International Space Station becomes NASA’s main focus

HOUSTON – The shuttle… International Space Station becomes NASA’s main focus

HOUSTON – The shuttle Columbia disaster is focusing new attention – favorable and unfavorable – on NASA’s $100 billion International Space Station, a sports stadium-sized structure orbiting 240 miles above Earth that is billed as the most ambitious and complex engineering project ever.

NASA’s space shuttle fleet is down to three orbiters now and its missions are on indefinite hold while the agency investigates the explosion, leaving the space station’s main lifeline severed indefinitely and the three crew members dependent on Russian rockets for supplies and a Russian lifeboat system for an emergency escape.

Indeed, a regular task for the shuttle was to give the space station a boost – literally – by turning on the spacecraft’s powerful engines and raising the structure’s orbit by 30 miles or so. Without the boosts, the massive structure eventually would crash to Earth.

Perpetually plagued with colossal cost overruns and delays that have pushed its completion years into the future, the space station is receiving dividends from the outpouring of support for Columbia’s seven astronauts and pledges from lawmakers that the space program will go on.

But it also is a target of heightened scrutiny from critics and even budget-conscious NASA officials asserting that the shuttle disaster is yet another reason why the space station should be scaled back or even scrapped.

The General Accounting Office estimates that the space station would cost at least $70 billion over its lifetime. But that figure could grow dramatically in the wake of the Columbia disaster.

– V. Dion Haynes and Peter Gorner, Chicago Tribune (KRT)

Program promoting car-less lifestyle in Bay Area comes to Berkeley

BERKELEY, Calif. – After successfully establishing itself in San Francisco, the East Bay and Palo Alto, City CarShare – the nonprofit group that seeks to persuade Bay Area residents use of communal vehicles is a viable alternative to car ownership – has expanded its program to the University of California, Berkeley, putting two of its green Volkswagen Beetles on campus.

On Sproul Plaza, group members distributed free sparkling apple cider and urging passersby to try a new transportation option on campus.

“UC Berkeley students,” proclaimed Darryl C. Norcott, CarShare’s East Bay director, standing on a chair and screaming over the emergency sirens that heralded the program’s arrival. “Join us in celebrating the introduction of City CarShare to UC Berkeley.”

At first glance, the university seems like a good fit for the program, said Larry Magid, CarShare’s executive director.

Issues including its proximity to BART and AC Transit lines, students on limited incomes, and a parking space shortage make anyone think twice about driving near campus. All add up to make the university an ideal place for car sharing, Magid said.

CarShare officials are excited about the UC Berkeley partnership because the students are at the age where they are forming lifelong spending habits. The hope is that car sharing becomes a lifestyle choice they keep after they leave the university.

“The big picture here is that we want to educate them so they realize that they don’t need (to own a car) to live in the Bay Area,” Magid said.

– Jose A. Lopez, Knight Ridder Tribune

U. Michigan student deemed world’s smartest man

(U-WIRE) ANN ARBOR, Mich. – If the day before two days after the day before tomorrow is Monday, what day is today?

This was just one of the questions that earned University of Michigan Rackham computer science doctoral candidate Andrew Nierman the “World’s Smartest Man Award,” announced Jan. 31. His feat was accomplished by winning the International High IQ Society’s online test.

Administered as an online exam with no time limit, the test took Nierman a few months to complete. He said he started in November and finished at the end of December.

International IQ Society President Nathan Haselbauer said Nierman’s feat was especially impressive considering the difficult nature of the test.

“It’s called a power test because it is untimed, outside resources can be used and it is very difficult,” Haselbauer said. “There are three questions that have never been solved. 110,000 people took the test since last January. Andrew got a 22 on the test out of 25. He solved two problems that had never been solved before. He was the only one to ever solve those questions.”

As a reward for doing so well on the test, Nierman was given a $500 prize, special plaque, merchandise and a membership in the International High IQ Society. The test can be taken at www.highiqsociety.org.

-Victoria Edwards, Michigan Daily (U. Michigan)

More schools incorporate training for jobs in homeland security

(U-WIRE) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Three years ago, area colleges and universities hustled to create courses that would prepare students for jobs in the booming high-tech industry.

Now, with the tech economy in shambles, higher education has shifted its focus to one of today’s hottest sectors: homeland security.

Trade schools, colleges and universities are offering new programs in everything from computer security – key for preventing cyber attacks – to crime scene investigation – valuable for tracking down terrorists. The classes will target those in security-type jobs, as well as those interested in learning the skills.

Some colleges are incorporating terrorism study into regular coursework; others have created programs specifically for military officers.

The federal government has made it clear that homeland security is a top priority, earmarking $38 billion this year to prepare for and protect the nation from terrorism. That’s nearly double the homeland security budget in 2002.

Roughly $3.5 billion will go to state and local police, firefighters and emergency medical groups. The rest will be spent on securing the nation’s borders and sharing intelligence among local, state and federal government agencies.

– Chris Walsh, FSView ‘ Florida Flambeau (Florida State U.)

Accident claims Mississippi student’s life Friday

(U-WIRE) OXFORD, Miss. – Many people will remember University of Mississippi student Laura McCulloch Treppendahl’s passion for life long after she was buried in Baton Rouge, La., Monday.

Treppendahl, 19, of Baton Rouge, died at 1:47 a.m. Friday from injuries sustained after her vehicle collided head-on with Gregg Patrick Gibbes’ 1997 silver Chevrolet Tahoe west of the old railroad overpass on West Jackson Avenue.

Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, preceded by a 10 a.m. visitation, according to Rabenhorst Funeral Home East of Baton Rouge.

Gibbes’ Tahoe, carrying at least eight people, had already sideswiped international studies senior Kelly Carpenter’s 1999 black Toyota, and continued to travel west in the east-bound lane until his vehicle met Treppendahl’s before 12:58 a.m. when the Oxford Police Department responded, the police statement said.

The department statement established alcohol as a factor in the accident. District Attorney Jim Hood said a blood sample from Gibbes, 19, of Laurel, were among those sent to Jackson for testing.

Treppendahl died on the scene. The Tahoe’s passengers were injured but in stable condition, and Carpenter was not injured.

– Laura Houston, Daily Mississippian (U. Mississippi)