Award Data

THE THREE-WAY CATALYTIC CONVERTER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVICE MAKING TODAY'S AUTOMOBILES COMPLY WITH EXISTING EMISSION LAWS. THE FIRST TWO OR THREE MILES IN A TYPICAL 22-MINUTE, 12-MILE COMUTE IN TODAY'S VEHICLES RESULT IN THE EMISSION OF HALF OF THE TOTAL NON-METHANE HYDROCARBONS, WHICH RESULT IN THE PRODUCTION OF URBAN SMOG, AS WELL AS HALF OF THE TOXIC CO EMISSIONS. THIS OCCURS BECAUSE THE CAT ...

FERROELECTRIC SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS ARE BEING CREATED BY CHEMICALLY MODIFYING MONOLAYERS OF ADSORBED N-ALKANETHIOLS IN VACUUM. THE SURFACE POTENTIALS OF THE RESULTING THIN FILMS ARE MEASURED AS A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE AND PYROELECTRIC COEFFICIENTS AND FIGURES OF MERIT FOR THE MODIFIED FILMS DERIVED. THESE MONOLAYERS SHOULD BE EXCELLENT MATERIALS FOR ADVANCED ROOM TEMPERATURE PYROELECTRIC D ...

ANALYSIS OF THE STABLE ISOTOPES IN ATMOSPHERIC METHANE SAMPLES CAN BE USED TO IDENTIFY LOCAL SOURCES AND TO DEFINE THE GLOBAL BUDGET OF THIS RADIATIVELY IMPORTANT GREENHOUSE GAS. THE PROJECT IS DEVELOPING A PORTABLE AND LESS EXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE TO ISOTOPE MASS SPECTROMETRY FOR MEASURING (13)CH4 AND CH3D COMPONENTS IN METHANE SAMPLES. THE METHOD IS BASED ON INFRARED ABSORPTION USING A HELIUM NE ...

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THE PROGRAM IS DIRECTED TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PLANAR, LOW TEMPERATURE (650C), INTERNALLY REFORMING SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL (SOFC) POWER SUPPLY THAT WILL LEAD TO THE POWER PLANT HAVING A POWER DENSITY EQUIVALENT TO A MODERN GAS TURBINE AND AN EFFICIENCY OVER 65 PERCENT. THE CELL DESIGN IS BASED ON REACTIVE MAGNETRON SPUTTERED METALS, OXIDE CONDUCTING ELECTROLYTES, AND CERMET ELECTRODES. FEAS ...

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EMERGING FIFTH-GENERATION EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS ARE INCREASING THE FLOW OF INFORMATION BETWEEN THE STUDENT AND THE INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY SYSTEM TO LEVELS NEVER BEFORE POSSIBLE. ONE GROUP OF FIFTH-GENERATION SYSTEMS, CONCEPTUALLY DESCENDED FROM GRAPHICS-BASED SIMULATORS, USES VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) TECHNOLOGY TO CAPTURE MOTOR RESPONSES AND ALTER A SIMULATED WORLD ACCORDINGLY. A SECOND GROUP, CO ...

A NEW GENERATION OF ROBOTS DRIVEN BY HIGH-BANDWIDTH, BACKDRIVABLE TRANSMISSIONS AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE BRUSHLESS DC MOTORS PRESENTS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVING THE FLOW OF FORCE DATA BACK TO THE CONTROLLER WITHOUT ADDITIONAL FORCE SENSORS. AN INNOVATIVE ALGORITHM FOR DETERMINING CONTACT GEOMETRY BASED ON MOTOR TORQUES PROVIDES FEEDBACK TO THE ELECTRONIC CONTROLLER OR HUMAN TELEOPERATOR. THE ALGO ...