Reported November 2009

STREAMLINING MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE: Air resistance is a huge problem for automotive engineers. In the trucking industry, with enormous vehicles hauling enormous loads, aerodynamics issues have long taken a back seat in design. Now, with concerns over fuel prices and environmental impacts increasing, engineers are attempting to tweak truck cabs and trailers in hopes of reducing the air resistance and, consequently, the amount of fuel consumed. It is even more important for NASCAR, as races can be decided by fractions of a second, and every last bit of power lost to friction is costly.

HIGH-TECH VISION TRAINING: Athletes looking for an edge are also well served to train to improve their vision. Optometrists are able to use a variety of tools to assess visual perception and to help athletes fine tune it, in a manner similar to how individuals work out to improve strength and agility. Training exercises include tracking fast-moving lights, tapping sections of a pegboard when they light up, and more. Training can be tailored to specific attributes vital in certain sports, or even for specialized tasks within a game. For example, baseball infielders and outfielders might be given different exercises.

The American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.-USA, the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Timothy Wei, PhD
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, New York 12180-3590
(518) 276-6298
weit@rpi.edu

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
IEEE
Pender McCarter
IEEE http://www.ieee.org
IEEE-USA http://www.ieeeusa.org
p.mccarter@ieee.org

Ivars Peterson
Mathematical Association of America,
Washington, DC 20036-1358
(800) 741-9415
http://www.maa.org
ipeterson@maa.org

James Riordon, Media Relations
American Physical Society
College Park, MD
(301) 209-3238
http://www.aps.org
Riordon@aps.org

Mike Breen and Annette Emerson
American Mathematical Society
Providence, RI 02904-2294
(800) 321-4267
http://www.ams.org
paoffice@ams.org

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