January 24, 1997 -- SSTI Weekly Digest

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In the January 24, 1997 Issue:

FAA to Establish Center of Excellence for Airworthiness

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is soliciting proposals to establish an Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Airworthiness Assurance. Air Transportation Centers of Excellence (COE) are established through cooperative agreements between academic institutions and the FAA to provide long-term research in a variety of aviation-related fields.

When established, the new Center will focus its research and development efforts on aircraft safety issues such as aircraft maintenance, inspection and repair; crashworthiness; propulsion and fuel system safety technologies; landing gear systems performance and safety; and advanced materials.

The Center will be established through a competitive process. Proposals must be submitted by February 14. Institutions being considered for selection must meet the following criteria:

demonstrated ability to undertake technological research and development activities;

ability to serve regional needs for improved air transportation;

demonstrated availability of research resources to support Center research;

leadership capability in solving air transportation issues;

established current air transportation programs; and

ability to disseminate research results.

The agency intends to fund the COE at a minimum of $500,000 per year for the first three award years, with a 10 year maximum funding commitment. The institution selected to operate the center must provide one-to-one match to the FAA award. At the termination of FAA funding, COEs are expected to be self-supporting.

There are currently three Centers of Excellence:

Joint Center for Computational Modeling of Aircraft Structures (CMAS) which was established in 1992 as a joint effort between the Georgia Institute of Technology and Rutgers University; The Center for Airport Pavement Research, established in 1995 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; and the recently established Center for Operations Research which was awarded to the University of California at Berkeley with the University of Maryland and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

For further information on the solicitation process, contact Patricia Watts, FAA Centers of Excellence Program Manager, at 609/ 485-5043; or by e-mail at patricia.watts@faa.dot.gov

Women & Minorities Progress in S&E Field Limited

Women and minorities continue to take fewer high-level mathematics and science courses in high school; earn fewer bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in science and engineering (S&E); and remain less likely to be employed in S&E jobs than white males.

Those are the conclusions of a new government report, Women, Minorities and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering 1996. The National Science Foundation (NSF) report reveals progress as well as signs of continued underrepresentation. Among the report's findings:

Minorities (except Asians) remain a small proportion of U.S. scientists and engineers. African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans as a group were 23 percent of the U.S. population, but 6 percent of the S&E labor force in 1993.

Among 1994 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) takers, fewer women (13 percent) than men (31 percent) intended to pursue natural science, mathematics, or engineering fields. Yet, women's grades among first-year college students planning S&E majors are higher than men's.

A substantial gap in mean salary -- $13,200 -- exists between men and women with S&E doctorates. Much of the gap is due to differences in age and S&E field.

African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans are taking more high school science classes than in the past. The percentage of African-Americans and Hispanics taking chemistry and physics doubled between 1982 and 1992.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) continue to play an important role in undergraduate education, despite the growing diversity of the nation's campuses. Thirty percent of black students receiving S&E bachelor's degrees in 1993 received them from HBCUs.

Copies of the report can be obtained through NSF's home page at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm

U.S.- Egyptian S&T Collaboration Sought

The Department of State has announced a new competitive grants program to support collaborative projects in science and technology between U.S. and Egyptian concerns. The program was created under an agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the U.S. and the Republic of Egypt. Grants are available for projects that provide opportunities to exchange ideas, information, and skills on scientific and technological endeavors of mutual benefit.

Approximately 25 small grants ($50,000 total over three years) will be awarded. Because of the size of the grants, it is anticipated that State Department funding will be used to enhance the international component of larger projects. Successful proposals must show a collaborative effort between U.S. and Egyptian experts. The program announcement indicates that all proposals will be considered, however, special consideration will be given to proposals that address priority areas defined by the Egypt Science and Technology Joint Board. These priority areas include biotechnology, standards and metrology, environmental technologies, and manufacturing technologies.

This solicitation is offered by the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) of the State Department. OES combines a concentration on environmental issues and science and technology with traditional diplomacy. The bureau deals with such global issues as trade and environment; biodiversity; environmental pollution; oceans policy, fisheries and marine conservation; international civil and commercial space cooperation; technology; and health.

Proposals are due by March 1. More information is available by contacting Catherine Bourgeois, Program Specialist, at 202/ 647-4662.

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