Tecnalia develops a system for heat collection from asphalt pavements

Tecnalia, through its Construction Unit, is participating in the Pavener project, aimed at developing a system for collecting the solar energy absorbed by asphalt paved surfaces. The two-year project is being led by the Campezo Group. The Group is focusing on quality control and research project development through its Research and Quality Control Laboratory, and presently this is one of its key projects.

The system involves collecting solar energy accumulated in pavements by circulating a fluid through pipes installed below the surface. This method works similarly to a solar collector incorporated into the pavement. The system can be implemented below any paved surface exposed to solar radiation, such as roads, pavements, car parks, airport landing runways and aprons, etc. Asphalted paved surfaces can heat up 70 degrees in days of strong sunlight, and given the large paved surface area available, there is a great potential for the recovery of this energy.

Multiple applications

The system can be designed for multiple applications, the most novel of these being its use as a solar collector, with great potential in the building sector. Incorporating concepts such as heat storage and heat pumps into the developed system, the accumulated solar energy may be used in low-temperature applications such as the air-conditioning of buildings, sports and leisure centres, swimming pools, and hot water supply. Another potential application of the system is its use for maintaining the temperature of the asphalt above freezing levels in winter, thus preventing the formation of ice on the roads. Apart from the benefits to road safety, this would reduce the amount of salt needed to be used to prevent frost.

The system would reduce consumption of fossil fuels, as well as greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, as a renewable source of energy is exploited. Moreover, the maintenance required for roads is reduced, as road surface temperature can be maintained stable both in winter and in summer, thus reducing the appearance of cracks and grooves in the paved surfaces. An additional advantage of the system is the reduction of the urban heat island effect, as excess heat is extracted from the paved surfaces.

Simulation tasks

The Construction Unit at Tecnalia is researching into the thermal and mechanical properties of the system through experimental simulations and measurements, with the goal of optimising the system configuration depending on the application. Structural stability and thermal behaviour are the key aspects to consider in the development of the system.

The performance of the system will be further studied after the construction of a prototype installation.

Bing Energy relocates to partner with FSU on high-tech fuel cells

		IMAGE: This is Professor Jim P. Zheng of Florida State University. Click here for more information.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott today announced that Bing Energy Inc. of Chino, Calif., has selected Tallahassee as the new site of the company's world headquarters. The company, in collaboration with Professor Jim P. Zheng of The Florida State University, is planning to turn revolutionary nanotechnology pioneered at FSU into a better, faster, more economical and commercially viable fuel cell. The move is expected to create at least 244 jobs paying an average wage of $41,655 in Florida.
"I am proud to welcome Bing Energy and thank them for recognizing that Florida is the best state in the nation," Scott said. "As governor, I am continuing to make it the best place to do business. This is only the beginning. Just as Bing Energy was convinced to bring jobs here, I am talking to companies across the nation. I am letting them know that our reduction in the business tax burden, commitment to job creation, and Florida's world-class work force mean we are open for business."
Bing Energy, a manufacturer of state-of-the-art components for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, will begin production in March 2011 and serve the domestic and international energy markets.
"We know that, with the continuing support of Gov. Scott, the Legislature and the people of Florida, our institutions of higher learning will continue to foster innovation, and jobs will continue to cluster around those innovations," said Florida State University President Eric J. Barron. "The breakthrough research by Drs. Wang and Zheng and the company's decision to come to Florida confirm that the investment made in their work by our state and the federal government has realized its commercial potential. Bing Energy represents the future, and Florida State is proud to be a part of it."

		IMAGE: This is President Barron (foreground) and Florida Governor Rick Scott (background).

Bing is moving its global headquarters to Tallahassee to work in partnership with Zheng, who has pioneered a fuel cell that incorporates a thin membrane composed of carbon nanotubes, reducing the need for expensive platinum components that, until now, have made fuel cells too expensive to be widely marketed. Zheng's technology is based on pioneering research and development of buckypaper conducted at Florida State's High-Performance Materials Institute. The institute's director, Professor Ben Wang, is the assistant vice president for research at Florida State.
Bing Energy's innovation promises to produce a fuel cell that is more efficient, more durable and significantly less expensive – benefits that could transform the transportation and power generation sectors.
Joining Scott and Barron in celebrating Bing Energy's move to Tallahassee were Bing Energy CFO Dean Minardi, Tallahassee Mayor John Marks, and representatives from the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County Inc.
"We all know the world's existing energy-use pattern is unsustainable," Minardi said. "A commercially viable fuel cell will transform the way we drive, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. It will transform the way we deliver energy to neighborhoods, ensuring reliability and eliminating the risk of brownouts."
Bing Energy's move to Florida is tied to a $1.9 million award the company recently received from the Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development. The award is a Qualified Target Industry (QTI) Tax Refund in support of job creation. The local Tallahassee and Leon County governments are also supporting Bing Energy by each providing a 10 percent match on the QTI Award.
Gov. Scott has stated that creating jobs is his top priority. As governor, he has announced plans to create 700,000 jobs over the next seven years by implementing accountability budgeting, reducing government spending, enacting regulatory reform, focusing on job growth and retention, investing in world class state universities, reducing property taxes and phasing out the business income tax.
Local officials expressed delight that Tallahassee was chosen by Bing Energy as its relocation site.
"Our organization identified tax incentives and work-force training programs that gave Tallahassee the edge over other communities under consideration," said Kim Williams, chairman of the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/ Leon County Inc. "This is a perfect example of why connecting industry, education and government is so important. In this case, these connections helped us to retain our talent, as well as our university technologies and commercialization within our community."
Tallahassee Mayor John Marks spoke of the importance of creating jobs in his community and "retaining one of our greatest assets, our work-force talent. The city of Tallahassee is committed to doing our part to help this promising company establish its roots in our community."
Marks' comments were echoed by John Dailey, chairman of the Leon County Commission.
"The county is committed to working with our public and private sectors, especially our universities, to help businesses locate in our community," Dailey said.

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Additional information on the Bing Energy-FSU licensing agreement is available at http://www.fsu.com/News/FSU-signs-licensing-agreement-with-technology-company-Bing-Energy.

New initiative provides materials to help lower radiation dose in pediatric fluoroscopic procedures

Washington, DC — The Image Gently campaign has developed easily accessible online teaching materials and checklists to help providers use the lowest dose necessary to perform fluoroscopic procedures on children. Physicians, medical physicists, and radiologic technologists are encouraged to visit the Image Gently Web site (www.imagegently.org) to review these important materials and factor the information into their clinical decision making.

The Image Gently campaign is conducted by the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, founded by the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR), the American College of Radiology (ACR), the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT), and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), and now encompasses more than 50 medical organizations serving more than 500,000 health care providers world-wide.

There is no doubt that fluoroscopic procedures help improve and save lives. However, children are more sensitive to radiation than adults, and cumulative radiation exposure to their smaller, developing bodies could, over time, have adverse effects.

When fluoroscopic procedures are indicated, providers where appropriate areurged to:

• Pause and child-size the technique (match kVp and mAs to size of child)
• Use lowest pulse rate possible
• Limit fluoroscopic time and limit use of magnification mode
• Carefully collimate area of interest and utilize appropriate shielding
• Utilize pulsed digital fluoroscopic equipment with adjustable frame speeds and last image hold and capture capability.
• Consider ultrasound or, when applicable, MRI

"The diagnostic results that these procedures provide, as with all medical techniques, also come with their own potential questions and concerns. This extension of the Image Gently initiative gives providers real world, practical guidance to help ensure that the radiation dose administered to children via these procedures is as low as possible given the particular circumstances of each case," said Marta Hernanz-Schulman MD, FAAP, FACR, chair, ACR Pediatric Guidelines and Standards Committee, past President of the SPR and member of the Alliance Steering Committee, who is leading the diagnostic fluoroscopy component of the Image Gently campaign.

New on the Image Gently Website are:

• Downloadable presentation for use by providers to teach their staff methods to reduce dose and maintain quality. Radiologists are encouraged to give this talk locally
• Downloadable checklist of dose reduction steps the team should review for each patient
• Downloadable outline of dose reduction and quality maintenance steps to take in the department
• Information for pediatricians and parents regarding fluoroscopic procedures in children

"Healthcare providers want to ensure that these lifesaving procedures are performed with the utmost care and safety in children. Pediatric patient care is greatly improved during fluoroscopy by collaboration of professionals across multiple disciplines. The information provided on the Image Gently Website provides a basis for interaction among the radiologists, the radiologic technologists, qualified medical physicists and other team members to improve image quality at reduced radiation doses to the patient," said Maryellen L. Giger, Ph.D., FAAPM, FAIMBE, President of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Referring physicians are encouraged to ask the following of any imaging provider to whom they refer their pediatric patients:

• If the facility is accredited by the ACR
• If the technologists are certified or licensed, and whether they have experience with children
• How frequently the facility performs the requested fluoroscopic study in children
• If a board certified radiologist with pediatric experience, or a pediatric radiologist will be performing and interpreting the study

"Image Gently has developed the Pause and Pulse campaign in part as follow-up to the public meeting held by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Like the FDA, we believe that there is an opportunity to promote radiation protection in fluoroscopy in children. Fluoroscopy in children is a commonly performed study and there is a significant opportunity to decrease radiation dose for children, while still performing a diagnostic exam. These materials raise awareness and provide evidence based educational materials to work toward this goal," said Marilyn Goske, MD, chair of the Alliance, past president of the SPR, and Silverman Chair for Radiology Education at Cincinnati Children's Medical Center.

"Our goal is to ensure that every facility uses appropriate dose reduction techniques when performing imaging and interventional procedures in children," said James Temme, M.P.A., R.T.(R)(QM), FASRT, president of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. "The technique must always be matched to the size and needs of the child."

The Image Gently site (www.imagegently.org) also contains the latest research and educational materials to aid radiologists, radiologic technologists, medical physicists, and other imaging stakeholders in determining the appropriate techniques to be used in the imaging of children and how the radiation received from these exams may affect pediatric patients over time.

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Health care providers are urged to visit the Image Gently Web site (www.imagegently.org) and pledge to do their part to "child-size" the radiation dose used in children's imaging.

To speak with a representative from the Image Gently campaign, please contact Shawn Farley at 703-648-8936/PR@acr.org or Ceela McElveny at 800-444-2778 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              800-444-2778      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, Ext. 1239/cmcelveny@asrt.org

New IEEE-USA president looks to advance US innovation and entrepreneurship

New IEEE-USA President Ron Jensen has identified advancing U.S. innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness as his priorities for 2011.
"Engineers and technologists are innovators and job creators," Jensen said. "The more technology specialists we unleash in the workforce, the better our opportunity to revitalize the U.S. economy. Our nation's ability to innovate new products and services will help us to compete globally and create jobs in the United States."
Jensen, who became IEEE-USA president on 1 January, succeeds Evelyn Hirt. Jim Howard is president-elect.
Jensen is encouraged by the recently announced public/private partnership, Startup America, and its potential to increase the number of new businesses that have high-growth, high job-creating potential. See http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/startup-america.
IEEE-USA supports and promotes high-tech entrepreneurship through programs like its Entrepreneurs Village, TechMatch and IEEE Alliance of Consultants Networks. In 2009, IEEE-USA entered into a partnership with the Small Business Administration to assist high-tech entrepreneurs starting new ventures. Federal and state resources are available at http://www.ieeeusa.org/careers/entrepreneurs/resources.asp#SBA.
"I am especially interested in understanding how we can help our members become more innovative, entrepreneurial and competitive in the global economy," Jensen said. "We have to understand what our members' careers will be like 5 to 10 years from now and support their adjustment to that environment."
IEEE-USA will also work with other science and engineering organizations to encourage Congress to fund the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. The legislation, which was signed into law in December, authorizes federal investment in science, engineering, innovation, technology and competitiveness. Its goal is to help the United States maintain its world technology leadership and to create jobs.

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Meet the New IEEE-USA President Ronald G. Jensen enjoyed a 40-year career with IBM. He held positions in semiconductor development and applications, chip development, system design, systems architecture, management and project management. He assisted in the development of several IBM families of computers and servers, and retired in 2009 as a chief engineering manager.
Jensen's professional interests range from systems architecture and embedded systems to technical education, management and strategic planning, to the use of the Internet, collaboration tools and social networking to build a professional environment.
Jensen became a student IEEE member in 1972, a member three years later and a senior member in 1999. He also holds membership in Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical and computer engineering honor society, and the Project Management Institute.
Jensen has held numerous IEEE volunteer leadership positions. Highlights include, among others, serving on the IEEE Board of Directors as Region 4 director in 2005-06, and chairing the IEEE Strategic Planning Committee in 2007-08. He is a member of the IEEE Computer Society, Technology Management Council and Women in Engineering affinity group. He was honored with an IEEE Third Millennium Medal in 2000.
Jensen and his wife, Marlene, live on Lake Zumbro outside of Rochester, Minn. They have two grown sons, Joel and Ryan, and three grandchildren, Emily, Lily and Dane.
For more on Jensen, check out the December issue of IEEE-USA In Action: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieeeusa/ieeeusa_1210/#/22/OnePage.
IEEE-USA advances the public good and promotes the careers and public policy interests of 210,000 engineering, computing and technology professionals who are U.S. members of IEEE. http://www.ieeeusa.org

Nanoparticles May Enhance Circulating Tumor Cell Detection

ATLANTA – Tiny gold particles can help doctors detect tumor cells circulating in the blood of patients with head and neck cancer, researchers at Emory and Georgia Tech have found.

The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is an emerging technique that can allow oncologists to monitor patients with cancer for metastasis or to evaluate the progress of their treatment. The gold particles, which are embedded with dyes allowing their detection by laser spectroscopy, could enhance this technique’s specificity by reducing the number of false positives.

The results are published online in the journal Cancer Research.

Gold-based nanoparticles can detect circulating tumor cells. Download/view larger image.

One challenge with detecting CTCs is separating out signals from white blood cells, which are similarly sized as tumor cells and can stick to the same antibodies normally used to identify tumor cells. Commercially available devices trap CTCs using antibody-coated magnetic beads, and technicians must stain the trapped cells with several antibodies to avoid falsely identifying white blood cells as tumor cells.

Emory and Georgia Tech researchers show that polymer-coated and dye-studded gold particles, directly linked to a growth factor peptide rather than an antibody, can detect circulating tumor cells in the blood of patients with head and neck cancer.

“The key technological advance here is our finding that polymer-coated gold nanoparticles that are conjugated with low molecular weight peptides such as EGF are much less sticky than particles conjugated to whole antibodies,” says Shuming Nie, PhD, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. “This effect has led to a major improvement in discriminating tumor cells from non-tumor cells in the blood.”

The particles are linked to EGF (epithelial growth factor), whose counterpart EGFR (epithelial growth factor receptor) is over-produced on the surfaces of several types of tumor cells.

Upon laser illumination, the particles display a sharp fingerprint-like pattern that is specific to the dye, because the gold enhances the signal coming from the dyes. This suggests that several types of nanoparticles could be combined to gain more information about the growth characteristics of the tumor cells. In addition, measuring CTC levels may be sensitive enough to distinguish patients with localized disease from those with metastatic disease.

“Nanoparticles could be instrumental in modifying the process so that circulating tumor cells can be detected without separating the tumor cells from normal blood cells,” Nie says. “We’ve demonstrated that one tumor cell out of approximately one to ten million normal cells can be detected this way.”

In collaboration with oncologists at Winship Cancer Institute, researchers used nanoparticles to test for CTCs in blood samples from 19 patients with head and neck cancer. Of these patients, 17 had positive signals for CTCs in their blood. The two with low signals were verified to have no circulating cells by a different technique.

“Although the results have not been compared or validated with current CTC detection methods, our ‘one-tube’ SERS technology could be faster and lower in costs than other detection methods,” says Dong Moon Shin, MD, professor of hematology and oncology and otolaryngology, associate director of academic development for Winship Cancer Institute and director of the Winship Cancer Institute Chemoprevention Program. “We need to validate this pilot study by continuing with larger groups of patients and comparing with other tests.”

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2011/01/03/0008-5472.CAN-10-3069.abstract

Writer: Quinn Eastman

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The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University is an academic health science and service center focusing on teaching, research, health care and public service.

Learn more about Emory’s health sciences:
Blog: http://emoryhealthblog.com
Twitter: @emoryhealthsci
Web: http://emoryhealthsciences.org

In online dating, blacks more open to romancing whites than vice versa

New research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that when it comes to dating, cyberspace is as segregated as the real world. Data gathered from more than 1 million profiles of singles looking for love online show that whites overwhelmingly prefer to date members of their own race, while blacks, especially men, are far more likely to cross the race barrier in hopes of being struck by Cupid’s arrow.

UC Berkeley researchers analyzed the racial preferences and online activity of people from the United States who subscribed between 2009 and 2010 to a major Internet dating service. In their profiles, the online daters stated a racial preference. Some said they preferred to date only within their race, others preferred someone outside their race, and yet others said they were open to dating someone of any race.
Researchers were then able to compare the online daters’ stated preferences with whom they actually contacted for a date, and they found profound differences between blacks and whites.
“Those who said they were indifferent to the race of a partner were most likely to be young, male and black,” said Gerald Mendelsohn, a UC Berkeley psychologist, professor of graduate studies and lead author of the study, which will soon be submitted for publication.
Overall, he said, “Whites more than blacks, women more than men and old more than young participants stated a preference for a partner of the same race,”
The reluctance of whites to contact blacks was true even for those who claimed they were indifferent to race.  More than 80 percent of the whites contacted whites and fewer than 5 percent of them contacted blacks, a disparity that held for young as well as for older participants.
“Were they hypocritical? Alert to the realities of the social world? Striving for political correctness? Attempting an optimizing strategy of self-presentation? Our data do not permit us to choose among those alternatives,” the study authors wrote.
The study’s coauthors are Lindsay Shaw Taylor, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley; Andrew T. Fiore, a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Information who is currently a visiting assistant professor at Michigan State University and Coye Cheshire, an assistant professor in the School of Information.
An estimated one in five Americans has used an online dating service such as eHarmony or  Match.com, and a growing number of urbanites are finding romance via Facebook and other social networking sites. The percentage of couples who have met online is now nearly equal to that of pairs who met through friends or family, according to the researchers.
“As the use of online dating services grows, people whose paths never would have crossed offline now regularly meet and have meaningful exchanges in the virtual world,” the UC Berkeley study says.
The last 40 years have seen a dramatic shift in attitudes in America toward black-white intermarriage – from three to one opposed to three to one in favor, said Mendelsohn. Yet, 2000 U.S. Census data shows that black-white couples represent just 1 percent of American marriages, he said.
The main findings of this study parallel the census data on marriage in that blacks are more likely than whites to be in interracial marriages, and that couples in which the husband is black and the wife is white are more common than those in which the husband is white and the wife is black, according to Mendelsohn.
“One theory is that blacks are acting like other minority populations in the history of this country,” Mendelsohn said. “They are interested in moving up in the power structure, and one way you do that is through intermarriage with the dominant group.”
According to the study, more than 80 percent of the online dating contacts initiated by whites were to other whites, with only 3 percent going to blacks. This trend held for both men and women, young and old. Although black participants initiated contact to members of their own race more than to whites, they were ten times more likely to contact whites than vice versa, according the the study.
The researchers also tracked the rates of reciprocation among the pool of online daters, looking at how they responded once they received a message from an interested potential partner. Again, white men and women were most likely to respond to members of their own race, and only 5 percent of their responses went to blacks.
A major objective of the study was to gauge how changing attitudes about interracial marriage and an increase in dating opportunities have played out in relationships between blacks and whites. Also of interest to researchers was the question of whether the Obama presidency signals that the United States has entered a post-racial era.
“It is clear that we are not yet in the post-racial era, and evidence from studies of online dating suggest that waiting for its arrival will take some patience,” the study concludes.

By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | February 11, 2011

NASA's NPP Satellite Undergoing Flight Environmental Testing

GREENBELT, Md. -- The NASA National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) climate/weather satellite is undergoing flight environmental testing at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp's production and test facility in Boulder, Colo.

The NPP satellite began environmental testing in November 2010 and has successfully completed vibration, acoustics and shock environments. In addition, the electromagnetic compatibility/electromagnetic interference testing was completed in January 2011. Currently the satellite is undergoing compatibility testing with the ground system and mission operations team. Later this month, the satellite will be moved into Ball’s thermal vacuum chamber where it will be subjected to extreme temperatures to simulate what the satellite will encounter in space.

NPP continues the pioneering monitoring of Earth's climate achieved by NASA's Earth Observing System suite of satellites over the past decade. The mission is also the precursor of the next generation of operational polar-orbiting environmental satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NPP will continue the operations of NOAA’s current generation of polar-orbiting environmental satellites, which have for over 40 years protected lives and property as well as supported U.S. commerce and weather forecasts. The follow-on to NPP is the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), which will be developed by NASA for NOAA.

"I am proud of the NPP team's commitment and dedication; they have kept the satellite on schedule with excellent results," stated Ken Schwer, NPP Project Manager, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "We are confident that we will deliver an excellent satellite for our October 25, 2011, launch date."

Throughout the satellite test campaign, NPP has worked closely with the JPSS program to ensure the compatibility and readiness of the JPSS ground and data systems to support the NPP on-orbit mission. In April 2011, the entire ground and data systems will undergo rigorous end-to-end testing to verify requirements and prepare for launch.

NPP just completed a several month review process with a review team that independently checked to ensure all aspects of the mission are on track for launch. The successful results of the review were presented to NASA Headquarters, Washington, in January 2011 where officials from NASA's Science Mission Directorate approved NPP's plan, budget, schedule, and success criteria for achieving the October 25, 2011, launch and on-orbit mission.

The five-instrument suite includes: the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS); the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS); the Clouds and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES); the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS); and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS). NPP's advanced ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and microwave imagers and sounders will provide continuity of climate observations and enhance weather forecasting capabilities for the nation’s civil and military users of satellite data.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the NPP mission on behalf of the Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. NOAA will provide operational support for the mission.

For information about NPP and NASA agency programs on the Web, visit:
http://npp.gsfc.nasa.gov
www.nasa.gov

For information about NOAA's Satellite and Information Services, visit:
http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov

Goddard Release No. 11-012

Cynthia M. O’Carroll
Goddard Space Flight Center, Md.
240-684-0821 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              240-684-0821      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Cynthia.M.Ocarroll@nasa.gov

Web experts ask scientists to use the Web to improve understanding, sharing of their data in science

Troy, N.Y. – Peter Fox and James Hendler of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are calling for scientists to take a few tips from the users of the World Wide Web when presenting their data to the public and other scientists in the Feb. 11 issue of Science magazine. Fox and Hendler, both professors within the Tetherless World Research Constellation at Rensselaer, outline a new vision for the visualization of scientific data in a perspective piece titled "Changing the Equation on Scientific Data Visualization."
As the researchers explain, visualizations provide a means to enable the understanding of complex data. The problem with the current use of visualization in the scientific community, according to Fox and Hendler, is that when visualizations are actually included by scientists, they are often an end product of research used to simply illustrate the results and are inconsistently incorporated into the entire scientific process. Their visualizations are also static and cannot be easily updated or modified when new information arises.
And as scientists create more and more data with more powerful computing systems, their ability to develop useful visualizations of that data will become more time consuming and expensive with the traditional approaches.
Fox and Hendler ask the scientific community to take some important lessons from the Web.
"…visualizations on the Web are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and interactive," they write. At the same time, those Web-based visualization are also inexpensive and easy to use, according to Hendler and Fox.
Simple Web-based visualization tool kits allow users to easily create maps, charts, graphs, word clouds, and other custom visualizations at little to no cost and with a few clicks of a mouse. In addition, Web links and RSS feeds allow visualizations on the Web to be updated with little to no involvement from the original developer of the visualization, greatly reducing the time and cost of the effort, but also keeping it dynamic.
"Visualizations are absolutely critical to our ability to process complex data and to build better intuitions as to what is happening around us," the researchers write. They use the example of an online weather report. With such visualizations, Web users can click on their area for a forecast or watch videos specific to their region. Without these visualizations, no one but a trained meteorologist would be able to make sense of the mess of raw data behind those pretty maps and graphical snow clouds.
In addition to the ease of using and developing visualization on the Web, visualizations on the Web can also be easily modified, updated, customized, and recreated by other users thanks to the use of Uniform Resource Identifiers. This "linking" of data is a key feature of the new vision that Fox and Hendler outline. It is of particular importance when dealing with what they refer to as "big science" on topics such as climate change that involves data that ranges from distinct fields like biology to geology.
"The challenge is that many of the major scientific problems facing our world are becoming critically linked to the interdependence and interrelatedness of data from multiple instruments, fields, and sources," they write.
Fox and Hendler urge scientists involved in such vital scientific projects to take some tips from large Web companies like Google and Facebook, and even massive online communities such as World of Warcraft. These large companies use new data integration approach such as NoSQL, "big data," and scalable linked data to rapidly expand and maintain their capabilities. These new capabilities provide easy-to-use, low-end tools to generate visualizations and scalable tools for curating very large visualization projects that scientists can model their own visualization after, according to Fox and Hendler.

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For more information on the research of Fox and Hendler as well as the Tetherless World Research Constellation go to http://tw.rpi.edu/.