ultrascale simulation are given on this page. Generally between one and two pages, the papers are mostly from the U
Adventure of Echo the Bat
NASA, the US Geological Survey, and the National Biological Information Infrastructure have partnered to create this interactive multimedia adventure to teach grade school children about remote sensing. The Adventure of Echo is an interactive story about a young bat that introduces students to the ideas of remote sensing, habitat, and biodiversity. Available both online and in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, the teacher's guide gives introductions and lesson plans under the headings of Understandin
Sloan Digital Sky Survey
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey "will map in detail one-quarter of the entire sky, determining the positions and absolute brightnesses of more than 100 million celestial objects" as well as "measure the distances to more than a million galaxies and quasars." The website details the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) mapmaking strategies, timelines, survey progress, and project goals. Visitors can view the many fantastic images collected at the Apache Point Observatory, the site of the SDSS tel
Geophysical Studies of the Las Vegas Urban Corridor
The Geophysical Studies of the Las Vegas Urban Corridor Area are part of an integrated effort to "geologically characterize the seismic hazards, water resources, and crustal structure of this rapidly growing urban corridor" by the USGS. The informational Web site contains a gravity map of the Las Vegas region, an aeromagnetic map, and a publications link with a list of over a dozen references. Seven of these publications are freely available for download with titles such as "Aeromagnetic Survey
Gflow 2000
Gflow 2000, which was developed by Haitjema Software, is described as a highly efficient stepwise groundwater flow modeling system. It is based on the analytic element method and models steady state flow in a single heterogeneous aquifer using the Dupuit-Forchheimer assumption, and is particularly suitable for modeling regional horizontal flow. The free educational version of the software is available for download from the site, as well as descriptions of the analytic method, stepwise modeling,
Astromaterials Curation
"The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at the Johnson Space Center is tasked to curate NASA's current and future collections of extraterrestrial samples." The website divides the collections into six categories: Rocks and Soils from the Moon, Meteorites from Antarctica, Stratospheric Dust, Solar Wind, Space-Exposed Hardware, and Stardust Mission Samples. Besides learning how to receive and return the samples, users can find newsletters and information on discoveries made using the s
ECOTOX Database System
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides this database of chemical toxicity. Three individual EPA databases are combined to provide information on chemical-specific toxicity values for aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. Users can search for research reports by chemical name, species name, or environmental effect. The site has informative help files and browse features. This Web site is useful for evaluating industrial chemicals or for environmental assessment research.
