Fact Sheet
Engineers Week 2006: NSF Research Highlights
Today's engineers are inspiration for the future
February 23, 2006
This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.
Engineers Week 2006 has arrived, and with it a chance to look back on the breakthroughs and developments engineers delivered in 2005.
NSF has a long history of supporting engineering, devoting more than $550 million dollars last year alone. The results of those investments have been rewarding, as the following 2005 highlights reveal.
Mitigating Damage from Disasters
- Researchers to Present Findings on New Orleans Levee Breaches
Details of preliminary results released
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104555 - Small, Unmanned Aircraft Search for Survivors in Katrina Wreckage
Hurricane search and rescue is one of first domestic uses of such vehicles
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104453 - Earthquake Study Suggests Simple Building Fixes Can Save Lives
Code enforcement may have prevented dozens of deaths in Turkish temblor
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104518
Enhancing Human Capability
- Ability, Not Disability, at Heart of Yacht Trek
Student projects help physically challenged sailors competitively race across Pacific
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104291 (Original story)
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104322 (Team finishes competitively)
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_videos.jsp?cntn_id=105832&media_id=57270 (Sailor speaks at National Press Club) - Robot Assistant Reports to Surgery
Machine lets nurses focus on patient care
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104259
Improving Medical Technologies
- Nanoscale Diagnostic Sets Sights on Alzheimer's
Experimental procedure detects possible traces of disease in cerebrospinal fluid
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100761 - Carbon Nanotubes Yield a New Class of Biological Sensors
Glucose sensor provides real-time readouts without the need to draw blood samples
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100592
Promoting Sustainability
- Waves of Power
New buoys convert the ocean's energy into electricity
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104183 - Waste Not, Want Not
Bacteria-driven cell produces hydrogen for fuel while cleaning wastewater
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104098
New technologies and techniques
- From Fingerprints to Fiberprints
Forensic technique leads to new method for creating nanofibers
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=105833 - Self-Assembling Nano-Electronics Turn a Corner
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104217 - Robots: An Exhibition of U.S. Automatons from the Leading Edge of Research
Machines highlight the WTEC International Study of Robotics
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104421
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The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Solar-Powered Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (SAUV).
Credit and Larger Version -
Engineers inspect a portion of a New Orleans floodwall damaged in Hurricane Katrina.
Credit and Larger Version -
Hong Liu (left) and Bruce Logan examine an electrochemically assisted microbial reactor system.
Credit and Larger Version -
Ocean-buoy generators promise to convert the movement of waves into energy.
Credit and Larger Version -
Polymer fibers grow on a fingerprint at 30 degrees Celsius and a relatively high humidity.
Credit and Larger Version
Media Contacts
Joshua A. Chamot, NSF, (703) 292-7730, email: jchamot@nsf.gov
The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.
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