Western Washington University grants further science education

KIRA MILLAGE - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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BELLINGHAM - Western Washington University recently received four grants to expand research and studies in various areas of science.

Geology associate professors Scott Linneman and Doug Clark received about $194,000 from the National Science Foundation to incorporate a 3-D land survey scanning technique into the geology curriculum. The technique, called terrestrial laser scanning, allows researchers to create more accurate 3-D models of landforms, including active faults, landslides, coastal formations and river channels.

The money will allow WWU to purchase a scanning system and develop educational activities. After undergraduate students start using the new technique, professors will assess its impact on student learning.

MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the grants from the National Science Foundation, go to www.nfs.gov.
For more information about the grant from California Institute of Technology, go to www.spitzer.caltech.edu.
For more information about the Shannon Point Marine Center, go to www.wwu.edu/~spmc.

Faculty teams from Whatcom Community College and Northwest Indian College will be involved as well. The grant funding is through Aug. 31, 2010.

Physics and astronomy assistant professor Kenneth Rines received about $155,000 from the California Institute of Technology to study the history of star formation.

Rines and a team of WWU physics students, together with astronomers from around the U.S., will examine data from the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope about stars in other galaxies. The grant also covers examining how galaxies have changed over time.

The grant will fund the project through June 30, 2010.

Shannon Point Marine Center, the Anacortes-based center that is part of Western Washington University, recently received two grants from the National Science Foundation: $450,000 to study sea anemones and algae and $983,000 to expand the Multicultural Initiatives in Marine Science: Undergraduate Participation program.

The $450,000, three-year research grant will allow scientists to study a common sea anemone in local waters and two kinds of algae that live within its tissues, possibly shedding light on the effects of climate change on ocean systems. Scientists will test the effects of temperature and light levels on the algae and the resulting effects on the host anemone.

The $983,000, five-year grant will allow the marine center to continue offering a program that targets minority students in order to diversify professionals in the marine science field.

The multicultural program, in operation since 1991, allows eight undergraduate students from around the U.S. to come to the center for the winter and spring academic quarters to take courses in ocean sciences, participate in hands-on field investigations, explore career paths in ocean sciences and present marine biology lessons to local schools.

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Monday, Oct. 13, 2008

Western Washington University grants further science education

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