RESEARCH NOTES
The Georgia Institute of Technology
continues to rank among the nation's top universities in the volume of
research it conducts, statistics compiled by the National Science
Foundation show.
For fiscal year 1994 -- the latest year for which comparison statistics are available -- Georgia Tech ranked fourth among all U.S. colleges and universities in the dollar volume of research conducted in two key categories: engineering and computer science. While the federal government provides the largest portion of its research support, Georgia Tech ranked sixth among all U.S. colleges and universities in the amount of industry-sponsored research received.
Within specific engineering disciplines, Georgia Tech ranked second nationally in amount of electrical engineering research, fourth in aerospace engineering, sixth in mechanical engineering, ninth in metallurgical and materials engineering, and 14th in civil engineering.
Among the physical sciences, Georgia Tech ranked 14th in the amount of physics research.
Overall, Georgia Tech ranked 29th nationally in total research and development expenditures with $193 million in 1994, up slightly more than 10 percent from the $175 million reported in fiscal 1993. The growth moved Georgia Tech up two notches, from 31st place in 1993.
"In an era of uncertainty for research and development funding, Georgia Tech continues to gain market share," says Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, Georgia Tech's vice-provost for research and dean of graduate studies.
"This says a lot about the quality of our work, faculty, researchers and students. We are very pleased with our continued historic strengths in engineering, but also with the rapid improvements we are making in the sciences."
Pointing to Georgia Tech's expanding relationships with industry, he adds: "We are indebted to our industry partners, who are critical to our success, and plan to increase our interaction and research activities with industry."
Because they are collected in a consistent manner, the National Science Foundation statistics are considered the most reliable indicator of research volume at U.S. colleges and universities.
A new research and development center at Georgia Tech is pursuing a variety of research, development, test and education programs to serve the electric utility industry, its customers and suppliers.
The National Electric Testing, Research and Application Center (NEETRAC) merges the Georgia Power Research Center's extensive human and technological resources with Tech's electric power research and instructional programs.
"NEETRAC is emblematic of the broad coalitions which must be created between industry and academia to sustain the development of innovative technologies and services," says Tech President Dr. Wayne Clough. "The convergence of interests between a large corporation, such as Georgia Power Company, and a large research university, such as Georgia Tech, has allowed for a truly unique initiative."
NEETRAC's creation is particularly timely in light of deregulation and intensified competition among utilities. As competition often leads large, vertically integrated utilities to shed their internal R&D capabilities, centers such as NEETRAC help utilities, manufacturers and end-users engage in long-term research and short-term application projects, including technology transfers.
Georgia Power will donate the equipment, buildings and land previously dedicated to its Research Center to Georgia Tech for the continued use of NEETRAC. The replacement value of the test and research equipment, buildings and land to be donated is in excess of $7 million.
NEETRAC is organized as a research and development center of Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. At least 10 corporations representing electric utilities, equipment manufacturers and utility coalitions are center members. An advisory board of executives from member companies will be established. Dr. Hans B. Puettgen, professor and vice chair in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is NEETRAC's acting chair and director.
Further information is available from Dr. Hans B. Puettgen, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0250. (Telephone: 404/894-2927) (E- mail: hans.puttgen@ee.gatech.edu)
Students in Georgia soon will be
making "splashes" across the Internet, thanks to a unique program that
uses a marine ecosystem to teach science.
The program stems from a popular class in Georgia Tech's School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, where students conduct experiments on a 350-gallon salt water ecosystem.
Now it's set to go on line in June, thanks to support from the National Science Foundation and Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC), Center for Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL), and Office of Information Technology (OIT).
Assistant Professor Kenneth D. Hughes, who teaches the Georgia Tech class, designed the new program with John Pratte, a natural sciences professor at Clayton State College. The idea arose last year during the University System of Georgia Board of Regents' Faculty Development Workshop, conducted by Kris A. Biesinger of the Office of Information and Instructional Technology (OIIT).
Once on line, K-12 schools and other colleges and universities can explore the ecosystem instead of setting up their own. Electronic probes and sensors will let students download data and conduct real-time experiments.
Participants will take turns controlling where test probes are set, and an underwater camera will give a "fish-eye" view of life in the tank.
Georgia Tech students use their test results to keep the aquarium life forms -- including fish, soft coral, sea anemones and coralline algae -- healthy. They draw water samples to examine factors like dissolved oxygen, pH levels, salinity and metal-ions, learning quantitative chemical analysis and interdisciplinary environmental themes.
The Internet project is part of ongoing work to "hardwire" Georgia Tech for high- quality, advanced telecommunications.
"This is, I think, the next level of remote or distance learning, where students are actually exploring and investigating a site and downloading real chemical data," Dr. Hughes says.
Further information is available from Dr. Kenneth Hughes, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400. (Telephone: 404/894-4090) (E-mail: kenneth.hughes@chemistry.gatech.edu)
Dr. Richard D. Teach, a professor in the
School of Management, has been elected a Fellow of the Association for
Business Simulation and Experimental Learning.
Dr. Yves Berthelot, a professor in the
School of Mechanical Engineering, was named a Fellow of the Acoustical
Society of America.
Dr. Charles E.S. Ueng was recently
elevated to the Fellow grade by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Ueng is a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
and is director of the Composites Education and Research Center.
Dr. Bruce Sinclair, a professor in the
School of History, Technology, and Society, was recently awarded the
Society for the History of Technology's "Leonardo Da Vinci Medal." The
award recognizes one scholar yearly for "outstanding contributions to
the history of technology through research, teaching, publication or
other activities."
Drs. William Ditto and Uzi Landman of the
School of Physics are among 50 people "shaping the future of our
industrial culture and America's technological policy," according to
Industry Week magazine. Ditto, an assistant professor, and colleagues
developed a new understanding of how chaos theory can be used to treat
certain human diseases. Landman, a professor and the director of Tech's
Center for Computational Materials Science, investigated changes in the
properties of microscopic wires with his colleagues -- their findings
help engineers miniaturize electrical devices.
Drs. Donald Ratliff and Satya Atluri are
Georgia Tech's newest members of the National Academy of Engineering.
Atluri is an Institute professor and Regents' professor of Engineering
and Aerospace Engineering. Ratliff is a Regents' professor in the School
of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
To survive in the post-Cold War world, U.S. space and defense industry leaders will have to find cheaper, more efficient ways to test military products. Enter Georgia Tech's new Test and Evaluation Research and Education Center (TEREC).
"The Department
of Defense actually has some of the most interesting test and evaluation
problems," says Dr. Sam Blankenship, director of the center. "A
commercial organization [has] the discipline of the market to tell it
what's a good idea and what's not. But a peacetime military doesn't
have that, so they have to test the products in something that simulates
the operational environment.
However, civilian industrial product developers need better, cheaper ways to test their wares, as well. So TEREC's mission also will include civilian testing, from airplanes to cars to computer software.
The idea for the center arose is 1991 when Blankenship and senior research engineer Donald Wilmot were visiting the Air Force Operational Testing and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC) in New Mexico.
AFOTEC provided $100,000 for startup costs, but full funding is still in the works. The center won't have a central location, instead encompassing work done by researchers across campus.
A board of advisors made up of sponsor representatives will run the center, says Blankenship, who also is director of special projects for GTRI's Advanced Programs Office and a senior research scientist in the Electronics Systems Laboratory.
Research topics will be broad, such as the economic value of test and evaluation. A scholarly journal and a visiting professorship also are planned.
Georgia Tech also offers the country's only master's degree certificate in test and evaluation, from the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) or the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). This program is overseen by Dr. Jerry Banks, ISyE, and Dr. George Vachtsevanos, ECE, and is separate from TEREC.
Further information is available from Dr. Sam Blankenship, Electronic Systems Laboratory, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0840. (Telephone: 404/894-7311) (E-mail: sam.blankenship@gtri.gatech.edu).
When nearly two million people stream into Atlanta this summer for the Olympic Games, the city's transportation-related pollution is expected to surge as well.
But at least one
group, which includes researchers in the GTRI Aerospace Sciences
Laboratory, is working to counter these problems, by showcasing a
prototype hydrogen-fueled, electric-powered bus for urban
transportation.
The H2Fuel Bus Project is the result of combined efforts over several years by industry, government and research institutions, with primary funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Supporters say hydrogen, the universe's most abundant element, is an ideal replacement for fossil fuels, whose burning causes air pollution and global warming. It could be converted from water through renewable processes like wind power, producing a sustainable energy source and virtually no pollution.
GTRI researchers will integrate the 33-foot, transit-style bus's internal combustion engine, electrical generator and metal hydride fuel storage system. They'll test the bus during the Olympics, using it to transport Georgia Tech employees, to give the project maximum public exposure and to gather data on costs, reliability and the concept's commercial readiness.
The hybrid bus is expected to operate at double the efficiency of a comparable diesel bus, have twice the operating range (150 miles) of an all- electric, battery-powered bus and produce near-zero air emissions.
"Currently, we anticipate this unique combination of technologies to give the bus increased range and competitive efficiency," says Dr. John C. Handley, principal research engineer with GTRI's Aerospace Sciences Laboratory.
Partners on the H2Fuel Bus Project include the DOE's Savannah River Site near Augusta, Westinghouse Savannah River Company's HyTech Laboratory, the Southeastern Technology Center in Augusta, Blue Bird Body Company of Fort Valley, Ga., Northrop Grumman Automotive Systems of Maryland and Hydrogen Consultants, Inc. of Colorado.
Other partners include the Augusta-Richmond County Public Transit, which will own the bus and use it after the Olympics, and the Education, Research and Development Association of Georgia Universities.
The bus's fuel technology will use metal hydrides, which absorb and retain hydrogen in a solid form when cooled, then release it slowly when heated. Hydrogen in this solid form is much safer than when it is a compressed gas or liquid.
Supporters of the H2Fuel Bus Project hope that if it succeeds, it will bring new business development and manufacturing jobs to workers in the Savannah River area, in both Georgia and South Carolina.
Further information is available from Dr. John Handley, Aerospace Sciences Laboratory, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta,, GA 30332-O844. (Telephone: 770/528-7828) (E-mail: john.handley@gtri.gatech.edu)
-- "Notes" written by Amanda Crowell, Amy Fraser, David Kennedy, Hans Puttgen, Victor Rogers, John Toon.
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