Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 25, 1995                   TAG: 9511270051
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                                LENGTH: Short

NASA PICKS STUDENTS' EXPERIMENT

The 22 students in the Norfolk Public Schools Science and Technology Advanced Research program - or NORSTAR - found out last week that their project was one of 10 experiments selected after a nationwide search.

The project's selection marks the second time that NASA has turned to NORSTAR. Last year, a student experiment on the behavior of sound waves in near-weightlessness blasted into orbit on the shuttle Discovery.

Joy Young, NORSTAR's supervising teacher, said the second project again will delve into acoustics, attempting to refine and build on the experience gained on the first attempt.

Young said the NORSTAR project will take its ride on a scheduled shuttle launch in May or next December.

In their first shuttle experiment, the NORSTAR students attempted to visually record the movement of sound waves in two long plastic tubes using cork dust, hand-size camcorders and small tweeter speakers. The battery-powered project involved the use of electronic devices to activate the speakers, which sent the dust swirling.

If the next attempt is successful, the students might unravel secrets that eventually could lead to better stereo speakers, quieter air conditioners and car mufflers, and better sound-dampening equipment in auditoriums.

- Associated Press