Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
In what looks to be an incredibly successful partnership, the universities of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon have teamed up in an "investigation of the neural mechanisms that give rise to human cognitive abilities..." This site, the online home for the center is packed full of interesting resources for researchers, prospective students, and graduate students alike. The Research section is immensely well organized and fruitful. There is even a way to search for research based on Methods, Topics,
ALICE: A Large Ion Collider Experiment at CERN LHC
This website features the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) collaboration's aim to "study the physics of strongly interacting matter at extreme energy densities, where the formation of a new phase of matter, the quark-gluon plasma, is expected." The Public section of the website features the construction plan for the detector located at CERN, which will be optimized for heavy-ion physics. Visitors can learn how the collaboration, consisting of one-thousand members from twenty-seven countri
Human Evolution
The first Web site is an article from the New York Times (1) detailing some recent fossil discoveries that are shaking the paleontological world (free registration is required). Another relatively recent article from Guardian Unlimited (2) discusses a scientific debate surrounding the question of whether "a Western lifestyle now protects humanity from the forces that used to shape Homo sapiens." The third resource (3) includes a likely timeline of events in the history of hominids and a tour of
Human Identification at a Distance
The Georgia Institute of Technology is conducting research on Human Identification at a Distance, with an emphasis on gait recognition. Supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the project's development of gait recognition systems and algorithms is "an example of an activity-specific biometric: a method of extracting some identifying properties of an individual or of an individual's behavior that is only applicable when a person is performing that specific action." Sev
Earthguide
Earthguide is an educational resource for students and teachers developed by the California Space Institute at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California San Diego. Features include in-depth stories, brief topics, and news -- all related to a variety of oceanic and atmospheric science subjects. The section of links and resources is quite valuable, with a large number of links organized by topic, many with brief descriptions.
Deep Content: Guide to Effective Searching of the Internet
This outstanding website is, without question, one of the most comprehensive online resources for learning efficient Internet search techniques. The guide begins with some fairly non-technical background about the Internet and explains why searching such a massive amount of information is more complex than it seems. The general process used by search engines to rank webpages is described. After covering the fundamentals of search engine operation, the guide discusses some best practices to use w
Laboratory of Michael Blades
Located within the Chemistry Department at the University of British Columbia, the Laboratory of Michael Blades studies the "development, characterization, and application of optical and mass spectroscopic methods for chemical analysis." Visitors can download posters to learn about the group's work involving two and three laser ion trap mass spectrometry and fluorescence spectroscopy. The website discusses the group's creation of atmospheric pressure plasma on a chip as a new way of forming an a
Base Valued Numbers
Most basic math classes are taught using the decimal number system, but the concept of number systems that use a base value other than ten is rarely mentioned. This educational website attempts to shed light on this overlooked theme by illustrating some common number systems that have practical value or historic significance. The material is very well presented, helping the reader to understand how numbers are represented in binary, octal, hexadecimal, and many other number systems. It also demo
The Federal Commons
In 1999, the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act was passed in order to force the development of federal electronic grant processing. A result of the legislation, the Federal Commons portal gives "grantees (state and local governments, universities, small businesses, etc.) full service grants processing across all functions in the grant life cycle." While providing only an entrance to various grant institutions and services, the Federal Commons helps to eliminate the maze-lik
Standards and Interoperability
The Standards and Interoperability Web site is provided by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) to "provide a reliable network of standards-related information for use by NIMA, its contractors, and the Imagery and Geospatial Community as a whole." The main page contains links to pages that contain data architecture information from the National System for Geospatial Intelligence, geospatial and imagery standards from the oversees geospatial and imagery community, national imagery trans
Quaternary Studies
First, the Irish Quaternary Association (IQUA) website publicizes its aim "to promote Quaternary studies in Ireland through its publications, and the organization of field meetings and conferences" (1). Visitors can learn about the importance of quaternary studies as well as find out the latest news and upcoming meetings. At the second website, the University of Wisconsin-Madison describes the current and recent studies dealing with "basic and applied problems in glacial geology, surficial geolo
The Common Cold
When winter rolls around and we begin to spend more time indoors, the common cold becomes an unfortunate reality for many of us. But for something as common as the cold, misconceptions about it are remarkably common as well. The following collection of Web sites provides an in-depth look at the cold and the cold virus.The first site (1) comes from the Common Cold Care Center of Cardiff University in Wales, and offers a thorough and highly readable introduction to the common cold, including secti
Wayne's Word: Lemnaceae
This instructional website on Lemnaceae--aka the Duckweed family--was created by Professor Wayne P. Armstrong of Palomar College. The informative site contains concise text sections accompanied by excellent images and diagrams of duckweeds. Site visitors will also find A Key to the Genera of Lemnaceae, a Worldwide Lemnaceae Species List, and descriptions of Species of Lemnaceae In Western North America. This site is housed within Armstrong's larger website, Wayne's Word: An Online Natural Histor
Addison Wesley Longman: Internet Projects for Elementary Statistics
This educational site is suggested as an extension to a statistics text book, but the material is also beneficial as a stand-alone resource. It uses data sources from many other Internet sites to illustrate statistical concepts. In one chapter, for example, trends in the rise of women in the work force are used to show how to analyze wage differences between males and females. In all, there are fourteen chapters that use a similar approach to teach the basics of averages, histograms, confidence
Plants in Motion
Roger P. Hangarter of Indiana University's Department of Biology has created this wonderful collection of time-lapse photography that allows us "to see the movements of plants and clearly demonstrates that plants are living and capable of some extraordinary things. " The videos available show a broad range of plant growth phenomena, including germination, circadian responses, phototropism, and much more. The movies are fun to watch in and of themselves, but don't miss out on the informative desc
Exploring the Future of Learning
ThinkQuest is a worldwide collaboration of students and educators that explores "youth-centered learning on the Net." A conference held by ThinkQuest in July 2002, called Exploring the Future of Learning, focused on emerging technologies and ideas to improve global education methods. This Web site presents several articles about the conference that were written by student journalists who attended the event. The articles highlight technology trends and new innovations, as well as the experiences
MultiMedia Schools
"MultiMedia Schools (MMS) is a practical how-to magazine sharply focused on the needs of school practitioners." It is published six times a year, and roughly half of its articles are made available for free online. In the last issue of 2002, the editorial offers suggestions for how school media specialists can take advantage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Other articles discuss a proposed technology-integrated teaching system, tools and techniques to continuously improve and adapt to c
Imagiverse: Engineering and Technology
Imagiverse has been developed by a team of people inspired by former students of Montessori School of Corona, Calif., who "believe that imagination is the key to learning." The group offers here a collection of interviews with people who work in various fields, including engineering and technology, as one way to "spark the flame that will lead young and old to pursue learning as an adventure through imagination." The Activities section also includes some lesson ideas such as a robotics project a
EDTech: National Study of the Effectiveness of Educational Technology Interventions
This website presents findings from an ongoing study of the effectiveness of educational technology in improving student academic achievement and conditions and practices that are related to the effects of educational technology. The National Study of the Effectiveness of Educational Technology Interventions is funded by the Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences and is being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., and its subcontractor, SRI International. The three-ye
Bridge Building: Art and Science
This site is one of the most substantial, comprehensive sources on the Internet dedicated to bridge design and history. It has an incredible list of sections from which to choose, and each describes a particular bridge type or characteristic. Several pictures are included from all over the world that give examples of arch, truss, suspension, and many other bridge designs. There are also explanations of forces that act upon bridges, as well as what issues are considered when choosing the kind of
