NEWS FROM UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO AT IDAHO FALLS
Wednesday, December 1 2004
Dec. 1, 2004 1) The Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA) was selected to develop and manage the new Idaho Nuclear Laboratory. The new laboratory, a combination of the research arm of the INEEL and Argonne National Laboratory West, will be a multi-program laboratory focused on nuclear energy and national security. UI along with Idaho State University and Boise State University will be key collaborators with BEA. This involvement has tremendous potential for UI students and researchers. One facet of the new laboratory will be the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES). The CAES has the potential of providing the long awaited DOE/INEEL involvement in the proposed Center for Science and Technology (CST), for which the plans were publicly launched Aug. 23, 2001. The governor along with HUD already has provided UI and ISU with $7 million for the CST. The involvement of BEA will complete the funding for the facility. Idaho universities will be teamed with several universities that are internationally recognized as leaders in nuclear education. This teaming arrangement is expected to help the Idaho universities invigorate their programs and research. Contact: Bob Stiger, dean UI-IF, bobs@if.uidaho.edu, (208) 282-7975 2) Research of regional interest: Inspection reliability on commercial airlines: UI, NASA, Northwest Airlines and Boeing project; Lee Ostrom, UI principal researcher, and three graduate students assist. This project could impact inspection frequencies of commercial airliners. His team also works with NASA and Boeing on dent detection in composites. Boeing also provides part of a 737 composite horizontal stabilizer to use in the work. The research has importance to the new 7E7 Dreamliner. · Working with NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) on risk of maintenance and inspection for five years · Recently developed a tool for detection of cracks in metal aircraft structure · Now working with Boeing Commercial Airplane Co. and NASA ARC to develop probabilities of dents in composite materials; a dent or other anomaly on the surface of a composite may indicate a delamination or other problem in the composite structure · The majority of airlines will be using visual inspection of composites as the initial indicator of a problem. After a visual problem is found, then more aggressive non-destructive tests will be used to characterize the composite problem · Obtained a section of a composite 737 horizontal stabilizer to use to contact more studies. Contact Lee Ostrom, (208) 282-7903, ostrom@if.uidaho.edu; or Cheryl Wilhelmsen, (208) 282-7718, cherylw@if.uidaho.edu Subsurface science and the capture of carbon dioxide to bind with lava rock: Bob Smith, research faculty in subsurface sciences, is participating in the Idaho Carbon Sequestration Advisory Committee Dec. 9 in Boise, part of Big Sky partnership with Montana and INEEL. The legislature seeks opportunities in Idaho to store more carbon in biomass -- particularly if this becomes a regulated reality. While most of the considerations will be ag-related, there is potential for geologic sequestration. Contacts: Smith, (208) 282-7954, smithbob@uidaho.edu; Idaho State Department of Agriculture, Tony Bennett, (208) 332-8651; or Idaho Soil Conservation Commission, (208) 332-8650. UI research on water scarcity will help the state resolve some difficult water issues: The recent multi-year drought precipitated increased conflict over Idaho's water resources. The Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (IWRRI) in Idaho Falls has been helping the state legislature and the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) address issues of managing the Snake River and the interconnected Snake River Plain aquifer. IWRRI researchers Donna Cosgrove, Bryce Contor, Allan Wylie and Gary Johnson have helped revise the Snake River Plain aquifer model to address such questions such as: "What are the impacts of ground water pumping on the spring discharge in the Thousand Springs area?" The IWRRI team has applied the model to answer these and other questions and have on multiple occasions presented their results to the Interim Legislative Committee on Natural Resources and the IDWR, as well as many water user groups. One project outcome is that the process of involving disputing parties in guiding and reviewing the modeling and results has created an increased level of acceptance by all parties, decreasing potential points of litigation. This project follows several years of IWRRI research on surface and ground-water interactions in the Snake River Plain that has also produced such unique and effective water management tools as the Ground Water Rights Transfer Tool. Contacts: Gary Johnson, UI geologist, (208) 282-7985, johnson@if.uidaho.edu; or Donna Cosgrove, (208) 282-7914, cosgrove@if.uidaho.edu 3) Outstanding mid-year graduates from UI-IF: Greg Kenneth Williams earned his doctorate in education with an emphasis in teaching and learning. His dissertation, "The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Brigham Young University-Idaho: A Case of Rethinking Scholarship" addresses the theoretical basis for the scholarship of teaching and learning versus publication. It describes how BYU is implementing the innovation of the scholarship of teaching and learning to expand the narrowing definition of scholarship in higher education. Williams is a religion instructor at BYU-Idaho, who resides with his wife and four young sons in Rexburg. His major professor, Karen Wilson Scott, says "Greg is a rigorous scholar who is extremely meticulous with his research." Williams' dissertation won the University of Idaho Adult and Organizational Learning 2004 "Outstanding Dissertation Award," presented to him at the October Idaho Lifelong Learning Fall Conference in Sun Valley. Contacts: Scott, (208) 282-7967, karen@if.uidaho.edu, Adult, Counselor, Technology Ed, and Williams (208) 496-1447, williamsg@byui.edu. (Photo: www.today.uidaho.edu/photolist.aspx). Hugh McIlroy, Jr., a retired Marine Lt. Col. who served two tours in Vietnam and one in the Persian Gulf, has earned a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering at UI-IF in four years. He also worked at the INEEL Matched-Index-Of-Refraction Lab in Idaho Falls. He investigated the effects of a realistically rough surface of a turbine blade on the boundary flow through a turbine passage -- particularly on the near-wall of the boundary layer. Over time, as the turbine blades are exposed to huge heat loads and friction, the blades become rough, which can impact cooling effectiveness. While most investigations model the rough surfaces with uniform or two-dimensional patterns, McIlroy measured the effects of realistic surface roughness on the flow through a turbine stage. He is a native of Allen Park, Mich., and now resides in Idaho Falls. He has mechanical engineering degrees from Purdue University (1971) and UI (2000), and master's degrees in Military Arts and Sciences (1986) and National Security and Strategic Studies (1990) through the Naval Enlisted Scientific Education Program. Contacts: Ralph Budwig, major professor, rbudwig@uidaho.edu, (208) 885-6579; or Hugh McIlroy Jr., mcieng@srv.net, (208) 528-6730. -30- Contact: UI Communications, uinews@uidaho.edu, (208) 885-6291 UI-IF newstips/nh/12/01/04
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.