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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 1988)
Center to study soil moisture By Lisa Richardson Staff Reporter Two-thirds of the fiscal 1989 budget for the year-old High Plain s Regional Climate Center on East Campus will be used to research ways to monitor soil moisture conditions in Nebraska and sur rounding states. The goal of the project is to find the most accurate way to predict soil moisture conditions in the region, said Ken Hubbard, director of the center. The soil moisture project in volves collecting soil moisture readings for different crops in all the member states throughout the growing season. Member states are Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Colo rado, Wyoming and South Dakota. The center predicts soil condi tions using automated weather stations. The actual and predicted measurements are compared to determine a model for accurately predicting soil moisture condi tions without sampling. A joint U.S. Senate-House of Representatives conference ap proved a total budget of $307,000 for the center in mid-December. The final budget is yet to be appro pi iated. The rest of the budget will be used to develop types of climate service communications. One service includes a dial-up system tentatively called AGRIPROD, which will link personal computer owners with valuable climate in formation, Hubbard said. Several types of services are being considered, Hubbard said, including information on how weather affects irrigation needs and other climate information relevant to crop production. Hub bard said he hopes to develop in dexes for specific crops. Crops may react differently under similar weather conditions. Different ways to make the system easy to use are also being discussed, Hubbard said. This month, Hubbard said, he hopes to install a new satellite interface at the Nebraska ETV broadcast station. This will enable them to use the NETV satellite dish to collect National Weather Service data and other data from the remote weather stations. The information will be transferred to the center via modem. The center, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmos pheric Administration, addresses problems common to all member stales, Hubbard said. Its goal is to reduce research duplication among the states by organizing research and information. Amendment to mandatory helmet law fails I From Staff Reports Proponents of a mandatory motor cycle helmet law are one step closer to passage as Nebraska legislators ad vanced LB428 from select file Wednesday. Sen. Scott Moore of Stromsburg introduced an amendment to the bill mandating that only motorcyclists under age 19 wear a helmeL Moore argued that his amendment would be “a logical extension” to ‘ motorcycle safety education. After I age 19, Moore said, cyclists would have the education to choose to wear a helmet. The amendment failed 23 to 18. Sen. Dan Lynch of Omaha, who introduced the bill Jan. 7, said the bill would not have made sense with Moore’s amendment Lynch urged legislators to pass the bill without amendment or not to pass it at all. LB428 advanced to Enrollment and Review engrossment, the next step, to be rechecked and reprinted for final reading. NU engineers get research grant NASA, Army funds allow researchers to study space stations By Tammy Sopinski Staff Reporter Electrical engineering professor John Woollam has received research grants from NASA, the Army and many national corporations to re search anything from space stations to coatings for computer circuits. Woollam and his associates are using a recent $44,492 grant to re search the long-term effects of the atmosphere on space stations. Their goal is to find an exterior material that could stay in orbit for long periods of time without breaking apart under the pressures of direct sunlight and oxy gen. The University of Nebraska-Lin coln is one of about 12 colleges in the United States that have the equipment to conduct this research. Many col leges do not use this equipment be cause it is too expensive, he said. Woollam said it has taken nine years to purchase the equipment, which cost $500,000. NASA is also giving Woollam two other $50,000 grants. With one grant, from NASA’s Space Communica tions Division, Woollam is research ing ways to improve satellite trans missions, including television trans missions. He shares the third project with assistant professor of electrical engi neering Natale Ianno to study super conductivity, which is a broadly ex panding field. The Army and National Science Foundation also awarded two $60,000 grants. Woollam is studying the depo sition of diamond-like carbon on in fra-red transmitter material for the Army. He and physics and astronomy professor Dave Sellmyer are research ing mega-video optic recording with the NSF grant. Graduate and undergraduate stu dents work on the project. Woollam said students get hands-on experience in the lab, which is very useful after graduation. “It’s related to ongoing national problems, which is where they are going to end up working on jobs,” Woollam said. Woollam said he thinks the blend of course work and research strength ens students’ education. “The research process is very inter active with students and faculty learn ing from each other,” Woollam said. Students write their own reports to grant monitors and attend national meetings. Students gain experience writing theses and share ideas with scientists and students from around the country. Woollam has also received various grants from BOC, Inc., IBM and Control Data to research computer circuits, discs and coatings. Woollam came to UNL nine years ago after working at the NASA Lewis Research Center, where he studied super conductivity. CO Sale The Discs Didn't Get Any Smaller. But The Prices Did. 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