Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a new technology for low-cost rural connectivity. As a result, thousands of residents from rural villages in India are receiving quality eye care for the first time.

Based on "Wi-Fi" wireless networks, the new technology allows eye specialists to examine patients in five remote clinics via a high-quality videoconference using simple, inexpensive software and hardware. The system provides villages with a high-bandwidth connection to computer networks in cities as far as 50 miles away.

The researchers implemented the Technology and Infrastructure for Emerging Regions (TIER) pilot program in 2005. Because of the initial success, TIER will soon expand to include five hospitals linked to 50 clinics that will annually serve an expected half a million patients in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The research may also have application in other developing countries as well as in rural areas of the U.S.

Phillip Newmark and his colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have identified a gene in planaria--freshwater flatworms renowned for their regenerative abilities--that is key for maintenance of their stem cells. Because planarian stem cells share characteristics with those of humans, the work will aid scientists striving to understand how stem cells can be used to completely repair damaged tissues and organs.

Planaria are popular for introductory biology experiments because if one is chopped in half, two grow back. In fact, only 1/279th of a planarian is needed to regenerate a complete worm. Scientists studied the worm's ability to regenerate with a cutting-edge technique called "RNA interference," which stops a particular gene from producing its encoded protein. Without the protein, the planaria's stem cell population died out, and they lost the ability to regenerate. Now researchers will see if the gene plays a similar role in stem cells from other organisms.

When an abandoned campfire in Cleveland National Forest erupted into a 7,000-acre wildfire, communications expert Hans-Werner Braun and his collaborators from the NSF-supported High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN) came to the rescue. The team was recruited by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to assist with battling the blaze, known as "Horse Fire," that was threatening the San Diego, Calif. area.

The HPWREN team set up computer hardware to allow firefighters in remote locations to communicate via a wireless link from the incident command post to the Internet. The critical lifeline, using Voice-over-IP technology, allowed firefighters at the scene to coordinate with reinforcements and resources miles away. The HPWREN team will remain on call throughout the fire season.

A team of scientists has turned semiconductors into magnets by precisely replacing individual metal atoms in the material used to make computer chips. The ability to manipulate semiconductors at the atomic level could eventually revolutionize computers.

Computers use two different kinds of technology to calculate results and store data. Semiconductor chips do the calculating, while data storage has generally been accomplished with magnetic materials within floppy disks or reels of tape. By combining these two functions into a single device, the size and energy requirements of computer hardware could be significantly reduced--a perennial goal of the industry.

The researchers used a scanning tunneling microscope to move single atoms in the chip material to give it magnetic properties. They will now perform experiments to see how additional atomic maneuvers affect the semiconductor’s performance.

The team, composed of researchers from Princeton University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Iowa, was supported by NSF and the U.S. Army Research Office. See Princeton University's press release "Scientists Build 'Magnetic Semiconductors' One Atom at a Time" for more information.

Since its inception, the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program has been developing strategies to increase the quality and quantity of minority students who successfully complete bachelor's degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and also matriculate students into STEM graduate programs.

Since its inception in 1991, minority enrollment in STEM majors at LSAMP-participating institutions increased from 35,670 to more than 205,000 in 2003. To date, the 34 LSAMP Alliances have produced over 24,000 STEM graduates with bachelor's degrees.

NSF's Directorate for Education and Human Resources-Division of Human Resource Development manages the LSAMP program. For more on the evaluation of LSAMP, visit the Urban Institute Web site.

NSF: What was the most important insight you gained at NSF? Collins: While working at NSF, I had the opportunity to interact with scientists from a very broad array of disciplines outside ecology. That experience helped me understand important connections between subdisciplines within ecology, as well as the importance of collaboration among disciplines. I also gained a better understanding of how the federal government works and the role federal agencies play in shaping science and science policy.

NSF: What is the next "big thing" on the horizon for ecology? Collins: A few things really. First is the desire to develop genuine long-term research collaborations with social scientists, including economists, anthropologists, sociologists, geographers, political scientists, etc. Second, we are just beginning to see the emergence of 'ecological genomics,' which will unify disparate groups within the biological sciences. Finally, as technology continues to develop, sensors and sensor networks are going to play a huge role in ecological research. This will require strong collaborations between ecologists and engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists.

NSF: What research project at the Sevilleta LTER do you foresee having an immediate impact on ecological research? Collins: Water is everything in the desert southwest. Climate change models are notoriously bad at predicting regional changes in precipitation, but they all seem to suggest that our climate will become more variable. We have three experiments at the Sevilleta that manipulate different aspects of rainfall variability in combination with other drivers, for example, temperature or nitrogen pollution. We are 'simulating the future' in our region to better understand the consequences of global change on arid-land ecosystems.

NSF: What has been the highlight of your professional career? Collins: I learned early on at NSF that my job was to help make other people successful. That was our operating philosophy. I use that same philosophy here at UNM through working with students and through the Sevilleta LTER program.

NSF: What advice would you give to young researchers who are interested in pursuing the same or similar paths? Collins: As I said to a former UNM student heading off to a tenure track job, 'just do it because you love it.'