Discusses four types of breaking waves (spilling, plunging, collapsing, and surging) and effect of these waves on beaches. Also discusses various patterns left by waves in sand (for example, ripples) and cusps (thin sheets of water forming horizontal curves as they wash up the slope of a beach). (Author/JN)

Computer applications in scientific instrumentation are traced from early data processing to modern computer-based instruments. Probable pathways toward instruments with increased "intelligence" include, among others, implementation of hierarchical computer networks and microprocessor controllers and the simplification of programing. The…

Encourages new PhDs in analytical chemistry to carefully consider college teaching as a career choice by pointing out some assets and liabilities of the profession. Discusses academic freedom, salary ranges, job security, and potential rewards of teaching college students. (SK)

Discusses a biochemical engineering program for undergraduate and graduate students. Describes three university programs including the goals, courses, and problems involved. (YP)

A retroreflector is a mirror that removes distortion from a light beam. Describes experiments using the retroreflector as well as related phenomena. (JN)

Materials as ordinary as glacial till often afford instructive resources for classroom demonstration, field study, and laboratory analysis, rewarding the investigator with information about provenance, glacial transport history, environment and mode of deposition, and possible postglacial diagenesis. (Author)

Estimates between 750 and 1,000 potentially dangerous asteroids in orbits crossing that of the earth. Discusses how space probes armed with warheads can be used to rendezvous with these asteroids (or comets) to divert them from the earth. (BC)

Plate tectonics is the current framework for understanding earth history and processes. Recent progress in this field is discussed, focusing on continental growth, mountain building, hot spots, and mineral depositions. (JN)

Discusses why the Nobel Committee for Physics waited so long before giving Einstein the Nobel Prize and why they did not award it for relativity, but for the photoelectric effect instead. Focuses on the judgments of leading scientists who made nominations as well as committee members' decisions. (Author/JN)

Science educators are encouraged to avoid the temptation to select just one view of science and construct science programs around its inevitable prejudices. Author suggests that education departments should emphasize philosophy and the history of science. (15 references) (PR)

Describes the origin of the science of cosmology and the competing theories to explain the beginning of the universe. The big bang theory for the creation of the universe is contrasted with the steady state theory. The author details discoveries that led to the demise of the steady state theory. (PR)

An overview of critical realism is provided. This philosophical stance proposes that science is saying something real about the nature of things. (JN)

More than 20,000 kindergarten through 12th grade teachers and more than 6,000 college and university faculty are directly involved in National Science Foundation (NSF) education projects. Building on more than 4 decades of knowledge and experience, NSF today is able to provide vigorous leadership in the nation's efforts to strengthen science,…

One of the goals of science education is to foster critical and scientific thinking skills. However, if the meaning of the terms "thinking critically" or "thinking scientifically" is not clear, these phrases will become vacuous slogans beyond translation in teaching methods and curriculum materials. Therefore, the fundamental aspect of these terms…

For the past two decades, increasing numbers of scientists have been optimistic about finding other intelligent life forms in our galaxy. On the other hand, as knowledge has grown regarding how life developed on earth, a scientific counterrevolution has evolved. Simply stated, it questions the inevitability of widespread life within our galaxy,…