|
|
|
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3. Impact of PFF
Program
The NSF 1999 GPRA11 Performance Plan
(March 1998) identifies four broad policy goals for the Foundation:
- Discoveries at and across the frontier of science and
engineering;
- Connections between discoveries and their use in service
to society;
- A diverse, globally oriented workforce of scientists and
engineers; and
- Improved achievement in mathematics and science skills
needed by all Americans.
While these strategic goals were formalized after
the PFF program began, they provide a useful framework for
understanding and categorizing the program's contributions
to the Foundation's goals and vision. As shown in Exhibit
3-1, the PFF study assessed contributions that individual
Fellows made toward each of the goals delineated in the NSF
Strategic Plan. PFF is notable because Fellows activities
and accomplishments span the Foundations four broad
policy goals.
PFF enhanced [Fellows'] capacity
to conduct research, to disseminate research
findings, and to provide instruction to undergraduate
and graduate students.
|
Table 3-1 provides an overview of the number of
Fellows who reported having conducted a given activity (e.g.,
working with K-12 students and contributing expertise to private
industry). These counts are based on a review of materials
provided by 105 (88 percent) of the program's 120 grant recipients.12
As shown in Table 3-1, these 105 Fellows reported examples
of how PFF enhanced their capacity to conduct research, to
disseminate research findings, and to provide instruction
to undergraduate and graduate students.13 In addition:
- Seventy percent of Fellows said they had shared their
expertise with the public sector.
- Forty-seven percent said they had participated in outreach
activities that involved elementary or secondary schools
students.
11 Government Performance and Results
Act.
12 We were not able to locate a progress report
of PFF Web page for the remaining 15 Fellows.
13 The reports are sometimes ambiguous with regard
to PFF's role of enabling the activities reported. That is,
some activities pre-existed the award but were supported or
enhanced by the award; others were made possible because of
the support provided.
Exhibit 3-1. Linkage of PFF Fellow activities
and types of achievements to NSF strategic goals
Goal 1. Discoveries
at and across the frontier of science and engineering,
i.e., the extent to which NSF funds are contributing
to progress and innovations in science and
engineering. PFF is contributing to discoveries
when it enables Fellows to
(1) Enhance Their Capacity
to Conduct Research
- Undertake research in a new area
- Take existing research in a new (and
risky) direction
- Purchase equipment
(2) Disseminate Research
Findings
- Publish findings, e.g., in refereed
journals, books, or book chapters
- Earn patents or software credits
- Conduct presentations or participate
in conferences
- Provide support to graduate students
and others to disseminate findings
|
Goal 2.
Connections between discoveries and their use in
service to society, i.e., linking research advances
with applications, sharing new knowledge that can
accelerate innovations, and generating a productive
exchange of knowledge, including knowledge about
technologies. PFF is contributing to connections
when it enhances Fellows' capacity to
(1) Contribute Expertise
to the Public Sector
- Testify before federal/state legislatures
- Participate in White House forums
- Develop briefing papers
- Serve on NSF committees and panels
(2) Contribute Expertise
to Private Industry
- Meet with business and community leaders
to promote local economic growth
- Develop partnerships with representatives
from the private sector/local community
|
Goal 3.
A diverse, globally oriented workforce of scientists
and engineers, i.e., developing a cadre of professionals
that can fulfill the broad range of responsibilities
that will be needed to keep the United States at
the forefront of innovation and technological progress.
PFF is contributing to creating this diverse, globally
oriented workforce when Fellows are able to
(1) Enhance Quality of Instruction
for Undergraduate and Graduate Students
- Implement new and innovative
courses, curricula, and teaching
tools
- Integrate research into
teaching
- Provide financial support
to undergraduate and graduate students
- Facilitate cross-discipline
research efforts
- Develop a departmental
research lab
- Hire new faculty and
attract new students (e.g., because
of equipment purchased with PFF funds)
(2) Promote Efforts to Increase
the Representation of Women and Underrepresented
Minorities in Science and Education
- Develop initiatives to
increase participation among female
students
- Develop initiatives to
increase participation among underrepresented
minority students
- Improve the educational
experiences of female and minority
students
- Teach in Native American
schools
- Host minority high school
students
(3) Collaborate With Scientists
and Engineers in Other Countries
- Create center for student
researchers from North and South
America
- Establish partnerships
with foreign researchers
|
Goal 4. Improved achievement
in mathematics and science skills needed by
all Americans, i.e., fostering the development
of essential skills and concepts in math and
science at all levels of the education system.
PFF is contributing to improved achievement
when Fellows are able to
(1) Participate in Outreach
Programs Involving Elementary and Secondary
School Students
- Conduct outreach programs
for elementary students and their
parents
- Organize educational
activities for inner-city students
- Lecture at local high
schools to promote scientific careers
(2) Enhance Quality of Instruction
for Undergraduate and Graduate Students
- (Most items under Goal
3 above also enhance the quality
of education for students not
planning to enter the workforce as
scientists or engineers)
|
Table 3-1. Percentage of Fellows reporting
PFF-related activities, by award year: 1992-95
NSF policy goal
|
PFF-related activity
|
Award cohort
|
FY 1992
(n=27)
|
FY 1993
(n=28)
|
FY 1994
(n=27)
|
FY 1995
(n=23)
|
FY
1992-95
(n=105)
|
1.
Discoveries at and across the frontier of science
and engineering |
Maintain
or expand research efforts |
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
Disseminate
research findings |
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
2.
Connections between discoveries and their use in
service to society |
Contribute
expertise to the public sector |
74.1
|
78.6
|
51.9
|
73.9
|
69.5
|
Contribute
expertise to private industry |
22.2
|
17.9
|
22.2
|
21.7
|
21.0
|
3.
A diverse, globally oriented workforce of scientists
and engineers |
Enhance
quality of instruction for undergraduate and graduate
students |
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
Promote
increased representation of women/minorities in
science and education fields |
33.3
|
39.3
|
22.2
|
52.2
|
36.2
|
Collaborate
with scientists and engineers in other countries |
37.0
|
50.0
|
33.3
|
30.4
|
38.1
|
4. Improved
achievement in mathematics and science skills needed
by all Americans |
Participate
in outreach activities involving elementary and
secondary school students. (See also activity above:
enhance quality of instruction for undergraduate
and graduate students) |
48.2
|
39.3
|
33.3
|
69.6
|
46.7
|
SOURCE: Grant award and progress reports, Web
pages, and other materials submitted by Fellows (e.g., curriculum
vitae collected in fall 1998).
- Thirty-eight percent said they had forged relationships
with international
- Thirty-six percent said they had taken steps to promote
increased representation of women and minorities in science
and engineering fields.
- Twenty-one percent said they had shared their expertise
with the private sector.
Finally, 63 percent of Fellows indicated on their
curriculum vitae or progress reports that they had been promoted
since receiving their PFF award (Table 3-2). In some cases,
Fellows reported that they had received tenure. In other cases,
the promotions elevated Fellows to the rank of associate or
full professor. Not surprisingly, Fellows who had been involved
with PFF at the outset of the program were most likely to
have been promoted by the time of the study. Eighty percent
of Fellows who had received PFF funding since 1992 reported
at least one promotion, compared with 37 percent of Fellows
from the 1995 cohort.
Table 3-2. Fellows reporting promotions,
by award year: 1992-95
Promotion status (as of 1997)
|
Award year
|
FY 1992 (n=30)
|
FY 1993 (n=30)
|
FY 1994
(n=30) |
FY 1995 (n=30)
|
FY 1992-1995 (n=120)
|
Fellows who had
received a promotion
|
24 (80.0%)
|
22 (73.3%)
|
18 (60.0%)
|
11 (36.7%)
|
75 (62.5%)
|
Fellows who had
not received a promotion
|
3 (10.0%)
|
2 (6.7%)
|
7 (23.3%)
|
15 (50.0%)
|
27 (22.5%)
|
Could not determine
whether a promotion had been received
|
3 (10.0%)
|
6 (20.0%)
|
5 (16.7%)
|
4 (13.3%)
|
18 (15.0%)
|
SOURCE: Grant award progress reports, Web pages,
and other materials submitted by Fellows (e.g., curriculum
vitae collected in fall 1998).
The remainder of this chapter provides detailed
information on the range of PFF-related activities and accomplishments
that Fellows reported in their annual report to their NSF
program officers. It is organized around the impact of the
PFF program on (1) the Fellows themselves, (2) Fellows' efforts
to collaborate with researchers and practitioners, and (3)
Fellows' efforts to promote opportunities in science and engineering.
PFF appears to have impacted the Fellows themselves
in at least four areas. The experience
- enhanced their capacity to conduct research,
- promoted their development as academic scientists,
- improved their skills in disseminating findings, and
- helped them increase their productivity and accomplishments
as teachers.
Enhancing Capacity
to Conduct Research
The pursuit of innovative scientific discoveries
is at the heart of the PFF program. One of PFF's three primary
selection criteria was the extent to which nominees had already
demonstrated competence and leadership as a researcher, e.g.,
definitive research accomplishments, articles in refereed
publications, or technical books. Fellows progress reports
described a variety of PFF-related research activities and
accomplishments.
PFF grants provided Fellows with the flexibility
to continue or accelerate the pace of their work and to explore
new leads, new questions, and new lines of investigation.
Fellows considered this freedom to be one of the primary benefits
of their award.
Nancy Butler Songer, a 1995 Fellow from the University
of Michigan in science education, agreed with other Fellows
that credited PFF for allowing a greater amount of freedom
in their work. As she stated in an interview for this report:
The great thing about PFF is the freedom that
it allows in terms of spending. With other NSF money
there is a prescribed plan that one has to follow. My
other grants were for 3 years and I had to have all the
big questions outlined at the beginning of the grant.
In the field of emerging technologies for education,
it's hard to anticipate 5 years down the road what will
be big. PFF money is a wonderful way of trying out riskier
things.
As shown previously in Table 3-1, all of the Fellows
used their PFF awards to maintain or expand their research
activities. These activities have resulted in new knowledge,
new uses for state-of-the-art equipment, and new discoveries
and inventions.
Expanding Research
Capacity
The experience of Shira Broschat,
a 1992 Fellow in the Electrical Engineering
Department at Washington State University,
is illustrative. This young electrical engineer
had been conducting research in the area of
wave scattering from rough surfaces for several
years, but had long been interested in bioengineering
applications of her research. She was especially
interested in exploring applications for the
early detection of breast cancer in young women.
In her report to NSF, she commented on the
difficulty of "obtaining funding in an
area in which you are not already considered
to be an expert." The PFF award provided
her the means and the freedom to pursue this
interest, with good results. Broschat and her
students have published several papers in refereed
journals on important findings from that research.
A start-up company is interested in working
with her on an ultrasound holographic imaging
system. One of the students who assisted on
the project has completed the Ph.D. degree,
and three others have completed master's degrees
in ultrasound imaging or mammography. Broschat
stated that, "none of this would have
been possible without the PFF award."
|
Fellows report a variety of ways in which the PFF
grants gave them the freedom to conduct research at the cutting
edge of scientific knowledge.
- Wolfgang Bauer, a 1992 Michigan State University awardee,
reported that the award gave him the flexibility to study
cancer detection in individual cells using fractal dimension
analysis. This technique makes it possible to study the
surface of individual cells allowing a diagnosis based
on the distinction between patients with hairy-cell lymphocytic
leukemia and those with healthy blood lymphocytes. Such
a diagnosis allows for early cancer detection and, perhaps,
better chances of recovery for the patient.
- The PFF award permitted Xing-Wang Deng, a 1995 Fellow
at Yale University, to move his research in new directions.
Most of his work has been on the molecular and cellular
mechanism of light control in plant development. At one
point in his studies, "the science dictated that
he branch out in several directions such as comparative
studies of novel human and mouse proteins." These
new directions would not have been supported by other
research grants that were limited in scope. Deng noted
that the PFF grant gave him the opportunity "to
design investigations which can integrate the otherwise
specific but somewhat narrowly defined research activities."
- PFF funding also enabled Caro-Beth Stewart, a 1994 Fellow
at the State University of New York at Albany, to extend
her work into new areas. In her report to NSF, she noted
that proper interpretation of her studies on digestive
enzymes required her to move into molecular phylogeny.
She commented, "although the core of this program
is funded by NIH, the PFF award has allowed us the freedom
to pursue important lines of research that are not directly
funded by this biomedically oriented grant."
PFF grants provided not only the freedom necessary
to experiment, but also the state-of-the-art facilities
and equipment needed to conduct those inquiries. A few examples
illustrate the range of opportunities afforded.
- Marcelo Gleiser, a 1994 Fellow from Dartmouth College
in Physics, has focused his research on the interface
between high-energy particle physics and cosmology. He
used both analytical and numerical techniques to study
several topics related to the physics of the early universe.
In particular, he has been studying nonequilibrium dynamics
of complex systems that undergo phase transitions, a
topic that bridges the gap between high-energy physics
and condensed matter physics. PFF funding allowed him
to purchase powerful workstations and establish a research
group at Dartmouth to explore this highly theoretical
work.
- Jennifer Lewis, a 1994 Fellow at the University of Illinois,
has initiated a PFF-supported activity to design an undergraduate
laboratory in materials processing. The aim was to fully
equip the lab with state-of-the-art equipment (e.g.,
an atomic force microscope) and develop hands-on experimental
activities. She has also worked with other faculty in
her department to leverage the PFF funding to attract
additional monies.
- PFF also helped a 1992 Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
to better understand chemical reactions at the atomic
level. Robert Hamers has used PFF funds to combine a
scanning tunneling microscope with other chemically sensitive
probes such as surface infrared and x-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy to achieve true atomic-level chemical identification.
The PFF award has provided funds to purchase instrumentation
(such as an infrared spectrometer) to extend his labs
capabilities.
In addition, Fellows have made important discoveries
and developed new inventions. These inventions will help future
faculty explore new areas and make new connections. PFF funds
were also used to support research on foreign soil that could
have wide ranging benefits.
- Margaret Murname, a 1993 Fellow at Washington State University,
credits the PFF award with allowing her team to develop
a new and emerging laser technology. The team has designed
the shortest-pulse laser developed to date. Such short
optical pulses are used to monitor the first steps in
chemical reactions, to investigate processes such as
melting and electrical breakdown, to image through tissues,
and for ultrashort-pulse x-ray generation. The laser
is now used all over the world by researchers in chemistry,
biochemistry, physics, materials science, and medicine.
- Aaron Ellison, a 1992 Fellow at Mount Holyoke College,
has focused his research on characterizing animal-plant
interactions in mangrove ecosystems. He has been using
the PFF award to investigate their role in the spatial
and temporal dynamics of the tropical coastal forests
in Belize, Central America.
- Marge Aelion, a 1994 Fellow from the University of South
Carolina who also works in the environmental sciences,
has been working on remediation of contaminated ground
water using combined physical and biological technologies.
She has worked on coastal and estuarine pollution, examining
the impact of oil spills in France as well as coastal
development in South Carolina. PFF has allowed continuation
of her long-term research projects by supporting the
technical personnel required for such labor-intensive
field projects.
Supporting Discoveries and
Inventions
The research of Rebecca Richards-Kortum, a 1992
Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin,
has led to an important discovery that holds
great promise for the future. Her work focuses
on the application of light for the automated,
non-invasive diagnosis of pre-cancerous tissues.
She is studying reflectance, fluorescence,
and Raman spectroscopies to extract information
about the physio-chemical properties of turbid
tissues. Richards-Kortum developed instrumentation
to measure spectroscopic images in vivo and
works with physicians to derive and validate
automated algorithms for the interpretation
of such images. The PFF award has enabled her
to develop new fiber optic imaging methods,
which yield greater contrast images that can
be related to tissue pathophysiology more directly.
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Promoting Fellows
Development as Academic Scientists
A core objective of the PFF program is the promotion
of the Fellows development as academic scientists who
will not only conduct research of the highest quality, but
achieve the further recognition of having their research findings
published in well-recognized acedemic sources. All of the
Fellows' progress reports and curriculum vitae contained citations
for products that were published (e.g., articles in refereed
journals, books, or book chapters). Some examples of the quality
of publications achieved by PFF-supported Fellows are noted
below:
- June Ni (1994) conducted research on precision engineering,
some of which was conducted in collaboration with an
industrial consortium. He received the American Society
for Mechanical Engineerings "Best Paper Award"
for his September 1998 paper, "Thermal Bubble Formations
on Polysilicon Micro Resistors" published in the
ASME Journal of Heat Transfer. Some of his other
journal citations included: IEEE/ ASME Journal of
Microelectromechanical Systems, Microsystem Technologies
Journal, Thermal Sciences and Engineering, Microelectronics
Journal, and Sensors and Actuators.
- The research conducted by Emir Macari (1992), which informs
analysis of earthquake hazards, has been published in
a number of journals, including Geotechnical Testing
Journal, International Journal of Mechanics of
Cohesive-Frictional Materials, Journal of Computing,
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, and the Transportation
Research Record.
- Some other periodicals that published student research
papers include such wide ranging publications as Geology,
the American Journal of Physical Anthropology,
and Water, Air and Soil Pollution.
Disseminating
Research Findings
The Fellows' progress reports and curriculum vitae
detailed a wide range of presentations that occurred during
the PFF award period. Shira Broschat (1992) stated in an interview
for this report:
The PFF award generated a lot of visibility
for the university, and there was a snowball effect.
There were articles about me in research and research
society newsletters. I was asked to be involved in forums
about science and the national interest, panels, and
National Academy of Engineering symposia because
I was a PFF.
Some Fellows also indicated that providing new
dissemination opportunities to their students was an important
contribution of the PFF award. Most of these student products
were traditional research papers suitable for publication
or presentation at professional meetings. Examples of presentations
include the following:
- A student of Cheng Zhu, a 1993 Fellow at the Georgia Institute
of Technology, presented a conference paper at an international
conference in Singapore with PFF support.
- Three students of Anne Grauer, a 1993 Fellow at Loyola
University of Chicago, presented their research at the
Midwest Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology conference.
- Two students participated in workshops at the National
Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, which were
organized by James Clark, a 1994 Fellow at Duke University.
Disseminating
Findings
PFF has given Emir Macari, a 1992
Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology,
the opportunity to develop publications as
well as participate in national forums that
are shaping the conceptualization of science
and engineering. Macari's research areas include
a range of specializations such as computational
mechanics, assessment of liquefaction potential,
and geo-environmental issues related to sustainable
technologies. For example, Macari's PFF-funded
work included a project that deals with integration
schemes for constitutive elasto-plastic soil
models (multi-surface models). His team is
developing a fully coupled variational formulation
that can mimic the response of saturated soils
(soil-fluid) under dynamic excitations. The
intent of this project is to properly model
the response of soils that may potentially
liquefy under seismic loads. Since receiving
the PFF award, Macari has been interviewed
for newspapers and television on a variety
of topics ranging from his specific research
interests to encouraging minorities to pursue
scientific and engineering careers.
|
Promoting
Productivity and Accomplishments as Teachers
The Foundation has long supported efforts to promote
the development of a cadre of scientists and engineers who
can keep the United States at the forefront of innovation
and technological progress. Such a workforce requires a sufficient
diversity in expertise and perspective to cover the important
functions that scientists and engineers serve in our society.
It also requires the capability to function effectively in
a globally interdependent environment.
While previous NSF efforts to support young tenure-track
faculty had been designed to promote this goal, the PFF program
clearly placed a special emphasis on advancing teaching practices,
integrating education and research, increasing the number
of the traditionally underrepresented in science and engineering
fields, and preparing scientists and engineers to participate
in a global environment. Unlike its predecessors, the PFF
program's selection criteria emphasized a nominee's competence
and leadership as an educator, including
- implementation of new curricula,
- design of courses,
- participation in cross-discipline research efforts,
- recognized contributions to educational reforms, and
- noteworthy service to the institution or the community
on behalf of the institution.
Consequently, Fellows came into the PFF program
with a proven track record as teachers and educators. Fellows
reported a variety of PFF-related activities and accomplishments
in the following areas: (1) enhancing the quality of undergraduate
and graduate instruction; (2) promoting increased representation
of women and minorities in science and education fields; and
(3) collaborating with researchers and scholars in other countries.
Enhancing Quality
of Undergraduate and Graduate Instruction
All of the Fellows used their PFF funds to include
graduate students in their work, and 62 percent invited undergraduate
participation in their projects as well. In fact, undergraduate
students receiving PFF support were frequently supervised
by or worked alongside graduate students. The following examples
illustrate how PFF funds were used to enhance students
educational experiences.
- Aaron Ellison (1992) used PFF funds to take several of
his undergraduate students on an 8-day expedition to
the Florida Everglades to study mangroves. In addition,
he used PFF funds to enable 13 students to participate
in field research in Belize, Central America, during
the summer or spring breaks.
- The Virtual Reality Geotechnical Laboratory at the Georgia
Institute of Technology serves as both a research and
teaching facility. Developed by Emir Macari (1992), the
lab permits students to test the behavior of soil samples.
Students can try out a variety of options and receive
real-time feedback on the testing procedures they used.
- Marge Aelion (1993) and one of her doctoral students have
been using radiocarbon to estimate the biodegradation
of petroleum. Since this area had not been investigated
previously, it would likely not have been funded by other
means. In short, because of PFF, she can now offer students
more financial support than before the award.
PFF funds were also used to support small- and
large-scale curriculum enhancement efforts. Small-scale efforts
generally involved redesigning or developing individual courses,
while large-scale initiatives focused on redefining entire
course sequences or areas of specialization. Often, curriculum
development efforts were aimed at building stronger connections
between research and teaching. One course made this connection
by emphasizing areas that were undergoing rapid development
due to contemporary research (Marija Gajdardziska-Josifovska,
a 1995 Fellow). Others courses simply used examples from their
research to illustrate course concepts, e.g., using examples
from bioengineering research to illustrate basic concepts
and show their relevance to health issues (Rebecca Richards-Kortum,
1992).
Several of the course improvements reported by
Fellows involved making technology an integral part of instruction.
Technology served two functions in these cases: motivating
students, and engaging them in the kind of active, hands-on
learning that promotes deep understanding of scientific content.
- Peter Wipf, a 1994 Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh,
developed an interactive program to help students visualize
three-dimensional structures. This kind of visualization
is one of the most challenging intellectual tasks faced
by students in organic chemistry. The program permits
students to manipulate these structures on holographic
displays to better understand the basic set of 25 reactions
that form the mainstream of sophomore-level organic chemistry.
- Thomas Anderson, a 1994 Fellow at the University of California
at Berkeley, developed a new software package for teaching
undergraduate-level operating systems. The software permits
students to explore engineering design choices in all
areas of modern operating systems: thread systems, file
systems, multi-programming, virtual memory, and distributed
systems. This course is now widely used by institutions
throughout the country.
Enhancing Undergraduate
Education
Zorana Popovic, a 1993 Fellow at
the University of Colorado at Boulder, set
up an arrangement for involving students in
her research activities. She worked closely
with 10 Ph.D. students who, in turn, worked
closely with four undergraduate research assistants.
The graduate and undergraduate students were
organized into research teams that met in blocks
of 4-6 hours every week. On one team, the senior
graduate student managed the project and worked
on the theoretical aspects of the study's design,
while the junior graduate student took the
lead on measurement activities; the undergraduate
took charge of manufacturing and fabrication.
In this way, the graduate students gained experience
as teachers and mentors, while the undergraduates
gained experience conducting authentic research
in a specific topic area.
|
Fellows also undertook larger scale curriculum
projects. For example, Zorana Popovic (1993) developed a new
sequence of undergraduate electromagnetic courses at the University
of Colorado at Boulder. The first course is taken by all electrical
and computer engineering students and the second by students
with a stronger interest in the field. The two new courses
start with simple mathematical tools, some discussion of applications,
and laboratory work. One of the goals in redesigning the course
sequence was to engage and retain bright students, who, in
the words of Popovic, "start looking for the door after
the first class, as soon as the instructor writes Maxwells
equations on the board."
Courses have been designed by Fellows to motivate
students already interested in science and engineering. Several
PFF-supported curriculum efforts were also developed for students
majoring in other fields. These courses attempt to demystify
science, raise the general level of science literacy among
non-science majors, and attract more students to the sciences.
- At Washington State University, PFF funds were used to
develop a new computer literacy course for non-science
majors that share these objectives. A major emphasis
is the impact that technology has on daily life. Shira
Broschat (1992) developed the course and hopes that this
exposure will increase public awareness and support of
technology.
- Dartmouth offers a course developed by another PFF Fellow,
Marcelo Gleiser (1994), that is also aimed at undergraduate
students with majors in other areas. The course, "Physics
for Poets," has been very well received.
Finally, several Fellows commented that the prestige
attached to the PFF award facilitated their efforts to improve
their departments. For example, Shira Broschat (1992) remarked
that, "the PFF award has a great impact on less prestigious
universities in that it makes them better known, helps them
go after more money, and attract faculty." David Zumbrunnen
(1992) also stated that one benefit of PFF was his enhanced
capacity to advocate for changes at his home institution (Clemson
University). As he stated in an interview for this report,
"the award gave me a stable platform to affect change
at Clemson harmonizing research and undergraduate education."
He met with deans and reported on problems impeding progress
in education and research arenas. Zumbrunnen was able to do
this, as he stated, "because as a PFF I didnt fear
retribution I was an agent for change."
Assisting SMET
Students
A 1994 Fellow at Stanford University,
Connie J. Chang-Hasnain, developed and implemented
a novel teaching tool-simulated device animations-for
two undergraduate core courses. Realizing the
limitations of traditional classroom teaching
methods in conveying abstract material, she
complemented regular course material with animated
simulations of various basic electronic devices,
e.g., a junction diode, a metal-oxide-semiconductor
field effect transistor, a bipolar transistor,
etc. The goal was to use animated movies to
provide a visual aid to understand complicated
concepts, to give students a clear grasp of
physical parameters, and to stimulate the interest
in the course material. In addition, by implementing
the movies on computers in the engineering
center and dormitories, students can conveniently
use the interactive animation at their own
pace. The animation is now being used in both
undergraduate and graduate-level electronic
device courses and is also available on a 30-minute
videotape for dissemination to other universities.
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The Foundation defines its goal on Connections
as the extent to which "the results of NSF awards are
rapidly and readily available and feed, as appropriate, into
education, policy development, or use by other federal agencies
or the private sector. Exceptionally strong performance is
characterized by NSF staff and grantees actively reaching
out to potential users, and NSF-supported work playing critical
roles in important innovations or problem solving for society"
(NSF FY 1999 GPRA Performance Plan, March 1998). The PFF program
explicitly encouraged young investigators to seek out relationships
that would put their ideas to work in solving societys
important problems. Fellows were encouraged to support this
goal by forming partnerships and sharing their expertise with
representatives from public, private, and international organizations.
The PFF program explicitly
encouraged young investigators to seek out relationships
that would put their ideas to work in solving society's
important problems. |
Contributing
Expertise to the Public Sector
NSF has always encouraged scientists to participate
in public policy forums to assure that federal initiatives
involving science and technology rest on a solid research
base. Seventy percent of Fellows used their progress reports
to describe their efforts to testify before national or state
legislatures, prepare documents for public officials, serve
on NSF panels and selection committees, and consult with government
agencies. In fact, the 1992 PFF class met as a group in Washington,
DC, in June 1992 to develop strategies for influencing local,
state, and national policy issues important to research and
education in science and engineering. The group was made up
of 30 scientists and engineers from geographically diverse
institutions ranging from small, private liberal arts colleges
to large, public research universities. Topics discussed included
the future direction of scientific funding and educational
issues. The concerns of the group were presented for Congress'
consideration through both written and oral testimony.
- Chris Jacobsen, a 1992 Fellow at SUNY-Stony Brook, testified
to a House subcommittee on science during NSFs
reauthorization hearings in late 1992. The testimony
covered the following topics: the future direction of
the NSF, the balance between curiosity-driven and strategic
research at the NSF, the lack of official emphasis on
teaching excellence in the tenure and promotion policies
of higher education institutions, and the use of block
grants to fund academic departments or related research
groups.
- As a result of the June 1992 meeting in Washington, DC,
David Culler, a 1992 Fellow at the University of California
at Berkeley, drafted a letter to the Clinton Administration
that reiterated some of the ideas that were expressed
in the meeting. The letter also expressed a concern for
preparing the United States for the next millennium.
In his words, such preparation "requires not only
continued advancement of ideas through pure and applied
research, but the training of a workforce with a far
deeper understanding of science and engineering principles."
- Aaron Ellison (1992) presented a letter to the National
Science Board that represented the views of a number
of PFF grantees. The letter stressed that there should
be no compromise in supporting basic research and emphasized
the importance of educational reform. Specifically, the
Fellows requested that support for science education
be expanded to incorporate the development of new teaching
tools and methodologies, retraining of faculty in the
teaching of non-traditional students, and re-tooling
faculty to teach new disciplines.
- In January 1994, Emir Macari (1992) was invited to participate
in the Forum for Science in the National Interest organized
by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
This forum assembled a group of science and engineering
experts from across the Nation to discuss and present
recommendations to President Clinton for his administration's
science policy document. In August 1994, he was invited
to the release ceremony of "Science and the National
Interest," the document that resulted from the January
meeting. The position paper that Macari presented encouraged
cooperation between the scientific research communities
of the Americas.
A Sampling of
Fellows' Contributions to Public Policy
- Ingrid Burke, a 1993 Fellow at Colorado
State University, was invited to give
testimony before the Senate Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
She appeared at the hearing concerning
computational biology. The committee was
interested in finding out about this new
biology subdiscipline as it related to
the future of science in the United States.
- Mary L. Lowe, a 1992 Fellow from Loyola
College in Maryland, served on a planning
committee for the "Forum on Science
in the National Interest," organized
by the White House Office of Science and
Technology.
- David Zumbrunnen, a 1992 Fellow from Clemson
University, developed a briefing paper,
which along with papers submitted by other
invited scientists and engineers, formed
the basis for the White House publication,
"Science and the National Interest."
- Ephrahim Garcia, a 1993 Fellow from Vanderbilt
University, consulted with the Office
of Research and Development of the Central
Intelligence Agency on applications of
technology to intelligence gathering.
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Contributing
Expertise to Private Industry
Collaborations with industry are quite important
for moving projects from basic research to product development
and utilization. Twenty-one percent of Fellows described their
work with representatives from the private sector. The following
examples illustrate the efforts of some Fellows that have
contributed to private industry:
- Margaret Murname (1993) and her research group entered
strong interactions with industry, based on several important
breakthroughs the group made in the technology of ultra-fast
lasers. These lasers generate short pulses that can be
used to monitor the first steps in chemical reactions,
investigate processes such as melting and electrical
breakdown, and image through tissue. She has worked with
many optical component companies on product improvements
based on her research. The lasers also are commercially
available and are being used by researchers worldwide.
- Other Fellows are building bridges between their research
laboratories and industry by helping to broaden the education
of scientists and engineers employed in the private sector.
For example, Siu-Wai Chan, a 1993 Fellow at Columbia
University, offered on-site graduate courses to employees
of local companies. Three of her courses (elements of
materials science, thin films and layers, and electron
microscopy of materials) have been conducted via the
Columbia video network (CVN). The CVN program provides
working engineers an opportunity to increase their productivity
through continuing education.
- Peyman Givi, a 1992 Fellow, taught courses from SUNYs
mechanical and aerospace engineering curriculum at a
local automotive plant. Engineers who took the class
earned university credits. According to Givi, the teaching
relationship helps bridge an important gap between industry
and academe. In his words, engineers learn to "appreciate
the need for basic science and mathematics
in dealing with complex engineering problems."
Collaborating
with Private Industry
Jun Ni, a 1994 Fellow in the area
of precision engineering at the University
of Michigan, devised an approach that could
improve machine accuracy by 4 to 10 times.
For some time, efforts in precision engineering
have focused on developing tools and techniques
that can enhance the performance of machine
tools. By collaborating with an aerospace company,
Ni was able to test his error detection technology
in a real production environment. This relationship
also was instrumental in the young scientist's
taking the lead in an industrial consortium
formed by three automotive and six machine
tool manufacturers. The consortium's goal is
to develop a new generation of intelligent
work units.
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Collaborating
with Researchers and Scholars in Other Countries
PFF Fellows also reported collaborations with researchers
and scholars in other countries. Thirty-eight percent of Fellows
worked with international colleagues and participated in international
events. PFF awards also made it possible for Fellows to attend
prestigious international meetings in a variety of scientific
fields. Some specific examples follow:
- PFF enabled Aaron Ellison (1992) to spend the first six months
of sabbatical leave working with colleagues at marine laboratories
in Guam, Australia, Malaysia, and South Africa. Ellison spent
the remaining part of his leave teaching seminars on tropical
ecology in Guayaquil, Caracas, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Calcutta,
and Capetown.
- Marge Aelion (1993) attended the Tenth International Conference
of Women Engineers and Scientists held in Budapest, Hungary.
With three other faculty from her university, she traveled
to Novosibirsk and Irkutsk, Siberia, to promote a Russian-American
partnership in environmental science education and training.
- Gareth McKinley, a 1995 Fellow at Harvard University, visits
England every summer to lecture and talk with students at
the London International Youth Science Forum. This gathering
includes 350 11th and 12th grade students
from 46 countries who spend two weeks in London learning about
research and science. McKinley lectures on "nonlinear
dynamics and chaos in the world around us" and uses demonstrations
from physics, chemistry, meteorology, and medicine. The goal
of these efforts is to reach budding scientists interested
in research and stimulate them with a variety of contemporary
ideas.
Supporting International Outreach
One of the most unique international
outreach activities made possible by the PFF
program was initiated by Jose Escobar, a 1992
Fellow at Cornell University. He organized
the first summer school in mathematics ever
held in Colombia, South America. These summer
schools provide students with access to mathematicians
from the United States, Europe, and Latin America.
Since the program started, 15 Colombian students
who attended these summer schools have come
to the United States and five others have gone
to Brazil to continue their studies in mathematics.
According to Escobar, "this is an unprecedented
phenomenon in Colombia, where the number of
mathematicians with a Ph.D. degree is very
low."
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PFF Fellows reported being actively engaged in
a number of efforts directed at increasing opportunities for
a variety of audiences in the fields of science and engineering.
These included
- Promoting increased representation of women and minorities
in science and engineering;
- Working with elementary and secondary schools;
- Supporting teacher education and professional development;
and
- Creating science enrichment opportunities for K-12 students.
Promoting
Increased Representation of Women and Minorities in Science and
Engineering Fields
Thirty-six percent of the Fellows used their PFF
awards to promote increased representation of women and underrepresented
minorities in science and education fields. For example, 20
percent of Fellows described their work as mentors, faculty
advisors, or research supervisors to women and minority students.
The relationships of these students to the sponsoring Fellow
were typical of mentoring relationships. The female or minority
student was drawn into PFF-supported research projects, provided
with opportunities to learn the fundamentals of research,
and offered guidance on their academic careers.
In some cases, special minority programs were created
and coordinated by PFF Fellows.
- Anne Grauer (1993) chaired a university committee that
offered a summer internship for freshman and sophomore
women who were not majoring in a science. The program
for talented students who suffer from "science anxiety"
was designed to introduce participants to various means
of scientific inquiry.
- Through the "Women in Engineering Program" at
?Drexel University, Athina Petropulu (a 1995 Fellow)
visited local high schools to give demonstrations on
speech processing and its uses. Using a mobile computer
laboratory, she provides students with the opportunity
to have hands-on experience via the computers, cameras,
and microphones included in the lab.
- Through a "Success in the Sciences" program,
black and Hispanic students at Rutgers University conducted
independent research projects under the guidance of Jing
Li, a 1995 Fellow. The expectation was that this closely
supervised experience would help students succeed in
their college courses.
- Neuroscientist Chiye Aoki, a 1992 Fellow at New York University
(NYU), mentors a female student in neuroscience research
through the Hughes Undergraduate Summer Research Program.
One of the students has returned for two succeeding summers
to conduct an honors research project sponsored by the
NYU Medical School.
- At the University of California-Davis, underprivileged
minority undergraduates who majored in mathematics or
physical science were paired with faculty members such
as Louise Kellogg, a 1992 Fellow, for individual attention
and mentoring throughout their undergraduate careers.
This program, originally sponsored by NSF, is now funded
completely by the university.
Creating Special
Minority Programs
Hilary Lackritz, a 1993 PFF Fellow
at Purdue University, developed a program for
minority students that served two functions.
The first was to provide a support system for
students within the department. The program
offered additional (minority) teaching assistants
for the courses that traditionally proved most
difficult for minority students, supplied minority
role models from the engineering community,
provided information on industrial and graduate
school opportunities, and paired each student
with an individual faculty advisor to create
additional personal support. The second function
served by the program was to aid in the recruitment
of additional minority students. Program participants
visited high schools with large minority populations
to interest students in the University's chemistry
program. According to Lackritz, through this
involvement "the undergraduates act as
positive role models within the community,
gain self-confidence, and [obtain] security
in their own position. This is an excellent
method for letting current students have 'hands-on'
experience in counseling, communication skills,
and personal development. It will also be an
important recruiting tool for the University."
Another significant program for
underrepresented groups, directed by 1995 Fellow
Christopher Johnson, offers scholarships and
mentoring for women who show promise in science
and engineering. Originally funded by NSF,
the program now is supported fully by the University
of Utah. Each year, the program awards scholarships
to 20-25 young women. During the summer before
entry, participants take an interdisciplinary
science course with components in biology,
chemistry, mathematics, physics, and computer
science; tour various laboratories; attend
seminars given by professional women in science
and engineering; and meet with career counselors.
In the fall, participants begin work in research
labs, where, in the words of the sponsoring
Fellow, "they experience some of the excitement
of cutting-edge research and gain an appreciation
(and relevance) for the, sometimes dull, freshman
science and engineering courses they are taking."
PFF also enabled Erich Everbach, a 1992 Fellow
at Swarthmore, to spend a semester teaching
mathematics at a community college on an Indian
reservation. Everbach reported that the experience
helped him to become a more effective teacher
generally, improved his teaching of minority
students in particular, and increased his understanding
of Native American issues.
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Working
with Elementary and Secondary Schools
The Foundation defined its goal on improved achievement
as the extent to which NSF awards are used to foster the development
of essential skills and concepts in mathematics and science
at all educational levels. Fellows contributed to this goal
by participating in outreach activities involving elementary
and secondary school teachers and students. In fact, as shown
in Table 3-1 on page 26, 47 percent of Fellows had taken steps
taken to contribute their time and resources to pre-college
science education. Examples included providing pre- and in-service
education to K-12 teachers, creating or coordinating special
enrichment programs for K-12 science students and their teachers,
and participating in school-wide outreach activities aimed
at generating interest in science and engineering careers.
Supporting
Teacher Education and Professional Development
A significant number of Fellows described their
efforts to provide professional development to K-12 teachers.
- Jing Li (1995) and several colleagues at Rutgers set up
a summer research program in chemistry for local high
school teachers. The program was designed to (1) forge
stronger connections between colleges and local high
schools to advance the sciences, and (2) provide teachers
with the tools for guiding high school students toward
careers in chemistry, physics, and mathematics. The activities
gave high school teachers an opportunity to "refresh
their knowledge, explore new ideas, learn new techniques,
and gather new information on current developments in
science and technology."
- Mary Lowe (1992) used PFF funding to organize an all-day
academy for 12 high school mathematics, science, and
technology teachers. The academy, which focused on computer
applications suited to participants classrooms,
was designed to help participants and their colleagues
effectively integrate computers into their teaching.
At the close of the academy, attendees took part in a
conference for several thousand Maryland science teachers
conducted with computers. In exchange for the training
and equipment, the 12 teachers continue to collaborate
with Lowe on developing workshops and conducting presentations
for other groups of teachers.
- Jennifer Lewis (1994) organized workshops for teams of
university faculty members, high school physics and chemistry
teachers, and students. Each team created modules to
supplement instruction in high school science courses.
The modules, which can be downloaded from a university
website as publication-quality documents, have since
been distributed to high schools nationwide.
Creating
Science Enrichment Opportunities for K-12 Students
Several Fellows described steps they had taken
to support individualized research opportunities for middle
and high school students.
- Xing-Wang Deng, a 1995 Fellow at Yale, used his molecular
and physiological plant laboratories as a training ground
for local high school students. These students worked
on specially designed research projects with graduate
students in the program serving as their mentors. One
of these high school students used the lab to develop
a project that earned second place in a state science
competition.
- Shira Broschat (1992) invited even younger students into
her lab. During one year, she served as mentor to a 14-year-old
middle school student, with whom she met every week for
a full semester. The student learned the fundamentals
of research from library work to conducting experiments
by working on two of the Fellows laboratory projects.
In addition, a number of Fellows served as mentors
to elementary and secondary female or minority students. Two
Fellows at different universities (Broschat, 1992, and Carreiro,
1995) involved high school students in summer research projects.
- Broschat served as mentor for a Vietnamese American and
an African American student. In their second year, the
two girls spent 8 weeks using the knowledge they had
gained in the previous year creating a video on recycling
for K-12 students. One of the girls later enrolled in
an undergraduate electrical engineering program, and
the other planned to begin her education in engineering
after completing a tour with the Marine Corps.
- Margaret Carreiro mentored two high school juniors who
worked in her urban ecology lab. One high school mentee
studied the foliar nitrogen content and patterns of herbivory
on the tree-of-heaven, while the other studied the effect
of light on seed germination and seedling growth of the
Norway maple and the tree-of-heaven. Students in the
summer program completed their projects and presented
their results at a colloquium. This work will likely
form the basis of future publications for the students.
Changing Pre-Service
Education
Robin Pemantle, a 1992 Fellow at
the University of Wisconsin at Madison, has
helped a group of educators make fundamental
revisions in the sequence of mathematics courses
taken by elementary students. The revisions,
intended to align the teacher preparation program
in mathematics with the professional standards
adopted by the National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics, were designed to "ensure
that the teachers are well enough grounded
in the elementary math content to discuss it
articulately, teach it to others, solve difficult
problems, use it in unfamiliar contexts, and
treat it with confidence and mastery."
Courses were structured around small-group
problem-solving activities and demonstrations
of models for good classroom practice. The
courses also gave individual attention to the
special needs of each prospective teacher,
addressing specific gaps in mathematical knowledge
or understanding.
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Fellows also used their PFF funds to create other
kinds of structured enrichment experiences for students. Other
enrichment opportunities organized by Fellows included participating
in a summer workshop for gifted middle school students and
working with student organizations to create awareness of
opportunities in scientific careers.
- James Nowick, a 1995 Fellow at the University of California
at Irvine (UCI), developed the UCI Chemistry Outreach
Program to increase students interest in chemistry.
Over 80 graduate students have performed demonstrations
and given lectures, reaching in excess of 6,000 students.
- Nancy Songer (1995) has trained graduate students to mentor
middle school students in a program called "Kids
as Global Scientists." The program also involves
developing curriculum, support materials, and software
for teachers, students, and scientists. She states, "With
PFF funds Ive been able to scale the program up
to a much larger number of kids." As of March 1997,
she had "4,000 kids from all over the world sharing
data and information about time and weather imagery."
In addition, Songer has developed an 8-week middle school
weather curriculum for the program using a great deal
of imagery to capture students attention and illustrate
concepts.
- Wolfgang Bauer (1992) teaches a 2-week physics class for
60-90 gifted middle school students each summer. In addition
to teaching in this program, he has participated as an
event supervisor in the Michigan Science Olympiad for
middle and high school students.
- John Coulter, a 1993 Fellow at Lehigh University, regularly
organizes tours of his laboratories to inform high school
students about careers in science and engineering. In
addition, members of his student research group hosted
a research symposium that targeted K-12 students during
"engineers week." Several hundred local
students and their parents attended.
- Gary Bernstein, a 1992 Fellow who served as faculty advisor
for the student chapter of the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), developed a program
to bring the fundamentals of electrical engineering and
career awareness into local high schools. A unique aspect
of this program was that most of the work was done by
students in a local IEEE chapter. Under the Fellows
supervision, IEEE students created instructional units
on several topics, designed corresponding experiments,
built and repaired equipment needed for the experiments,
and taught the units in local high schools.
- Mats Selen, a 1995 Fellow at the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, operates a "Physics Van"
that visits elementary schools. The programs aim
is to stimulate the scientific curiosity of young children
"through a set of visually exciting demonstrations."
Physics and engineering undergraduates, who volunteer
their time to the project, staff the vans. In its first
year of operation, the Physics Van presented over 60
"shows" to schools in the surrounding area,
reaching over 5,000 students and 250 teachers.
Creating Enrichment
Opportunities for Students
One project, developed by Rebecca
Richards-Kortum, a 1993 Fellow at the University
of Texas at Austin, was offered to improve
the quality of high school mathematics instruction
and to encourage minority high school students
to consider careers in science and engineering.
The project was developed in collaboration
with a mathematics analysis teacher at a local
high school. Students were given the task of
analyzing the design of fiber catheters used
in biomedical optics. All problems had to be
solved using trigonometry. Electronic mail
was used to assign and submit homework assignments.
Once the assignments had been completed, students
took field trips to the university, where they
attended one of the Fellow's freshman classes
and worked in the lab with catheters to validate
results they predicted.
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