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Blueprints: Falvey LibraryContents: March 2001
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Dr. Pritpal Singh, associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering, has been researching how fuzzy logic can create a reliable way to determine a battery’s state of charge and to resolve other battery management issues. A simplified explanatory survey of the chemistry of batteries, battery management, fuzzy logic and battery state-of-charge was presented by Dr. Singh at the Faculty Research Talk at Falvey Library on Feb. 12. |
New ways of thinking are being applied by engineers to determine how to be more certain of the reliability and life expectancy of the batteries we use. Much of this research has been conducted on behalf of the U. S. Department of Defense. Visualize the personal frustrations of battery use multiplied many times over and made more crucial by battlefield situations, and one can understand the significance of this work to the United States armed services.
According to Dr. Singh, the issues surrounding battery management are maintenance, charging, safety, state-of-charge estimation, state-of-health estimation (i.e., condition), and "smart battery" systems. Smart battery systems refer to integrated battery management systems. The methods for determining state-of-charge, coulomb counting, voltage recovery and impedance measurements, are the specific aspects examined by Dr. Singh and others using a fuzzy logic system.
Fuzzy logic is a more easily implemented rule-based mapping of inputs to outputs for higher accuracy when looking at nonlinear systems. No a priori details need to be known about the system for nonlinear interpolation between measured data points using a multidimensional space. Dr. Singh looks at the multiple factors and variations involved in measuring the amount of power left in a particular series of batteries. Then using the data gathered he creates a computer model of a more sophisticated device that can be applied to determining the state of charge of any battery at low cost.
The United States government continues to be interested in the results of Dr. Singh’s research. The efforts of Dr. Singh and other scientists will mean a superior generation of primary (used once) and secondary (rechargeable) batteries in the future.
Darren Poley is a reference/catalog librarian.
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It’s tax time
again:
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By Jacqueline Mirabile
State and federal revenue departments are making it easier to find information and to file electronically. The Library’s home page has a link to the federal, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware revenue departments’ web sites under For Your Information< Tax Information.
The federal and states’ revenue departments now have fill-in PDF tax forms. This requires that you have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer, and if you don’t, note the link to download Adobe Acrobat (Adobe files are usually too large to be downloaded to disk). Information available from the three states’ revenue departments varies, with Pennsylvania and New Jersey listing the most complete information.
The Pennsylvania site provides instruction and forms for filing and even a list of the Pennsylvania school district codes, which you must include on your form. Also, you can find out if the $100 "Homeowners’ Century Tax Rebate" is taxable on your federal and state income tax returns. New Jersey’s Take the Taxation Tour is designed to make filing easier.
The Internal Revenue Service site has a list of frequently asked questions, tax tables, information on taxpayer rights and 2000 changes in the tax code. There is a list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. And, for the future, if you are considering a tax shelter, the IRS provides a list of warning signs to help you make a wise decision.
This year we have an extra day to file – Monday, April 16 is the due date.
Jacqueline Mirabile is the interim head of the reference department and government documents librarian.
By Laura Hutelmyer
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Kerry Gibson joined Falvey Library in February as a temporary reference librarian. Kerry comes to Falvey from the University of Rochester where she also served as a reference librarian. Prior to Rochester, she worked at WHYY as an administrative assistant in the engineering department and as a librarian in Moorestown, N. J. |
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Kerry earned a bachelor’s degree in French from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in information science from Drexel University. She is proficient in foreign languages, speaking French, German, Spanish and Russian. Kerry lived in France for one year and has also traveled extensively, visiting Germany, Poland, Canada, Mexico and Italy. She enjoys music in her free time by playing the piano and singing in church and community choirs.
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In January, Marguerite Buck joined Falvey Library as a part-time reference librarian. Marguerite previously worked as a reference librarian at the Chester County Public Library where she specialized in electronic services and the computer literacy program, training staff and the public in computer literacy. Prior to Chester County, she worked as an elementary school teacher in the Norristown School District and as a school librarian in the Lower Merion School District. |
Marguerite earned her undergraduate degree at Marywood University and a masters in library science at Villanova, where she also worked as a graduate assistant. Marguerite and her husband have a daughter, a son and a dog named Molly. She likes hiking and gardening and enjoys reading mysteries for relaxation.
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Donna Blaskowski recently joined the Instructional Media Services staff as a graphic artist. Donna previously worked for Aquent Partners, a firm that places graphic designers, did freelance work for the Franklin Mint, and also worked at Borders. Donna is a graduate of Moore College of Art. She and her husband have two daughters and a son. Donna likes to spend her free time painting, making jewelry and practicing her skills in photography. |
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Laura Hutelmyer is a serials technician.
By Jutta Seibert
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Falvey Library commemorates Women’s History Month with an exhibit that highlights the careers of renowned female scientists of the 20th century. The exhibit is mounted in the glass case on the first floor of the Library. Reference librarian Kerry Gibson and graphic artist Lorraine Williams prepared it, and Teresa Bowden and Jacqueline Mirabile, reference librarians, assisted them. |
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Among the scientists featured in the exhibit is Rachel Carson (1907-1964), a writer, scientist and ecologist, who is best known for her 1962 ground-breaking book Silent Spring. Carson earned her masters in zoology from Johns Hopkins University and spent much of her time and energy educating the public about the dangers that DDT and other pesticides pose to the environment. The title of her book evokes a future spring when no bird songs will be heard as a result of the growing contamination of the environment. Eventually DDT was banned amid mounting public outrage, and the importance of a healthy environment has gained a strong foothold in American society.
Another scientist featured in the exhibit is Dian Fossey (1932-1985), an occupational therapist and zoologist famous for her passionate efforts to save mountain gorillas from extinction. Fossey earned a doctorate in zoology from Cambridge University in 1974 for her work with mountain gorillas. In 1983 she published Gorillas in the Mist, a popularized version of her research. In 1985, she was found dead in her cabin at Karisoke, a research camp in Rwanda, probably killed by the poachers against whom she had waged a fierce public campaign. In 1988, the life and work of Dian Fossey was portrayed in the Universal motion picture "Gorillas in the Mist."
Shannon W. Lucid (1943--), a scientist and astronaut is also part of the exhibit. Earning her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma in 1973, she became a member of the first astronaut class to admit women six years later. She holds the international record for the most flight hours in orbit for any non-Russian and the most flight hours for any woman in the world. She is the first woman to be granted the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by the President of the United States.
Also included is Shirley Ann Jackson (1946--), a physicist, who headed the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1995 to 1999 and is currently the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. One of the first African-American women to receive a doctorate in physics in the United States, she earned her degree in theoretical solid state physics from MIT in 1973. Jackson was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society, a rare distinction that is granted to not more than one-half of one percent of the current membership of the Society each year. As a member of numerous educational boards and commissions, she has worked tirelessly to advance the role of women in science.
Women’s History Month celebrates the achievements of women in history and recognizes the fact that women in the past as well as today face numerous obstacles as they pursue their respective careers. Women’s History Month has its origin in International Woman’s Day, celebrated on March 8.
International Woman’s Day was the brainchild of Clara Zetkin (1857-1933), a member of the German Communist Party and passionate advocate for women’s rights. At the 2nd International Socialist Women’s Conference, Zetkin proposed to institute International Woman’s Day to commemorate one of the first strikes organized by women workers. On March 8, 1857, women working in the garment and textile factories in New York City organized a rally to protest low wages and to demand better working conditions. The United Nations began celebrating March 8th as International Women's Day in 1975 during International Women's Year.
Meanwhile, in the United States the National Women’s History Project (www.nwhp.org) successfully lobbied Congress in 1981 to recognize Women’s History Week. In 1987, Congress declared March to be Women’s History Month.
Jutta Seibert is a catalog/reference librarian.
Also contributing to this issue of Blueprints: Louise Green, Judith Olsen, Sue Ottignon and Jacqueline Smith; photography and graphics by Bernadette Dierkes, Joe Houser and Lorraine Williams.
