The Warming World: Designing for Climate Change
A workshop held in January 2003 attempted to ascertain how engineers and scientists need to change their practices to account for global warming. Road and bridge damage caused by "increased sediment loads in streams, catastrophic landslides, snow avalanches, and riverside flooding" necessitates a reevaluation of engineering design methods. Eight presentations from the workshop are given in slide form on this Web site. An executive summary is also provided, which outlines some of the proposed cha
The Experimental Virtual Environment
The Experimental Virtual Environment (EVE) is a project being conducted by the Helsinki University of Technology and the high-performance computing and networking center in Finland. The EVE encloses the user inside three walls and a floor that are rear projection screens, and the user can interact with the environment with a head tracking unit and other sensors. A brief introduction is given on the EVE Web site, followed by examples of applications for the system, its current implementation, and
Nobel Laureates in Physics
This Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) website presents the winners of Nobel Prizes in physics since 1901. For each winner, individuals can find short summaries of the scientist's research and his or her places of employment and study. The website supplies links to the universities and to outside resources about the prominent scientists. By analyzing the content in the website, users can begin to appreciate the great progress and advancements that have been made in the field of physics d
Exploring Biodiversity
This new educational resource has been developed by the London's Natural History Museum to help students learn about biodiversity concepts and measures. Teacher resources include a glossary of terms and lesson plans with ideas for working through the online and field sampling activities with students. This is a valuable Web site that promotes an active approach to learning through concept and data investigation. Although the maps and data are specific to the UK, the concepts and lessons are appl
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
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
The Virtual Terrain Project
The Virtual Terrain Project (VTP) homepage has a wealth of information about three dimensional environment rendering, as well as links to many different research efforts and papers about the subject. The project's aim "is to foster the creation of tools for easily constructing any part of the real world in interactive, 3D digital form." Several subtopics are addressed, including plant modeling and realistic ground detailing and texturing. An interesting focus is on cultural aspects of terrain re
ESA: Launchers
The European Space Agency (ESA) furnishes thorough articles and images regarding its launch vehicles, Europe's Spaceport, and technology. Users can find out ESA's launch schedule, plans for next generation launchers, and the past successes of the launch program. The website offers a video of a launch countdown, images of the Ariane 5, and many more media materials. Through the interactive modules, individuals can learn about the stages, boosters, engines, and additional specifics of the launcher
The Volcano Information Center
The Volcano Information Center Web site was designed by Professor Emeritus Richard V. Fisher at University of California at Santa Barbara "to provide links to data and to inform about general volcanology in an organized way, including features of volcanoes, volcanic eruptions and volcanic hazards." Visitors can learn about the benefits of volcanoes, their hazards, eruptions, and volcanic flow, as well as explore provided links to other volcano related sites with current volcanic activity, maps,
Karbosguide.com
A prodigious author of computer science books presents several introductions to computers and computer-related technologies at this site. Eight different guides are available, which cover topics including digital data, motherboard logic, and the computer input/ output interface. The text and accompanying illustrations are not overly technical in nature, and are therefore suitable for almost any audience. A section on digital imaging is under construction as of March 2003; it has information on p
YES Mag: Science Projects
Parents, are you looking for a way to excite your children about science? This website developed by YES Mag, Canada's science magazine for kids, may just have the answer. Users can find numerous fun science activities addressing many of the basic science principles and phenomena including Newton's third law, lightening, wind, and chromatography. Each activity includes pictures to assist in the implementation of the project as well as a convenient printable version. With over thirty-five activiti
Carbon Cycle Science Program
The US Global Change Research Program Carbon Cycle Science Program (last mentioned in the July 19, 2000 Scout Report for Science & Engineering) has been updated to reflect new research, meetings, and publications. Visitors to the current activities section can read about the research plans, which include quantifying the amount of carbon storage in agricultural land, improving carbon exchange quantification methods, and a comparison of atmospheric transport models. Also in this section is a link
What is Design?
Children between the ages of nine and twelve will be drawn into this site that explores the world of design. It encourages "kids to develop critical viewing, technical mastery, artistic awareness, and practical, just, solutions." Many interactive games and activities are available, allowing users to create their own designs and share them with others. For example, children can design their own watch with a simple step-by-step process, and many watches are featured in a gallery. A wealth of infor
Taxi2000
Originally developed at the University of Minnesota, personal rapid transit (PRT) systems are now being explored further by a spin-off company called Taxi2000. The system is designed to operate on raised guideways and is set up in grid formations that can easily be expanded. While still in the planning stages, a great deal of information is presented on the Taxi2000 homepage. Many publications can be downloaded, including detailed descriptions of the Taxi2000 concept and a projection for ridersh
Amby's Math Resources: Order of Operations
This site helps students practice solving problems using the correct order of operations. They will work in a tutorial where they solve each problem using the correct order of operations and then click on the answer. If an incorrect response is chosen, students are given information to help them improve their skills. Included is a pre-test to help assess the student's skills.
Seed Dispersal: Animals
The guest scientist in this two-minute radio program discusses seed dispersal in plants. He first explains why it is important for seeds to be distributed away from the mother plant. Then he contrasts wind-dispersed seeds with animal-dispersed seeds, pointing out that animals can disperse larger seeds that contain more nutrients for an emerging seedling. The program, which is available here in audio and text, is part of a Pulse of the Planet series on seed dispersal. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower Na
Accelerators
What is the purpose of particle accelerators? On this web page, part of a particle physics tutorial, students read that accelerators solve two problems. The accelerators provide an increase in momentum to produce particles of small wavelength, and the fast-moving particles can create new particles when smashed together. A photograph of the inside of a particle accelerator is provided. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
Floor tiles
This Java applet enables students to develop tessellations, which are patterns on a plane that do not overlap. The student is given a square that can be distorted into quadrilateral shapes by dragging its corners. Users can select colors for the alternating quadrilateral pattern, and a button displays information about the quadrilateral in a second window. The window lists the coordinates of the vertices, angle measurements, side lengths, area, and perimeter of the quadrilateral. From the applet
Symmetry and Tessellations
This website provides 30 suggested activities in Symmetry and Tessellations using resources available across the World Wide Web. The author, Jill Britton, has complied this collection of links to coordinate with the chapters and activities from her publication, Investigating Patterns: Symmetry and Tessellations (Grades 5-8). The activities begin with What is Mathematics? and move on to cover topics such as Pythagoras? observations of music, patterns on Ukrainian Easter eggs, and tessellating art
Examine the phases of the moon from Earth and space
This animation is designed to help Earth science students correlate the moon's phases with its orbit around the Earth. The introduction explains that, while the sun always illuminates one half of the moon, the moon's appearance depends on how much of the sunlit moon is facing the Earth. The split-screen animation includes two views of the moon: one from Earth and the other of the moon's orbit around the Earth. Students may toggle between an oblique view of the earth-moon system and a view from a
