Award Data

Major improvements in process control, compliance monitoring, and environmental decisionmaking could be made if more accurate, less costly, more rugged techniques were available for continuous monitoring of multiple gas phase pollutants. As part of the solution, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is emerging as a promising Field Analytical Method (FAM) for multiple gas monitoring. H ...

Infrared tunable diode laser spectrometers provide a highly effective means of measuring trace concentrations, with either remote sensing or with advective sampling. It is often desirable to measure more than one trace gas at a time. This is especially true when gas emissions are strongly correlated, such as in combustion emissions where measuring both the CO2 concentration and another minor con ...

This research will explore the use of a virtual polyhedron modeling environment which creates nets, or patterns, for a polyhedron created on the screen, in the teaching of geometry and spatial skills. When the net is printed, cut, folded, and glued together, a 3-dimensional model of the original polyhedron is created. We propose to examine the use of this tool in an instructional setting, to dete ...

Today's extremely powerful, low-cost computer systems offer tremendous potential as learning tools. However, development of high quality educational software, particularly simulations, lags behind. This research will explore the issues in creating highly realistic, very detailed simulations directly targeted for educational purposes. The domain simulated will be a small retail business. This do ...

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) can sometimes be used as a diagnostic device in biology and medicine. In general, LIF has difficulties in relating the fluorescence spectra to the concentration of the emitters within the tissue, in identifying different species, and in the possibility of destroying the molecules being probed if the wrong excitation wavelength is chosen. Many of the problems asso ...

This proposal describes an effort to improve the education of at-risk youth through web-publishable, project-based activities. These activities might include electronic journalism on community issues, natural science projects, or digital art Galleries. Activities such as these are particularly appropriate for at-risk youth through their power to integrate school and home or street life, to give ...

Current methods of testing water supplies for Cryptosporidium parvum are inadequate. The lack of a reliable test led the EPA to postpone enactment of its Information Collection Rule for 2 years. The rule was recently enacted, despite any further development in testing methodologies. The EPA-approved test detects between 5% and 21% of the total Cryptosporidium known to be present in a sample. Thi ...

PROVIDING INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION FOR DISABLED STUDENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION PLACEMENTS IS A TIME-CONSUMING PROCESS FOR EDUCATORS AND THUS COSTLY. COMPUTERIZED AND INTERACTIVEVIDEODISK EDUCATIONAL FORMATS MAY NOT BE READILY CUSTOMIZED FOR THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT. HOWEVER, COMMONLY-AVAILABLE IN PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND HAND-HELD CAMCORDERS ARE TOOLS AVAIL ABLE IN MOST SCHOOLS. IF A PERSONAL COMPUTE ...

THE COST FOR REMOVING TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM THE SOIL WITH PRESENT TECHNOLOGY IS ENORMOUS, IN SOME CASES, POPULATIONS THE COST FOR REMOVING TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM THE SOIL WITH PRESENT TECHNOLOGY IS ENORMOUS. IN SOME CASES, POPULATIONS MUST BE RELOCATED AND MANY ACRE-FEET OF SOIL MUST BE EXCAVA-TED AND TREATED OR STORED IN "SAFE" STORAGE FACILITIES. IM-PROVED TECHNOLOGY IS NEEDED TO REDUCE CLEAN-UP CO ...

IN THIS RESEARCH, AN ELECTRON BEAM PROCESS WILL BE INVESTI- GATED WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DESTROY TOXIC MOLECULES SUCH AS DIOXINS, FURANS, AND POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC HYDROCAR- CARBONS PRODUCED, FOR EXAMPLE, BY THE INCINERATION OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. SOME ISOMERS OF THESE COMPOUNDS ARE HIGHLY TOXIC; THEREFORE,THE WORK WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED USING NON-TOXIC MODEL COMPOUNDS EXHIBITING CHEMICAL FUNC ...