In 1997 we received 16 applications. Awards by our Grants Committee, totaling $16,943, were as follows (principal investigator indicated in parentheses):

1. McMaster University (J. J. Kavelaars). $2,000 for the purchase of a 21" display terminal to be used in program searching for objects in the Kuiper belt. The goal of the proposed investigation is to better constrain the size distribution of material in the Kuiper belt and thus constrain theories of planet and solar system formation.

2. The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (Randy L. Phelps). $1,600 for the purchase of IDL (Interactive Data Language) software from Research Systems Incorporated. The software is an essential component in the analyzation of data obtained as part of a research project undertaken in collaboration with the University of Florida and the University of Massachusetts to address several fundamental questions regarding star formation in clusters. The F.A.R. gratefully acknowledges the donation by the Institute for Space Observations of the funds for this grant.

3. The University of Toledo (Nancy D. Morrison). $2,004 for the purchase of a removable-cartridge hard drive for a data-acquisition computer and a dedicated hard drive for a data-reduction computer. This equipment will support spectroscopic monitoring of variable stars at Ritter Observatory, including the University's program on Ha in Herbig Ae/Be stars. The study of variability in the spectroscopic signatures of winds and of accreting gas will attempt to lead to better understanding of circumstellar disks in pre-main-sequence stars.

4. Rochester Institute of Technology (Noran Zinkov). $2,500 for the purchase of a dedicated, Pentium-based PC to serve as the data acquisition computer for speckle interferometry observations of binary stars from the Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO (WIYN) 3.5-m telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona. High-precision position angle and separation measures derive from these data would then be used in precise orbit determinations of binaries.

5. University of Colorado, Boulder (David Devine). $2,400 for the purchase of memory upgrades for a MacIntosh Quandra 849AV and 7500/100 computers to process images obtained at the Kitt Peak National Observatory using the new MOSAID detector, for analysis and publication. These upgrades will provide data necessary for detailed modeling of the outflows driven by young stars in nearby star forming regions and their impact on the surrounding medium.

6. Western Kentucky University (Phillip E. Meyers). $2,500 to purchase a Pentium PC to be converted to a Linux Box to run IRAF for the purpose of enhancing existing computing facilities used in the study of variability of Blazers. In addition, this equipment will allow the University to expand research efforts and provide additional astronomers access to the data and reduction software.

7. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Lyle Ford). $2,300 for the purchase of photometric filters and IDL Software (Interactive Data Language) from Research Systems, Inc. to be used in a study to enhance understanding of the Koronis family of asteroids and the entire asteroid belt. The software and equipment will aid students in analyzation of acquired data and provide valuable experience with IDL software.

8. Appalachian State University (Daniel B. Canton). $1,639 to purchase electromechanical components for the enhancement of the filter system on the CCD used on the 32-inch telescope at the Dark Sky Observatory. This equipment will allow for new photometric programs, more efficient use of the telescope and greater observer safety.