Photobiological Sciences Online

Photobiological Sciences Online (PSO) has modules covering such topics as Photomorphogenesis, Photomovement, Photophysics, Photosensitization & Photosynthesis. The content is owned by the American Society for Photobiology. 

 http://www.photobiology.info/

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/

Chemical Education Digital Library

Benzene rings and other aspects of chemistry come alive with these "living textbooks." This collection of key chemistry documents and primers is made possible via the Chemical Education Digital Library (ChemEd DL) and its contains eight separate items. They are called "living" because they are updated by their owners and those responsible for their continued success. Users will find "Practice in Thinking: A Laboratory Course in Introductory Chemistry," "Chemistry Leaflets," and "Wiki: Quantum States of Atoms and Molecules" here for their consideration. The Chemistry Leaflets provide an interesting wrinkle as they were originally published between 1927 and the mid-1940s. Visitors shouldn't miss "Chemical Principles through Integrated Multiple Exemplars (ChemPRIME)" as it is designed so that general chemistry concepts can be presented in an order that reflects the conceptual structure of the discipline.

 http://www.chemeddl.org/collections/LivTexts/

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

Instructional Science and Engineering Videos

These fun, intelligent, and engaging videos were created by scientist Jonathan Hare to be used in schools, workshops, and in home-study with accompanying information. On the site, visitors can make their way through 25 short films that explore the worlds of infrared photography, light beams, parabolic light collectors, generators, and seawater batteries. The videos are about five minutes long, and they feature hands-on demonstrations, witty commentary, and scientific asides that are informative and accessible. Visitors can also sign up to receive updates when new videos are released or watch them via YouTube.

http://vega.org.uk/video/subseries/27

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

Learn Chemistry: Chemistry Resources for Teachers

The Royal Society of Chemistry has created this most useful website to help teachers and students of chemistry learn about the field via interactive experiments, diagrams, animations, and so on. The site includes over 3,300 resources for school and higher education classes. Visitors can get started by using the Resource Type tab. Here they can browse through ten different headings, including Worksheet, Quiz, Tutorial, and Podcast. The Experiments area is quite wonderful, as it includes over 340 different experiments that can be conducted in the classroom.

http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/listing?searchtext=&fcategory=all&filter=all&Audience=AUD00000001&displayname=teachers

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

Green Chemistry Teaching Resources

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has created these excellent resources via the Green Chemistry Institute and the ACS Education Division. The goal of these materials is "to increase awareness and understanding of Green Chemistry principles, alternatives, practices, and benefits within traditional educational institutions and among practicing scientists." In the Online Resources section, visitors will find downloadable pocket guides to basic green chemistry principles, "Greener Education Materials for Chemists" from the University of Oregon, and more. Perhaps the best section of the site is Activities and Experiments, where visitors can look over activities like "Gassing Up Without Air Pollution" and "Cleaning Up With Atom Economy."

http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_SUPERARTICLE&node_id=1444&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=f757ebdd-69fa-4e3c-9d4a-0eb6bcda7234

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/ 

Macs in Chemistry

The Macs in Chemistry site was created to provide a resource for chemists using Apple Macintosh computers. It contain dozens of applications that will help users learn about chemistry (and more) through interactive activities, quizzes, and so on. In the At a Glance area, visitors can learn about the tutorials archived here, data analysis tools, and mobile science apps. This last section is a real gem, as it contains dozens of applications including everything from 29 interactive maps of the brain to chemistry formula exercises to a working seismograph. The rest of the applications are divided into alphabetical sections. Visitors should click on the Software Reviews area for timely and detailed reviews of each application's strengths and weaknesses. The site is rounded out by a contact form and a set of useful links. 

http://www.macinchem.org/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/ 

MIT Center for Materials Science and Engineering

The MIT Center for Materials Science and Engineering "is devoted to the design, creation, and fundamental understanding of materials that are capable of enhancing the human experience." Visitors to this site can peruse the eight primary sections here, which include Facilities, Research, Highlights, and Connecting to Industry. In the Research area, visitors can learn about the Center's ongoing research projects, including work on the design of nanomaterials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Journalists and others may find the Highlights area quite useful, as it contains updates on the Center's research accomplishments, such as the development of fibers that can detect and produce sound. The site is rounded out by a collection of related links which lead to other relevant research centers at MIT and the Lincoln Laboratory.

http://mit.edu/cmse/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Molecular Workbench

Created by the Concord Consortium, the Molecular Workbench is "a modeling tool for designing and conducting computational experiments across science." First-time visitors can check out one of the Featured Simulations to get started. The homepage contains a number of curriculum modules which deal with chemical bonding, semiconductors, and diffusion. Visitors can learn how to create their own simulations via the online manual, which is available here as well. The Articles area is quite helpful, as it contains full-text pieces on nanoscience education, quantum chemistry, and a primer on how transistors work. A good way to look over all of the offerings here is to click on the Showcase area. Here visitors can view the Featured simulations, or look through one of five topical sections, which include Biotech and Nanotechnology. Visitors will need to install the free Molecular Workbench software, which is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

http://mw.concord.org/modeler/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students

Students in the engineering and science fields need to communicate a broad set of often highly technical materials to lay audiences. This process can be challenging, and this nice set of materials from Pennsylvania State University will be a boon to students in these fields. The site has five main sections: Introduction, Presentations, Correspondence, Formal Reports, and Other Documents. The Introduction area contains three helpful documents that provide insights on crafting the style of any given document and assessing the audience. Moving along, the Formal Reports area gives helpful suggestions on composing laboratory reports, theses, and dissertations. The site is rounded out by a glossary of writing and composition terms and additional references and resources.

http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

webGURU: Guide for Undergraduate Research

Created via a partnership between the National Science Foundation and Northeastern University, the Web Guide to Research for Undergraduates (WebGURU) is an "interactive web-based tool intended to assist undergraduates navigate the hurdles of an undergraduate research experience." The site offers great primers for undergraduates seeking such an experience, and sections of note here include Professionalism, In the Lab, Communicating Science, and Mentoring Issues. Undergraduates new to the world of lab research should start by looking over the Getting Started section. Here they will find important articles on topics such as Questions To Ask, Negotiating Your Salary, and Getting Selected.

http://www.webguru.neu.edu/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Chem51A: Organic Chemistry

The OpenCourseWare Initiative has brought hundreds of course materials to people from Indonesia to Indiana. The University of California, Irvine has a number of excellent materials, one of which is this particular course offering. This course in organic chemistry was created by Professor James Nowick. On the site, visitors can view 27 different lectures from the fall 2009 iteration of the course. The topics covered here include resonance structures, organic compounds, and the properties of chiral compounds. The course materials will be quite useful to persons studying organic chemistry, or for those people who may need a refresher as part of their professional development.

http://ocw.uci.edu/courses/course_banner.aspx?id=73

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012.

http://scout.wisc.edu/

Electrochemical Energy Systems

The OpenCourseWare Initiative (OCW) has produced many wonderful free course materials on urban planning, philosophy, engineering, and mathematics. This recent offering from MIT's OCW collection presents material from the spring 2011 version of "Electrochemical Energy Systems". Taught by Professor Martin Bazant, the course "introduces principles and mathematical models of electrochemical energy conversion and storage." On this page, visitors can download and peruse the syllabus, read through the course calendar, and take a look at the lecture notes. The notes cover 39 different topics, including statistical thermodynamics, forced convention in fuel cells, and ion concentration polarization. Also, visitors are welcome to look over the problem sets and provide feedback on the course.
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemical-engineering/10-626-electrochemical-energy-systems-spring-2011/

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Energetics, Structure, and Kinetics

Based at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), this particular course website offers a "detailed analysis of three of the four classes of biological molecules (proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids) and the forces that shape them." Visitors to the site will note that they can view a description of the course here, and also look over the syllabus, lecture notes, course policies, and lecture references. The materials here are set up a bit like the courses offered via the OpenCourseWare initiative. The "Lecture Notes" area contains links to all nineteen in-class lectures, and the topics covered here include peptide bonds, DNA/RNA structure, protein interactions, and membrane protein synthesis. Also, visitors can learn about different molecular modeling programs and related materials.

http://saf.bio.caltech.edu/bi170a/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/