Many airports undertake stormwater projects to accommodate facility expansion, address obsolescence, and respond to evolving regulatory requirements. Often, stormwater infrastructure is installed or upgraded on a project-by-project and piecemeal basis, resulting in mismatches of sizes, material types, ages, and conditions. When airports are considering expanding or improving their stormwater facilities, the immediate need for stormwater infrastructure modification may not be clear, and a benefit–cost ana...

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has issued a request for proposals to develop a comprehensive, evidenced-based guide for bus operator workforce management from pre-employment through retirement. The guide should present both best practices and innovative practices that enhance and sustain public transit and support bus operators who provide fixed-route, flexible-route, and on-demand services. Proposals are due August 11, 2020 at 5:00 PM Eastern.

A report from the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Transportation

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 39: Recommended Guidelines for the Collection and Use of Geospatially Referenced Data for Airfield Pavement Management offers recommended guidelines for the collection and use of geospatially referenced data for airfield pavement management. The guidelines provide a data schema, data collection methods, data quality requirements, and other relevant information required for developing specifications and standards for integrating geospatial data into...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis 34: Subsurface Utility Engineering Information for Airports examines ways in which information on subsurface utilities is collected, maintained, and used by airports, their consultants, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to help increase the effectiveness of, and enhance safety during, infrastructure development programs at airports. The report also compares the current state of technology and effective processes from other industry se...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 80: Guidebook for Incorporating Sustainability into Traditional Airport Projects describes sustainability and its potential benefits, and identifies different applications of sustainable initiatives in traditional airport construction and everyday maintenance projects. The printed version of the report includes a CD-ROM that includes an airport sustainability assessment tool (ASAT) that complements the guidebook and may be used to assist in identif...

Airports continually balance demands to improve infrastructure within the realities of available budgets. Green revolving funds (GRFs) offer an alternative approach for investing in projects that generate operational savings. These funds work by tracking verified cost reductions from implemented actions, and then transferring those savings to a reserve that provides capital for future qualified projects such as energy system upgrades. A number of universities have managed GRFs for over a decade. Municipa...

With the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic hitting the transportation industry hard, TRB’s catalog of research on infectious disease and other biological threats to people and transportation systems is crucial in helping to advise transportation professionals. Transportation officials must be prepared to know how to minimize the consequences to their communities. In regards to biothreats, a recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report suggests that there are advantages to...

Use of Surface Treatments to Extend Pavement Life: A Case Study on US 301, Sussex County, Virginia , released by the Virginia Department of Transportation

EPA announced the availability of the Guidelines for Human Exposure Assessment (hereafter "Guidelines"). The Guidelines present the current policies and practices of exposure assessors across the Agency and supersede the 1992 Guidelines for Exposure Assessment Edition.

A new breed of smart telescopes is set to take users past these hurdles, and get them out under the night sky. We recently had a chance to put Vaonis’ Stellina ‘smart telescope’ through its paces, and we’re intrigued at the glimpse it provides at the future of observational astronomy.

The post Our Review of Stellina: a ‘Smart Telescope’ for 21st Century Astronomy appeared first on Universe Today.

Astronomy is advancing to the point where we can see planets forming around young stars. This was an unthinkable development only a few years ago. In fact, it was only two years ago that astronomers captured the first image of a newly-forming planet. Now there are more and more studies into how planets form, including …

Continue reading "More Pictures of Planet-Forming Disks Around Young Stars"

The post More Pictures of Planet-Forming Disks Around Young Stars appeared first on Universe Today.

A new study indicates that, contrary to what has been previously argued, galaxies like our own may be the most likely place to find intelligent life

The post Galaxies Like the Milky Way are the Best for Life appeared first on Universe Today.

The September 2015 issue of TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Impacts on Practice explores how Philadelphia International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Changi Airport in Singapore applied guidance from ACRP Report 52 : Wayfinding and Signing Guidelines for Airport Terminals and Landside to help passengers find their way in and around an airport.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 163: Guidebook for Preparing and Using Airport Design Day Flight Schedules explores the preparation and use of airport design day flight schedules (DDFS) for operations, planning, and development. The guidebook is geared towards airport leaders to help provide an understanding of DDFS and their uses, and provides detailed information for airport staff and consultants on how to prepare one.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 200: Using GIS for Collaborative Land Use Compatibility Planning Near Airports offers guidance for using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a collaboration tool to encourage compatible land use around airports. The report is designed to help airport and community planners seeking to work together to protect existing and future airport development as well as maintain safety and improve quality of life for those living and working near ...

Global business and tourism depend heavily on the efficient operation of airports and movement of passengers, baggage, and cargo across many areas. With increasing demand and connectivity requirements for airports comes the need for more sophisticated simulation and modeling tools to validate design assumptions. Furthermore, airport design and planning decisions have significant impacts on policy and major capital improvement decisions, which can be supported by simulation and modeling tools at many leve...

Airports in the United States are responding to the demand for increased air travel with sustainable development that incorporates more energy-efficient and lower-emission technologies. Funding for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-reducing technologies, such as electrification, alternative fuels, and renewable energy, has also become more accessible as technologies are proven to be safe, reliable, and cost-effective. Newer strategies and programs to reduce GHG emissions reach beyond airport operations to i...

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) utilizes rigorous planning, new technologies, and improved methods to expedite construction. Prefabricated columns and their connections to adjoining bridge members (cap beams, footings, pile caps, and pile shafts) are the most critical components of ABC in moderate- and high-seismic regions. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 935: Proposed AASHTO Seismic Specifications for ABC Column Connections develops AASHTO specificatio...

Incompatible land uses can threaten the safe utility of airports and expose people living and working nearby to potentially unacceptable levels of noise or safety risk. At the state level, all 50 states have enacted some form of airport zoning legislation since the 1950s. The majority of states (90 percent) have enacted laws mandating or enabling local governments to adopt, administer, and enforce airport zoning regulations. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 206: Guidebo...

Access to relevant, precise, and timely information is crucial for a pleasant experience in air travel. Travelers with cognitive and sensory disabilities, aging travelers, and travelers with limited English proficiency need alternative approaches to those provided for general travelers for accessing and communicating air travel information. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Synthesis 101: Communication Strategies for Airport Passenger Access and Mobility details how airports and airline...

The needs of airports may vary depending on the types of operations typically conducted at the airport, as well as the type of weather common to the airport. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Syntheis 105: Airport Surface Weather Observation Options for General Aviation Airports aims to provide the operators of general aviation (GA) airports a comprehensive source of information about airport-based weather observation options so they may make informed decisions to support the specific o...

Additional new series for the 2020-2021 season will be announced at a later date.

In lieu of an attendance fee, ID is encouraging donations to nonprofit organizations that we support at the channel, including: the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, National Network to End Domestic Violence, and One Love.

A new study released by researchers from the United Kingdom found that for every extra hour a teen spent inactive, there was an eight percent to 11 percent increase in depression later in life. However, there was some good news in the report as well. If a teen increased their physical activity, even just by one hour, it cut their risk of depression by about ten percent. A teen that increased their physical activity by two hours cut the risk by 20 percent.

The researchers also found that just light to moderate physical activity could do the trick. Everyday things like walking at school or home, running errands, and even standing to talk to someone can make a difference. If you feel you should increase your physical activity for your own mental health, try having stretch breaks, always take the stairs, do a few chores, play an instrument, or even just stand at a desk while doing your homework.

Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to achieve two key objectives ...

Registration is now open for the 2021 National Jamboree to be held at The Summit Bechtel Reserve ...

Now there is a "30 Day Challenge" for Scouts BSA. Scout, Tenderfoot, and Second Class challenge sheets are available.   ...

A University at Buffalo-led research team is studying the details of how enzymes perform their job. The focus of the project is on understanding the molecular interactions that enable enzymes to accelerate chemical reactions.

Giant-scale physics experiments are increasingly reliant on big data and complex algorithms fed into powerful computers, and managing this multiplying mass of data presents its own unique challenges. To better prepare for this data deluge posed by next-generation upgrades and new experiments, physicists are turning to the fledgling field of quantum computing.

Scientists published the first assessment of the impact that invasive hippos imported by drug lord Pablo Escobar are having on Colombian aquatic ecosystems. The hippos are changing the area's water quality by importing large amounts of nutrients and organic material from the surrounding landscape.

The Big Questions series features perspectives from the five recipients of the Department of Energy Office of Science's 2019 Distinguished Scientists Fellows Award describing their research and what they plan to do with the award. Ian Foster is the director of Argonne National Laboratory's Data Science and Learning Division.

Most nuclear data measurements are performed at accelerators large enough to occupy a geologic formation a kilometer wide. But a portable device that can reveal the composition of materials quickly on-site would greatly benefit cases such as in archaeology and nuclear arms treaty verification. Research published this week in AIP Advances used computational simulations to show that with the right geometric adjustments, it is possible to perform accurate neutron resonance transmission analysis in a device just 5 meters long.

The production of formate from CO2 is considered an attractive strategy for the long-term storage of solar renewable energy in chemical form.

Nearly everyone on Earth is familiar with corn. Literally. Around the world, each person eats an average of 70 pounds of the grain each year, with even more grown for animal feed and biofuel.

Just when it seemed like robots couldn't get any cooler, Cornell University researchers have created a soft robot muscle that can regulate its temperature through sweating.

Raymond C. Rumpf, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso, was promoted to Fellow of the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), an educational nonprofit established to advance light-based science, engineering and technology.

I remember you were sick, And yet I had to go. I wasn't there to watch you die, That pain, I hope, I'll never know. So I never got to say goodbye, I

I find it hard to express my feelings, And say how much you meant to us, This poem is just another poor attempt, I’m being such a wuss! I can’t remember

My 19 year old cat had to be euthanized a couple of days before Christmas. I must admit the guilt was horrible and all I could do is wonder where my dear