Describes the chemical engineering program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, including history of the department, faculty research interests and professional activities, graduate and undergraduate programs, and research in nuclear engineering. (SK)

Summarizes the author's experiences with undergraduate research in polymers at Purdue University. Suggests that such experiences may assist students in considering graduate study in chemical engineering. Presents data on 37 past participants' current positions and summarizes their answers to selected questions evaluating their undergraduate…

Presents methods for demonstrating and applying scientific principles by growing plants through water culture (hydroponics), including a review of the history of hydroponics, re-creating some early experiments, and setting up a modern hydroponic system. (CS)

Describes experiments using solid state detectors in modern physics courses. The apparatus involved is simple and inexpensive, avoiding costly electronics, and the very high efficiency of plastic detectors in particular makes them ideally suited for work with very weak radioactive sources. (Author/SK)

Describes the diffusion of water molecules with terminology adopted from the physical sciences. Presents a set of student exercises (with answers) relating to the topic. (SK)

Describes equipment, activities, and experiments useful in biology and environmental education instruction, including, among others, sampling in ecology using an overhead projector, the slide finder as an aid to microscopy, teaching kidney function, and teaching wildlife conservation-sand dune systems. (SK)

Structure of physics can be treated as an instructional variable by teachers who make the choices: defined versus derived concepts, operational versus paraphrase definitions, and theoretical versus empirical relationships. Operational definitions and empirical relationships are recommended for beginning students; paraphrase definitions and…

Describes a systematic investigation of the understanding of the concept of acceleration among students enrolled in a variety of introductory physics courses through individual demonstration interviews. Describes and identifies some conceptual difficulties and discusses some implications for instruction. (Author/SK)

Discusses various topics in microelectronics to aid those teaching modern electronics for the first time, including, among others, the slang name "micro," attitudes of examining boards, rapid obsolescence of electronic devices, costs, analog systems, and digital systems. (SK)

Many didactical difficulties encountered in contemporary school physics are due to an outdated philosophy of science as illustrated by the energy concept, an example of a theoretical term which cannot be defined operationally with the help of simple measurement operations. (Author/DS)

Suggests that since most newborn infants (65%) preferred to lie with their heads turned to the right, whereas 15% showed a distinct preference for the left, right head-orientation preference may contribute to the early development of right-handedness. (Author/SK)

Described is an experiment designed to provide an experimental basis for a unifying point of view (utilizing theoretical framework and chemistry laboratory experiments) for physical chemistry students. Three experiments are described: phase equilibrium, chemical equilibrium, and a test of the third law of thermodynamics. (Author/DS)

Described is the history of the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), Melborne, Florida. FIT offers 45 undergraduate degree programs, 16 masters degree programs and seven doctoral degree programs in the areas of science and engineering, management, humanities, psychology, aeronautics, applied technology, marine technology, and medical research.…

Discusses the effect of silhouetting a vertical vibrating string against a television screen. The article also reports the usefulness of the effect in tuning stringed instruments and as a possible basis for lecture demonstrations and student discussions and investigations. (HM)

This is a 20-page directory of aviation majors and curricula offered by colleges and universities within the United States. The schools are organized alphabetically on a state-by-state basis, within each broad heading of the particular discipline. (SA)