Nuclear Systems Design Project

It might be inadvisable to build your own nuclear power plant, but for those looking to learn the basics, this OpenCourseWare course from MIT can help. This course was originally taught in the fall of 2011 by Dr. Michael Short. On the page, visitors can look over the syllabus, the course calendar, the readings, and the lecture videos and class notes. This last area is quite useful, as it contains videos and slides from talks on hydrogen and biofuel production, process heat, and the entire nuclear system design process. Additionally, the site contains links to some of the assignments for the course and information about team projects. [KMG]

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/nuclear-engineering/22-033-nuclear-systems-design-project-fall-2011/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

National Geographic Education Collections

The National Geographic Education website has a number of sections dedicated to different areas within the natural sciences including animals, climate change, ecosystems, engineering, oceans, migration and weather. On the site, visitors can dive in via the Latest Updates or browse the features. Visitors can use the filters on the site to look over the resources by Type, Grades & Ages, Intended Audience, and Subjects.

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/topics/

NOAA Education Resources: Aquatic Food Webs

This nice site from NOAA starts with a bold statement: "Big fish eat little fish; that's how the food cycle works." It's a fitting introduction to this exploration of aquatic food webs. Offered as part of NOAA's main Education Resources site, this site offers a dozen well-produced videos, lesson plans, and data sets divided into areas that include Background Information and Multimedia. These items include "Tagging of Pacific Pelagics," "Census of Marine Life Biodiversity," and "Components of a Food Web." Visitors can also look over the Features area near the bottom of the site, whose offerings range from a profile of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary to a longitudinal study of sea trout in the food web. Finally, visitors can use the social media tabs to share resources from the site with colleagues and others.

http://www.education.noaa.gov/Marine_Life/Aquatic_Food_Webs.html

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

The Astronomical Journal

Based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Astronomical Journal (AJ) publishes original astronomical research, with "an emphasis on significant scientific results derived from observations, including descriptions of data capture, surveys, analysis techniques, and astronomical interpretation." The publication was founded in 1849 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and since that time it has become highly regarded. Visitors to the site can read past issues for free and they can use the Most Read, Most Cited, and Latest Articles tabs to dive right in. Recent pieces in the AJ have addressed supernovae, infrared scientific measurement devices, and the numerical integration of rotational motion. On the site, visitors can contact the editorial board, learn about submission guidelines, and peruse the AJ's ethics policy. It is a rather wonderful way to learn about the latest research in this field and is a resource that users will want to bookmark for future consideration.

http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-3881 

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

MathDL Mathematical Communication

Created as part of the Mathematical Association of America's (MAA) outreach efforts, MathDL Mathematical Communication is "a developing collection of resources for engaging students in writing and speaking about mathematics, whether for the purpose of learning mathematics or of learning to communicate as mathematicians." The site contains materials on giving successful math presentations, talking about math to a diverse audience, and also communicating effectively with teammates working on a math project. Visitors shouldn't miss the Resources for Presentations: Handouts & Links area. Here they can find how-to-guides such as "Preparing a Poster Presentation" and "How to Give an Effective Math Talk." Also, visitors are encouraged to submit their own resources for possible inclusion on the site. The site is rounded out by a nice primer titled "Introduction to Teaching Math Communication."

 http://mathcomm.org/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

University of Florida Herbarium Collections Catalog

The University of Florida Herbarium collection contains over 450,000 specimens in the vascular plant and bryophyte and lichen collections. Currently, over 55,000 of these specimens are available on this searchable database. The project was sponsored by a range of institutions, including the United States Department of Agriculture, the Florida Museum of Natural History, and the Florida Center for Library Automation. First-time visitors should use the About the Catalog area to learn more about the functionality and setup of the project. The Search the Catalog area contains ten different fields to facilitate searches, including family, genus, country, state, county, collector, and accession number. Additionally, many of the items have digitized photographs and other visual material attached to their records.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herbarium/cat/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

Phenomena: A science salon hosted by National Geographic Magazine

In the 19th century, the height of a learned experience might be taking part in a salon in the grand quarters of a beautiful manse. In our own time, it's much easier to take part in such erudite explorations. This online Phenomena salon is "a gathering of spirited science writers who take delight in the new, the strange, the beautiful and awe-inspiring details of our world." Hosted by National Geographic's Jamie Shreeve, the site includes thought-provoking essays, reader feedback, and an ongoing conversation about the very broad and deep world of science. Visitors can search all of the entries, or they can look through sections that include The Loom (which houses work by Carl Zimmer) and Only Human (written by Virginia Hughes). Recent entries include "With Alzheimer's Comes Empathy" and "For the Love of Dinosaurs." Overall, the material is accessible, thoughtful and well worth a close look. 

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/?source=hp_phenomena

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/