MSU Research roundup-Land of the rising rain-Microbe power-Up in arms-Civics in Azerbaijan

Land of the rising rain

Instruments end up in some unusual places when you’re studying the energy balance of the earth. Engineer Joseph Shaw gathers water vapor information from an observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii. The station is so high that Shaw had to figure out how to protect his equipment from rain that blew up the mountain instead of falling from the sky. Shaw also sent an Infrared Cloud Imager to Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost point in the continental United States. Winter temperatures there can range from minus-30 to minus-70, and every surface is coated with ice crystals. To collect the infrared information he needs, Shaw uses gold-plated mirrors and instruments with black lenses. Night vision technology allows him to gather data even during the dark winter days.

Microbe power

Microbes in clusters called biofilms can be tapped to generate low-levels of electricity, so why not put those busy organisms to work? Zbigniew Lewandowski at the Center for Biofilm Engineering wants to harness microbe-made electricity to use when you don’t need much power or when you can’t change the batteries. Environmental sensors come to mind, such as ones placed at the bottom of the ocean to monitor temperature or oxygen. The sensor would then transfer the signal to a remote receiver at the ocean’s surface. Lewandowski and others are working on the engineering aspects of microbial fuel cells with a grant from the Department of Defense EPSCoR.

Up in arms

Numbers are up in both the Army and Air Force programs at MSU, but it’s not necessarily due to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Sean Cusker, military science, credits a better job of recruiting, an improved cadre and a slowdown in the economy. Air Force Major Brian Fillmore, on assignment at MSU, points to the opportunity for scholarships. Current enrollment in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) rose 25 to 30 percent in the past five years. The number of Army ROTC students jumped to 82 this year, up approximately 20 over last year. Both programs emphasize leadership. Some of their graduate students also get involved in research. One student, for example, is studying the nature of avalanches and what might be done to lessen the risk.

Civics in Azerbaijan

Teaching the principles of democracy in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet Republic on the Caspian Sea, has meant getting rid of the"Man and Society" curriculum that was used for years during the communist regime. MSU educators are helping teachers in Azerbaijan revamp the country’s 10th-grade civics curriculum in two phases. The first came up with four new units, which were so well received that phase II will come up with more. Twenty trainers from Bozeman will travel to Azerbaijan within the next six months to help teachers there implement the new curriculum, said Beth Davenport of the MSU Office of International Education. Funds have come from the State Department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.

http://209.41.184.21/partners/311/public/news376355.html