News about Science, Technology and Engineering at Iowa State University

News about Science, Technology and Engineering at Iowa State University

High-tech snow plow The war on winter is about to begin. Global positioning systems, high-tech sensors and fiber-optic lights could be standard operating equipment on the snow plow of the future. Using recommendations from snow plow operators and mechanics, the Center for Transportation Research and Education (CTRE) at Iowa State University has created a prototype snow plow that uses advanced technologies to improve safety and efficiency.

CTRE worked with the Iowa Department of Transportation and commercial vendors from as far away as Norway to design, assemble and test the innovative vehicle. Although the prototype doesn't include all of the 600 features on the drivers' and mechanics' wish list (it's not a hovercraft, for example), it has met some of their recurrent challenges, said Duane Smith, director of outreach at CTRE.

A friction meter, air and pavement temperature sensors, and global positioning equipment feed real-time data about road conditions and location to an onboard computer. The data can help the operator tailor strategy to conditions. For example, "smart plows" would indicate the need to initiate anti-icing techniques as pavement temperatures approach freezing. To improve safety during blowing snow and fog, the plow is equipped with high intensity fiber-optic warning lights that penetrate greater distances. And a unique engine power booster gives the vehicle extra power for accelerating quickly into traffic.

Although the prototype has been road tested, it has yet to face the challenge of an Iowa winter. In the coming months, the high-tech plow will undergo thorough evaluation in the harsh conditions of snow and ice for which it was created. Contact Duane Smith at (515) 294-8103, or Teddi Barron, Engineering Communications, (515) 294-0262.

Cost Saving Clusters Manufacturers have perfected personal computers (PCs) to the point where most operate at speeds comparable to those of entire workstations. So it's not surprising that scientists and engineers are looking for ways to maximize that power. To get the most bang for the buck, researchers are investigating ways to network PCs together in clusters to achieve speeds equal to those of parallel supercomputers but at a fraction of the cost.

Scientists in the Scalable Computing Lab (SCL) at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University are at the forefront of PC clustering. Six clusters operate in various areas of the Lab -- networks of eight PCs are doing materials simulations, while other clusters are performing such tasks as modeling new materials with desirable magnetic properties. The Lab's largest cluster is a network of 16 PCs, which SCL researchers are working to scale up to 64.

Hoping to help others take advantage of this new, low-cost supercomputing technique, Ames Lab scientists plan to devise a "cluster cookbook" for the World Wide Web, which will provide guidelines on how to build PC clusters. In addition, they will be developing and hosting a hands-on PC cluster workshop in early 1998.

For more information on PC clusters, contact Mark Gordon, Ames Lab program director for Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences and an ISU professor of chemistry, (515) 294-0452, or Saren Johnston, Ames Lab Public Information, (515) 294-3474.

Nondestructive education The North Central Collaboration for Education in Nondestructive Evaluation/ Nondestructive Testing has been charting a new course. With two grants from the National Science Foundation, Iowa State University and its Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE) have been working with several Midwestern community colleges to enhance NDE education and improve articulation to university technical degree programs. NDE is a method of testing the integrity of materials without destroying them. It's widely used in the aircraft industry to test the flightworthiness of airplanes and is now finding several new industrial uses.

Goal of the new program, considered unique in the U.S., is "improved technological education in NDE that results in an improved NDE/NDT workforce," said Brian Larson, program manager and CNDE principal investigator. Iowa State is working with Cowley County Community College, Arkansas City, Kan.; Northeast Iowa Community College, Peosta, Iowa; Ridgewater College, Hutchinson, Minn.; and Southeast Community College, Milford, Neb., in the three-year project. Industrial, professional society and regional high school partners are providing input as well.

The program is implementing a number of strategies, including course improvement, course development, professional development and student internships. "Our goal is to have a clear road map so that the course from high school to community college to university is clear," said Larson. "We think we are well on our way to completing it." For more information contact Larson at (515) 294-8158, or Anita Rollins, IPRT Communications, (515) 294-1113.

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