Plant Communication in Response to Attack

What makes entire plants, even trees, resistant to pathogens after only a small part has experienced an infection? The answer may have tremendous economic ramifications for crop protection. An NSF-funded researcher at Washington State University is using an integrative approach to study how plants communicate internally. The findings are a result of $943,000 in NSF support over five years. A leaf being eaten by insects can signal the leaves on other branches to accumulate defensive proteins or toxic compounds that deter other insects. One aspect of the signal system is a protein, prosystemin, that is cleaved into smaller peptide hormones that are distributed from the site of synthesis, the place of initial infection, to other parts via the plant "vascular" system. This is the first example of a plant peptide hormone which indicates a similarity to animals that would have been considered non-existent only a few years ago. Current research focuses on prosystemin and the events that lead from the factors that induce its synthesis, to crystal structure, to the production of biologically active breakdown products, and their pathway from cells into the vasculature to the place where they elicit a defense reaction.

Superstrong Fibers Through Biotechnology

Strong, polymer-based fibers are essential in many woven materials - items such as clothing, bullet-proof vests, and ropes -- as well as in high-strength, lightweight, fiber-reinforced composites such as electronics boards, and automobile and aircraft components. Materials scientists are now looking toward biological systems for ideas for new materials, especially ones that are biodegradable. Such research is now timely, as the tools of biotechnology make it possible to produce "designer" materials. An NSF-funded researcher at Cornell University uses silk from the Golden Orb Weaving spider as a source of bio-inspiration. Such silk fibers are stronger than steel and more elastic than Kevlar, which is one of Dupont's best human-made fibers. Using sophisticated physical techniques, this researcher has gained insight into why the fibers are so strong. The results could be used to produce genes that are capable of expressing large amounts of this super-strength material. Since 1993, NSF has provided funding of approximately $500,000 to support this research.

Martian Meteorites

Antarctica is the "mother lode" of meteorites, and has yielded over 16,000 meteorites so far - close to half of the world's scientific samples. These meteorites are extraterrestrial products offering important clues about the solar system. The U.S. collection of Antarctic meteorites is managed under an interagency agreement between the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Smithsonian Institution. The annual hunt for Antarctic meteorites has taken place since 1976, through investments of over $2 million in research project support. This activity, made possible through the infrastructure provided by the Foundation's U.S. Antarctic Program, is like a bargain-priced space mission that lets scientists explore extraterrestrial worlds without leaving the home planet. In 1996, studies of a Martian meteorite -- found in Antarctica -- presented for the first time scientific evidence for possible early life on Mars.

The group of NASA and NSF-funded researchers, using instruments of unprecedented resolution and sensitivity developed with NSF support, found evidence in this meteorite that strongly suggests primitive life may have existed on Mars more than 3.6 billion years ago. The meteorite, called ALH84001, was found in 1984 in the Allan Hills ice field, Antarctica, by an annual expedition of NSF's Antarctic Meteorite Program. This evidence is based on detection of organic molecules; several mineral features characteristic of biological activity; and possible microscopic fossils of bacteria-like organisms. Many of the team's findings were made possible only because of very recent technological advances in high- resolution scanning electron microscopy and laser mass spectrometry.

Crustal Strain and Earthquakes in Southern California

The crust of southern California is continuously distorting because of movement along the San Andreas fault zone that marks the boundary between the shifting North American and Pacific tectonic plates. This distortion, or strain energy, is relieved by earthquakes along the San Andreas and nearby faults. Scientists at the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) have been using the state-of-the-art Global Positioning System (GPS), based on the Department of Defense NAVSTAR satellite constellation, to give ultra-high precision geodetic measurements that monitor the changing regional crustal strain in southern California.

Two associated results have already provided new insights into how crustal strain is proportioned in the crust and will lead to improved understanding of the mechanisms which trigger earthquakes. Calculations of accumulated strain from tectonic movement over the past century indicate that there is a shortage in the "earthquake budget"- the calculated accumulated strain would suggest a much higher incidence of earthquakes than actually observed. The new GPS data now show evidence of significant non-seismic slip, or stealth earthquakes, that result from slow strain distortions after the 1992 magnitude 7.5 Landers and 1994 magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquakes. These types of silent events may at least partially explain the earthquake shortage over historical times. Furthermore, the data show that while the regional strain rates increase along the major faults, the highest strain rates are focused near the sites of past historic earthquakes. It appears that the elastic failure associated with the earthquakes is followed by visco-elastic recovery of the lower crust. The implications for understanding earthquake hazards are profound since it is now possible to measure the regional strain associated with tectonic forces and independently isolate the strain associated with the inelastic recovery processes that redistribute stress following an earthquake.

The center has begun a large effort to test this hypothesis by the installation of a dense network of up to 250 permanent GPS stations in southern California, called the Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN). Support for SCIGN will come from NSF's Academic Research Infrastructure Program, the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA and the W. M. Keck Foundation. NSF has supported research using GPS at SCEC since 1991, at a total cost of about $3.7 million.

Catalytic Remediation of Environmental Pollutants

Combustion engines and power plants emit high levels of nitrogen oxides, which are health hazards and are resilient to transformation into pure nitrogen gas. Current catalysts are unable to completely eliminate nitrous oxide and require the use of ammonia which can leak to the atmosphere.

Since 1992, NSF has provided more than $500,000 of support for research at Penn State University that has led to the discovery of a family of novel rare-earth catalysts which can remediate nitrous oxide present in flue gas. This discovery will enable the design of a new process to yield environmentally safe power plants while employing methane, a typically unreactive gas that is usually burned.

Florida Power and Light Company has recognized the breakthrough and is funding an emission reduction program based on this catalytic process. The Gas Research Institute, an industry-funded nonprofit organization, is also providing support to further develop the new family of catalysts. The discovery has not only developed into a new technology but also initiated a novel approach to research in high-temperature catalysis that is quickly being followed throughout the world.

Industrial Innovation Research: Bioremediation of Contaminated Aquifers

Envirogen, Inc. of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, founded in 1988 with about 10 employees, applies new environmental biotechnology techniques to solve industrial effluent and hazardous waste problems. The firm's research has included the study of bacteria that could express enzymes that break down contaminants such as trichloroethylene (TCE) in groundwater aquifers.

TCE is a solvent that is used in many industrial and military activities. This compound is among the most prevalent groundwater contaminants in the U.S. It is extremely expensive to eliminate the health hazards from this contaminant using conventional physical and chemical treatment technologies

Although Envirogen has found promising strains of bacteria that exist naturally and break down TCE contaminants when injected into aquifers, they rapidly "stick" to solids and are able to decontaminate only a small portion of an aquifer. With support from the NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, the firm has succeeded in developing "non-adherent" strains of bacteria which can more effectively move through contaminated aquifers. In situ biological treatment of TCE-contaminated ground water is now practical and the firm is actively marketing this technology. Other SBIR awards have allowed the company to explore similar innovative ideas to develop several other lines of cost-effective bioremediation technologies. Since 1988, SBIR has provided almost $1.4 million to fund research by small biotechnology companies for the development of bioremediation technologies.

According to the company, corporations are already beginning to use these new bioremediation technologies for contamination cleanup. Envirogen has now grown to over 100 employees and is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. In 1996, the New Jersey Technology Council named the company "Environmental Company of the Year".

Frogs Lend an Ear for New Hearing Aid

Basic research on animal sensory mechanisms has had a remarkable impact in designing useful new technology. Current hearing aids are unable to selectively amplify an auditory signal within a noisy background. Turning up the volume for a signal also turns up the volume of noise that is heard. An NSF-funded researcher at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), has been studying auditory mechanisms in frogs which allow them to localize their calling mates in the dark even in a very noisy environment. The researcher, working with engineers at the Beckman Institute at the UIUC, exploited this principle of directional sensitivity used by frogs to develop highly directionally-sensitive microphones that can be mounted on the head (for example, on eyeglass frames) to allow the user to turn toward and to localize with great precision an auditory signal of interest. A prototype, for which a patent is pending, has been able to single out a speech signal with only 1/30th the sound amplitude of the surrounding noise, even when the angular separation of the sources is only a few degrees. The development of this prototype was based on the basic research that NSF supported for $132,000 over 6 years.

Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)

Initiated in 1979, EPSCoR has invested $180 million to enhance research competitiveness in 18 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico through partnerships of research universities, industry, and state governments. EPSCoR is making major strides in accomplishing its objectives to support research that meets state needs, to ensure knowledge transfer, and to develop human resources. For example:

• the Nebraska Materials Research on Nanostructured and Complex Systems initiative engages university researchers, local firms, and national companies in researching scientifically exciting materials that impact information and communications technologies.

• The Center for the Environmental Applications of the Oklahoma Mesonet provides automated, real-time observations of selected environmental variables across the state. It will be expanded to develop air quality models for the state's major metropolitan areas and directly impact EPA-compliance and mitigation actions.

• The South Carolina Supercomputing Network (SCSN) is expanding access to high performance computing and communications to university researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, and industrial scientists throughout the state. SCSN is part of an EPSCoR-sponsored high performance computing initiative to link six southern states (AL, KY, LA, MS, SC, and WV), allowing universities to train students and conduct research using multiple computer architectures.

• In South Dakota, biotechnology researchers are studying how crops adapt to the harsh freezing and drought conditions that characterize the state's climate and examining causes and diagnosis of the mystery swine disease.

• In Louisiana, the Joint Faculty Appointments Program (JFAP) increases research opportunities for underrepresented groups by sponsoring dual faculty hires between historically black and majority white colleges and universities across scientific disciplines. JFAP has been judged so successful that the Louisiana Board of Regents has made a 10-year commitment to provide additional support.

Unreliable Eyewitnesses

Since 1991, NSF has invested more than $450,000 on research to prevent the misidentification of suspects. Each year more than 75,000 people are identified as crime suspects from lineups and photo spreads. False identifications can lead to mistaken arrests and imprisonments. In a recent sample of Americans released from prison based on DNA evidence of their innocence, 24 of 28 cases involved false identifications by eyewitnesses.

A research psychologist at Iowa State University has found that witnesses' memories can be easily distorted by information they learn about suspects. Specific strategies are needed to prevent eyewitnesses' manipulation during the identification process and to avoid inaccurate testimony based on distorted memory.

Research findings suggest that questioning witnesses immediately after they identify suspects can help to limit memory distortion. Witnesses would be asked specific questions to probe their memory of the incident, their experience in recollecting it, and their confidence. Such questioning would help to solidify witnesses understanding of the incident and lead to more accurate testimony in court (often months later).

Augmented Reality Goggles

The NSF-funded Computer Graphics and Scientific Visualization Science and Technology Center (STC) this past year developed a prototype of dramatically improved "augmented reality" goggles. This device, about the size of a pair of opera glasses, was designed at the University of North Carolina (UNC) STC site, with the main assembly collaboratively designed with the University of Utah site and "remotely fabricated" via CAD tools developed at the Utah STC site.

NSF has provided about $15 million over five years to this STC, which includes five sites: University of Utah, Cornell, Brown, Cal Tech and UNC. The UNC site specializes in virtual reality; the Utah site in computer aided design and manufacturing. Thus, using the Utah site to help design and fabricate a new augmented reality headset was natural for the UNC site. Besides the separate work of the five sites, there are emerging synergistic efforts, like the design of this head set.

Functioning like a pair of glasses, the image entering each eyepiece is captured by a miniature TV camera, processed by a computer, and displayed on a miniature TV screen, before entering the eye. The computer's ability to alter the image pixel by pixel offers the wearer an augmented view of reality. For example, this can guide a surgeon by simultaneously providing a view of both the surface of the patient, and computer generated images of internal organs, tumors, etc. derived from ultrasound scans, CT scans, or MRI data.

Augmented reality, and virtual reality technology more generally, is in its infancy. This dramatically improved lightweight headset, containing 2 miniature 600*800 resolution TV screens, 2 miniature TV cameras, plus a sequence of lenses, mirrors, etc. costs about a million dollars, yet is nowhere near adequate for use by a surgeon during an operation. It will take another 5-10 years of development before such use of this technology becomes possible or routine. But the potential of this technology is clear. It is possible that someday the technician repairing a copying machine, not to mention the surgeon operating on a patient's pancreas, will wear such devices as a matter of course.

Automatic External Defibrillator

Heartbeat disorders called arrhythmias (or irregular heartbeat) are responsible for 1 out of 5 deaths in the United States. The most common treatment is to use electric shock to restore the heartbeat to its normal rhythm. Current devices for treating arrhythmia are complex and require trained medical personnel to operate them. They are available primarily in hospital emergency rooms and paramedic ambulances.

Since 1989, the Engineering Research Center for Emerging Cardiovascular Technologies at Duke University, in conjunction with North Carolina State University and the University of Alabama, has conducted cross-disciplinary research on the electro-mechanical function of the heart and devices for use in treating medical problems such as arrhythmia. A portion of this research was instrumental in the development of new devices that are significantly more effective in restoring a normal heartbeat and increasing survival rates in cases of arrhythmia. The American Heart Association estimates that 100,000 lives could be saved each year if these devices were made available in locations where response by trained medical personnel is often not timely, such as office buildings.

These shock treatment devices are also portable, automatic and can be used by non-medical personnel. This makes it possible to provide emergency medical assistance for arrhythmias in a variety of settings. American Airlines recently announced, for example, that it will place devices developed by Heartstream of Seattle, an industrial sponsor of the Duke center, on each airplane in its fleet. Since 1987, NSF has provided approximately $2 million per year to the Duke University ERC.

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