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02 INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS/PROJECT DIRECTORS(PI/PD) and
co-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS/co-PROJECT DIRECTORS
Submit only ONE copy of this form for each PI/PD and co-PI/PD identified on the proposal. The form(s) should be attached to the original
proposal as specified in GPG Section II.B. Submission of this information is voluntary and is not a precondition of award. This information will
not be disclosed to external peer reviewers. DO NOT INCLUDE THIS FORM WITH ANY OF THE OTHER COPIES OF YOUR PROPOSAL AS
THIS MAY COMPROMISE THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF THE INFORMATION.
PI/PD Name:

Bradley L Vender

Gender:

Male

Female

Ethnicity: (Choose one response)

Hispanic or Latino

Race:
(Select one or more)

American Indian or Alaska Native

Not Hispanic or Latino

Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White

Disability Status:
(Select one or more)

Hearing Impairment
Visual Impairment
Mobility/Orthopedic Impairment
Other
None

Citizenship:

(Choose one)

U.S. Citizen

Permanent Resident

Other non-U.S. Citizen

Check here if you do not wish to provide any or all of the above information (excluding PI/PD name):
REQUIRED: Check here if you are currently serving (or have previously served) as a PI, co-PI or PD on any federally funded
project
Ethnicity Definition:
Hispanic or Latino. A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless
of race.
Race Definitions:
American Indian or Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central
America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa,
or other Pacific Islands.
White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
WHY THIS INFORMATION IS BEING REQUESTED:
The Federal Government has a continuing commitment to monitor the operation of its review and award processes to identify and address
any inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity, or disability of its proposed PIs/PDs. To gather information needed for this important
task, the proposer should submit a single copy of this form for each identified PI/PD with each proposal. Submission of the requested
information is voluntary and will not affect the organization’s eligibility for an award. However, information not submitted will seriously undermine
the statistical validity, and therefore the usefulness, of information recieved from others. Any individual not wishing to submit some or all the
information should check the box provided for this purpose. (The exceptions are the PI/PD name and the information about prior Federal support, the
last question above.)
Collection of this information is authorized by the NSF Act of 1950, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1861, et seq. Demographic data allows NSF to
gauge whether our programs and other opportunities in science and technology are fairly reaching and benefiting everyone regardless of
demographic category; to ensure that those in under-represented groups have the same knowledge of and access to programs and other
research and educational oppurtunities; and to assess involvement of international investigators in work supported by NSF. The information
may be disclosed to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers to complete assigned work; and to other government
agencies in order to coordinate and assess programs. The information may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential
candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal
File and Associated Records", 63 Federal Register 267 (January 5, 1998), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records",
63 Federal Register 268 (January 5, 1998).

List of Suggested Reviewers or Reviewers Not To Include (optional)
SUGGESTED REVIEWERS:
Not Listed

REVIEWERS NOT TO INCLUDE:
Not Listed

COVER SHEET FOR PROPOSAL TO THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT/SOLICITATION NO./CLOSING DATE/if not in response to a program announcement/solicitation enter NSF 07-140

NSF 07-586

FOR NSF USE ONLY

NSF PROPOSAL NUMBER

12/04/07

FOR CONSIDERATION BY NSF ORGANIZATION UNIT(S)

0810613

(Indicate the most specific unit known, i.e. program, division, etc.)

IIP - SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I
DATE RECEIVED NUMBER OF COPIES DIVISION ASSIGNED FUND CODE DUNS#

12/04/2007

10

07070000 IIP

EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (EIN) OR
TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN)

5371

FILE LOCATION

(Data Universal Numbering System)

112207704

12/04/2007 5:04pm

IS THIS PROPOSAL BEING SUBMITTED TO ANOTHER FEDERAL
AGENCY?
YES
NO
IF YES, LIST ACRONYM(S)

SHOW PREVIOUS AWARD NO. IF THIS IS
A RENEWAL
AN ACCOMPLISHMENT-BASED RENEWAL

043676233
NAME OF ORGANIZATION TO WHICH AWARD SHOULD BE MADE

ADDRESS OF AWARDEE ORGANIZATION, INCLUDING 9 DIGIT ZIP CODE

WOWIWE INSTRUCTION CO.
1044 12TH ST NORTH
FARGO, ND. 581025642

WOWIWE INSTRUCTION CO.
AWARDEE ORGANIZATION CODE (IF KNOWN)

6250003903
NAME OF PERFORMING ORGANIZATION, IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE

ADDRESS OF PERFORMING ORGANIZATION, IF DIFFERENT, INCLUDING 9 DIGIT ZIP CODE

PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE (IF KNOWN)

IS AWARDEE ORGANIZATION (Check All That Apply)
(See GPG II.C For Definitions)
TITLE OF PROPOSED PROJECT

MINORITY BUSINESS
IF THIS IS A PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL
WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS THEN CHECK HERE

SBIR Phase I: Chemu the Chemistry Ninja

REQUESTED AMOUNT

PROPOSED DURATION (1-60 MONTHS)

100,000

$

SMALL BUSINESS
FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

6

REQUESTED STARTING DATE

05/01/08

months

SHOW RELATED PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL NO.
IF APPLICABLE

CHECK APPROPRIATE BOX(ES) IF THIS PROPOSAL INCLUDES ANY OF THE ITEMS LISTED BELOW
BEGINNING INVESTIGATOR (GPG I.G.2)
HUMAN SUBJECTS (GPG II.D.6) Human Subjects Assurance Number
DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES (GPG II.C)

Exemption Subsection

PROPRIETARY & PRIVILEGED INFORMATION (GPG I.D, II.C.1.d)

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES: COUNTRY/COUNTRIES INVOLVED

or IRB App. Date

HISTORIC PLACES (GPG II.C.2.j)

(GPG II.C.2.j)

SMALL GRANT FOR EXPLOR. RESEARCH (SGER) (GPG II.D.1)
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS (GPG II.D.5) IACUC App. Date

HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS/OTHER GRAPHICS WHERE EXACT COLOR
REPRESENTATION IS REQUIRED FOR PROPER INTERPRETATION (GPG I.G.1)

PHS Animal Welfare Assurance Number
PI/PD DEPARTMENT

PI/PD POSTAL ADDRESS

1735 Research Park Drive
University Station
Fargo, ND 581055756
United States

Computer Science
PI/PD FAX NUMBER

701-231-8255
NAMES (TYPED)

High Degree

Yr of Degree

Telephone Number

MS

2004

701-231-8045

Electronic Mail Address

PI/PD NAME

Bradley L Vender

bradley.vender@ndsu.edu

CO-PI/PD

CO-PI/PD

CO-PI/PD

CO-PI/PD

Page 1 of 2

Electronic Signature

CERTIFICATION PAGE
Certification for Authorized Organizational Representative or Individual Applicant:
By signing and submitting this proposal, the Authorized Organizational Representative or Individual Applicant is: (1) certifying that statements made herein are true and complete to the
best of his/her knowledge; and (2) agreeing to accept the obligation to comply with NSF award terms and conditions if an award is made as a result of this application. Further, the
applicant is hereby providing certifications regarding debarment and suspension, drug-free workplace, and lobbying activities (see below), nondiscrimination, and flood hazard insurance
(when applicable) as set forth in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide, Part I: the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) (NSF 07-140). Willful provision of false information in this
application and its supporting documents or in reports required under an ensuing award is a criminal offense (U. S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001).

Conflict of Interest Certification
In addition, if the applicant institution employs more than fifty persons, by electronically signing the NSF Proposal Cover Sheet, the Authorized Organizational Representative of the applicant
institution is certifying that the institution has implemented a written and enforced conflict of interest policy that is consistent with the provisions of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies &
Procedures Guide, Part II, Award & Administration Guide (AAG) Chapter IV.A; that to the best of his/her knowledge, all financial disclosures required by that conflict of interest policy have
been made; and that all identified conflicts of interest will have been satisfactorily managed, reduced or eliminated prior to the institution’s expenditure of any funds under the award, in
accordance with the institution’s conflict of interest policy. Conflicts which cannot be satisfactorily managed, reduced or eliminated must be dislosed to NSF.

Drug Free Work Place Certification
By electronically signing the NSF Proposal Cover Sheet, the Authorized Organizational Representative or Individual Applicant is providing the Drug
Free Work Place Certification contained in Exhibit II-3 of the Grant Proposal Guide.

Debarment and Suspension Certification

(If answer "yes", please provide explanation.)

Is the organization or its principals presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded
from covered transactions by any Federal department or agency?

Yes

No

By electronically signing the NSF Proposal Cover Sheet, the Authorized Organizational Representative or Individual Applicant is providing the
Debarment and Suspension Certification contained in Exhibit II-4 of the Grant Proposal Guide.

Certification Regarding Lobbying
The following certification is required for an award of a Federal contract, grant, or cooperative agreement exceeding $100,000 and for an award of a Federal loan or a commitment providing
for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan exceeding $150,000.

Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans and Cooperative Agreements
The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that:
(1) No federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any
agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any federal contract, the making of any
Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal
contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.
(2) If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a
Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, the
undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, ‘‘Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,’’ in accordance with its instructions.
(3) The undersigned shall require that the language of this certification be included in the award documents for all subawards at all tiers including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts
under grants, loans, and cooperative agreements and that all subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly.
This certification is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for
making or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, Title 31, U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required certification shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less
than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure.

Certification Regarding Nondiscrimination
By electronically signing the NSF Proposal Cover Sheet, the Authorized Organizational Representative is providing the Certification Regarding
Nondiscrimination contained in Exhibit II-6 of the Grant Proposal Guide.

Certification Regarding Flood Hazard Insurance
Two sections of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 USC §4012a and §4106) bar Federal agencies from giving financial assistance for acquisition or
construction purposes in any area identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as having special flood hazards unless the:
(1)
(2)

community in which that area is located participates in the national flood insurance program; and
building (and any related equipment) is covered by adequate flood insurance.

By electronically signing the NSF Proposal Cover Sheet, the Authorized Organizational Representative or Individual Applicant located in FEMA-designated special flood hazard areas is
certifying that adequate flood insurance has been or will be obtained in the following situations:
(1)
(2)

for NSF grants for the construction of a building or facility, regardless of the dollar amount of the grant; and
for other NSF Grants when more than $25,000 has been budgeted in the proposal for repair, alteration or improvement (construction) of a building or facility.

AUTHORIZED ORGANIZATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE

SIGNATURE

DATE

NAME

Brian M Slator
TELEPHONE NUMBER

701-271-8875

Electronic Signature
ELECTRONIC MAIL ADDRESS

Dec 4 2007 5:01PM
FAX NUMBER

bslator@cableone.net

701-231-8255

fm1207rrs-07

*SUBMISSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS IS VOLUNTARY AND WILL NOT AFFECT THE ORGANIZATION’S ELIGIBILITY FOR AN AWARD. HOWEVER, THEY ARE AN
INTEGRAL PART OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEM AND ASSIST IN PROCESSING THE PROPOSAL. SSN SOLICITED UNDER NSF ACT OF 1950, AS AMENDED.
Page 2 of 2

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Program Solicitation/Instruction Guide Number

NSF 07-586

SBIR PHASE I - PROPOSAL COVER PAGE
TOPIC
EO
PROPOSAL TITLE

SUBTOPIC LETTER (if any)
TOPIC TITLE
SS1
Emerging Opportunities
SBIR Phase I: Chemu the Chemistry Ninja

COMPANY NAME
WOWIWE INSTRUCTION CO.

EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (EIN) OR
TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN)
043676233

NAME OF ANY AFFILIATED COMPANIES (Parent, Subsidiary, Predecessor)

ADDRESS (Including address of Company Headquarters and zip code plus four digit extension)
WOWIWE INSTRUCTION CO.
1044 12TH ST NORTH
FARGO, ND. 581025642
REQUESTED AMOUNT
PROPOSED DURATION
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE
$100000
6
THE SMALL BUSINESS CERTIFIES THAT:
Y/N
1. It is a small business as defined in the solicitation.
Y
2. It qualifies as a socially and economically disadvantaged business as defined in the solicitation. (FOR STATISTICAL
PURPOSES ONLY.)
N
3. It qualifies as a women-owned business as defined in the solicitation. (FOR STATISTICAL PURPOSES ONLY)
N
4. NSF is the only Federal agency that has received this proposal (or overlapping or equivalent proposal) from the small
business concern. If No, you must disclose overlapping or equivalent proposals and awards as required by this solicitation. Y
5.SBIR: A minimum of two-thirds of the research will be performed by this firm in Phase I.
STTR: It will perform at least 40 percent of the work and the collaborating research institution will
perform at least 30 percent of the work as described in the proposal.
Y
6. The primary employment of the Principal Investigator will be with this firm at the time of the award and during the
conduct of the research.
Y
7. It will permit the government to disclose the title and technical abstact page, plus the name, address and telephone
number of a corporate official if the proposal does not result in an award to parties that may be interested in
contacting the small business for further information or possible investment.
Y
8. It will comply with the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352) and the regulations pursuant thereto.
Y
9. It has previously submitted proposals to NSF.
Y
10. It previously submitted this proposal (which was declined) and significant modifications have been made
as described in the solicitation.
N
11. It has received Phase II awards from the Federal Government. If "yes" provide a company commercialization history
in the supplementary documents module.
N
12. It is located in a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) as verified by the Small Business Administration
(to verify HUBZone participation go to http://map.sba.gov/hubzone/init.asp).
N
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR / PROJECT DIRECTOR
NAME
Bradley L Vender
SOCIAL SECURITY NO.
HIGHEST DEGREE / YEAR
E-MAIL ADDRESS
not displayed intentionally
MS/2004
bradley.vender@ndsu.edu
TELEPHONE NO.
FAX NO.
WEB ADDRESS
701-231-8045
701-231-8255
COMPANY OFFICER (FOR BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL MATTERS)
NAME
TITLE
TELEPHONE NO.
Bradley L Vender
Principal Investigator
701-429-3246
OTHER INFORMATION
PRESIDENTS NAME
Brian M Slator
YEAR FIRM FOUNDED 2002
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES (including Parent, Subsidiary, Predecessor)
AVERAGE PREVIOUS 12 MO.: 1
CURRENTLY: 1
RESEARCH INSTITUTION NAME
WOWIWE INSTRUCTION CO.
RESEARCH INVESTIGATOR NAME
RESEARCH INVESTIGATOR TELEPHONE NO.
PROPRIETARY NOTICE: See instructions concerning proprietary information.
Check Here
if proposal contains proprietary information.

Project Summary
This SBIR Phase 1 project is intended for consideration under the NSF Emerging
Opportunities (EO) topic, subtopic Software & Services (SS).
During this Phase I SBIR project, WoWiWe Instruction Co. will demonstrate the
feasibility of transforming a PC-based, student-developed, research project implemented
in the Java programming language, into commercially viable software suitable for
modern game consoles (and eventually, in Phase II, into commercially viable software
suitable for hand held devices). At the end of Phase II, we will have a system suitable for
retail dissemination to target international audiences that include chemistry students of
all ages and nationalities. The software development will be conducted by WoWiWe
Instruction Co. Coordination of software metric and evaluation studies will be conducted
by the North Dakota State University Principal Investigators, and North Dakota State
University (NDSU) graduate research students under their supervision.
The specific aims of this Phase I SBIR proposal are:
1. Convert the prototype Chemu, Chemistry Ninja PC-based game to a robust
and efficient hand held or console-based alternative (as well as convert the level
editor and other support tools).
2. Demonstrate the same or improved functionality in the new system using
measurable software engineering milestones and metrics
3. Circulate Phase I beta/demonstration copies to interested individuals and
organizations.
4. In preparation for Phase II development, begin negotiations for licensing on
console-based and hand-held platforms.
Chemu, Chemistry Ninja is an educational game originally developed for a Masters
Degree in Computer Science at North Dakota State University (NDSU). The purpose of
the game is to improve a player's understanding of key chemistry concepts by being
immersed in an adventure within the periodic table. As a player fights through the game
to rescue a classmate, they encounter enemies, weapons and levels which represent
aspects of basic atomic chemistry.
Intellectual Merit
This project seeks to determine the feasibiity of porting laboratory oriented, rapidly
prototyped NDSU research software to a modern software platform suitable for
dissemination and commercialization, employing milestones and metrics from
established software engineering practices. The software development will be conducted
by WoWiWe Instruction Co. Coordination of software metric and evaluation studies will
be conducted by the North Dakota State University Principal Investigators, and NDSU
graduate research students under their supervision.
Broad Impact
The effectiveness of this software for education, in its prototype form, has been
demonstrated in classroom testing. Conversion into the commercial game market will
much increase its international impact and potentially influence further educational
software development and dissemination.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
For font size and page formatting specifications, see GPG section II.C.

Total No. of
Pages

Page No.*
(Optional)*

Cover Sheet for Proposal to the National Science Foundation
Project Summary

(not to exceed 1 page)

1

Table of Contents

1

Project Description (Including Results from Prior
NSF Support) (not to exceed 15 pages) (Exceed only if allowed by a
specific program announcement/solicitation or if approved in
advance by the appropriate NSF Assistant Director or designee)

15

References Cited

2

Biographical Sketches

(Not to exceed 2 pages each)

Budget

8
6

(Plus up to 3 pages of budget justification)

Current and Pending Support

4

Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources

2

Special Information/Supplementary Documentation

0

Appendix (List below. )
(Include only if allowed by a specific program announcement/
solicitation or if approved in advance by the appropriate NSF
Assistant Director or designee)
Appendix Items:

*Proposers may select any numbering mechanism for the proposal. The entire proposal however, must be paginated.
Complete both columns only if the proposal is numbered consecutively.

Introduction
During this Phase I SBIR project, WoWiWe Instruction Co. will demonstrate the
feasibility of transforming a PC-based, student-developed, research project implemented in the
Java programming language, into commercially viable software suitable for modern game
consoles (and eventually, in Phase II, into commercially viable software suitable for hand held
devices). At the end of Phase II, we will have a system suitable for retail dissemination to target
international audiences that include chemistry students of all ages and nationalities.
The specific aims of this Phase I SBIR proposal are:
1. Convert the prototype Chemu Chemistry Ninja PC-based game to a robust and efficient
console-based alternative (as well as convert the level editor and other support tools).
2. Demonstrate the same or improved functionality in the new system using measurable
software engineering milestones and metrics
3. Circulate Phase I beta/demonstration copies to interested individuals and organizations.
4. In preparation for Phase II development, begin negotiations for licensing on consolebased and hand-held platforms.
Chemu, Chemistry Ninja is an educational game originally developed for a Masters
Degree in Computer Science at North Dakota State University (NDSU). The purpose of the
game is to improve a player's understanding of key chemistry concepts by being immersed in an
adventure within the periodic table. As a player fights through the game to rescue a classmate,
they encounter enemies, weapons and levels which represent aspects of basic atomic
chemistry.
Chemu, Chemistry Ninja, belongs to a subgenre of action video games known as the
“platformer”. The difficulty in a platformer action game comes from two interrelated areas:
platform placement and enemy placement. What differentiates a platformer from other action
games is the focus on jumping between suspended platforms as a central piece of the game
play. Jumps become wider or are arranged in more difficult sequences as the game
progresses. Some games utilize extra abilities in the game physics - double jumping, changing
direction in mid-air - to expand the possibilities for jumping puzzles.
The research and development effort will be focused around the following milestones:
Milestone 1.

Initial conversion of game software to target platform.

Milestone 2.

Conversion of content tools to support target environment.

Milestone 3.

Functional conformance.

Milestone 4

Conversion of game content to target platform.

Milestone 5

At the end of six months, a system performance experiment will be conducted,
comparing the runtime performance of the two systems in terms of response
times, connection times, and failure rates under a range of conditions (e.g. fast
vs. slow client machines, etc.). This will be our Capstone Effort.

Background and Significance
Most educational endeavors focus on an instructor, in a classroom, on a campus, at a
particular time. Distance learning efforts may add flexibility of place and time. Computer aided
instructional software, perhaps under the title “educational software”, may provide the student
with more frequent assessment without becoming a burden on the instructor, but the
motivations behind the effort remains the same—educational activities undertaken for a

constructive purpose.

Institutional Background
WoWiWe Instruction Co. is a commercialization group of the NDSU World Wide Web
Instructional Committee (WWWIC; McClean et al., 1999). The committee is engaged in several
virtual/visual research and development projects: these include the Geology Explorer (Schwert
et al., 1999), the Virtual Cell (White et al., 1999) the Virtual Archaeologist (Slator et al., 2001)
and the ProgrammingLand MOOseum of Computer Science (Slator and Hill, 1999). These have
shared and individual goals. Shared goals include the mission to teach science structure and
process: the scientific method, scientific problem solving, diagnosis, hypothesis formation and
testing, and experimental design. The individual goals are to teach the content of specific
scientific disciplines.
In addition, WWWIC is applying what has been learned in science education to new
domains: history, microeconomics, and the humanities. WWWIC has active research projects in
three highly related areas: 1) qualitative assessment of student learning, 2) tools for building
virtual educational environments, and 3) intelligent software tutoring agents (Slator, 1999).
The WWWIC program for designing and developing educational media implements a
coherent strategy for all its efforts. This strategy is to deploy teaching systems that share critical
assumptions and technologies (e.g. LambdaMOO; Curtis, 1992), in order to leverage from each
other's efforts. In particular, systems are designed to employ consistent elements across
disciplines and, as a consequence, foster the potential for intersecting development plans and
common tools for that development.
In particular, systems are designed to employ consistent elements across disciplines,
and as a consequence foster the potential for intersecting development plans and common tools
for that development. Thus, WWWIC has identified discrete but related approaches for
innovative design of role-based educational simulations, which are both highly technical and
highly promising in terms of broad applicability for the development of courseware.
Designing educational simulations is an exercise in balancing trade-offs. Educational
content should be the foremost aim of the simulation, but not by sacrificing playability and
simple fun. Students who learn through simulations should acquire content-related concepts
and skills as a consequence of playing the game, and this learning should transfer to knowledge
contexts outside the game. Simulated situations should be familiar or easily recognizable, but
not slavishly replicate all the tedious details of 'real life.' Experience in the simulated
environment should be authentic but not utterly predictable. Further, we believe that educational
technology should capitalize on the natural human propensity for role-playing and cognitive
apprenticeship. Students will be willing to assume roles if the environment makes it easy to do
so and if the environment reinforces roleplaying through careful crafting of the explicit tutorial
components of the game.

Education in Disguise
As educational institutions integrate more technology into their curricula, the need for
ever-more-advanced educational software grows. Current trends in educational software focus
on simulating as much of the real-world subject as they are able; North Dakota State University
has two such programs for geology (Geology Explorer) and cell biology (Virtual Cell). Such
programs are intended to replace otherwise prohibitively expensive equipment or field trips and
allow institutions or individuals of relatively meager budgets to enjoy the benefits of (virtual)
scanning electron microscopes. What they ignore is the ability of computer programs to escape
the boundaries of terrestrial reality entirely and present their educational subjects in unique
ways. Software can be designed in such a way that it is fantastical and alien while still
presenting real information on a variety of subjects.

The game, Chemu, Chemistry Ninja, was created with the goal of integrating basic
chemistry instruction into a fantastical video game world. Players are literally immersed in the
periodic table as they fight their way through the elements to rescue a classmate. Enemies,
weapons, and levels all represent some aspect of basic atomic chemistry. This game was
tested in a small classroom with favorable results.

Characteristics of Video Games
It is our contention that current educational software lacks the appropriate game qualities
in the areas of immediacy, difficulty, progress, and content.

Immediacy
Almost all video games give some form of immediate feedback. The time frame of
"immediate" varies from game to game, for example, an action game must react to a player's
inputs within a few milliseconds or it will be blasted for "shoddy controls", while role-playing and
strategy games tend to queue up inputs and display the resolution of the queue at a slightly later
time. Video games' ultimate genesis in the arcade required the extreme form of immediacy;
games were designed to hold the attention of players while still concluding within a few minutes,
requiring another quarter for continued play.
As video games moved into the home and hardware became more sophisticated,
playtimes expanded to accommodate more complicated narratives. Action games now routinely
require hours from beginning to end, while role-playing games can require a day or more of
uninterrupted game play. While the length of the experience may have changed, the second-tosecond operation of a game has not. Buttons are pressed, sensors are activated, and the
expectation persists that the activity on screen must correspond to these inputs within a few
milliseconds. The game may take hours to complete, but each individual challenge exists for a
much shorter span of time, and, once conquered, contributes to the understanding of the game
as a whole.
This is still several orders of magnitude faster than the typical homework cycle for a
student, wherein the student turns in an assignment, has it graded elsewhere, and then receives
the results. The iterative learning process implied by homework - that the student recognizes
their errors and corrects them in time for the next assignment - becomes a near-continuous
process inside a video game, each iteration is reduced to a few moments of exploratory play.

Difficulty
Video games define their interactivity through challenges to the player. From simplistic,
timed button-pushing affairs (Dance Dance Revolution) to complicated character-oriented highconcept activities (Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid), players derive enjoyment from
accomplishing the tasks set before them and being rewarded for completing those tasks.
Enemies pose a more active threat to the player. Whether seeking the player, firing
projectiles, or dumbly walking back and forth, they exist to damage the player’s character and
prevent them from achieving their objective. In addition to acting as threats on their own,
inconvenient enemy placements can be used to confound jumping puzzles.

Progress
There are two general approaches to representing progress in a video game world. The
first method is to design a game that has no ending narrative, but to repeat individual levels
while slowly increasing the speed or complexity. A numerical indicator of how many tasks have
been accomplished indicates the player's progress. This can be seen in its rawest form in a
game such as Pac-Man, where one maze layout is played repeatedly with the only difference

being the speed and tenacity of the ghost-monsters and the player's ever-growing point total.
Many of the oldest arcade games used this method due to the technical limitations of the day;
such luminaries as Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, and Missile Command have no physical or
intellectual progress to the game. Many of these older games can literally be played until a
program variable overflows, corrupting the level data.
The second method is to give the game a definite ending, with progress in the game
defined by the distance from this ultimate goal. The Atari 2600 game Adventure was one of the
first to contain a finite quest of this nature. Though there is no exposition, dialogue, or even a
recognizable humanoid, Adventure had a real progression through its color-coded areas.
Colored keys are collected, colored castles are conquered, and winning is an actual event
rather than a programming error.
As video game technology advanced, fewer and fewer games of the first type have been
produced and those that are have been relegated to the arcade. Narrative games adapted the
arbitrary point system of those games into more concrete concepts such as game currency or
experience points, further tools to ease the player's way to the end of the game.

Content
Video game content is less about designing a realistic world than it is about designing an
internally consistent world. The fantastic and impossible can be programmed as easily as the
mundane, and escapism can be a powerful draw to any medium. On the other hand, the game
cannot be completely random or surreal. The game depends on the player to interact and
advance the action, so it must present the player with some logical way to orient oneself to the
game world.
A strict rule set for these interactions aids both the programmer and the player. A
codified set of interactions, whether it is a physics engine or a dialogue interface with
computerized characters, allows a programmer to plan for all the possibilities within that set and
create appropriate levels. Exceptions to these rules must be made sparingly and only where
such an exception furthers the game as a whole. For example, a vertical loop in a racetrack is
out of place in an otherwise realistic NASCAR game but not necessarily in a more stylized
arcade racer. Making an exception for the vertical loop in a NASCAR game would require a
great amount of effort on the part of the game designer to explain why it exists, and a similar
amount of effort for the gamer to cope with the sudden usurpation of the standard racetrack.
Ideally the entire game's design is made apparent within the first few minutes of play.
The faster that the player is acclimated to the game's requirements, the less likely they are to
quit in frustration. Once this rapport is established, the game can expand on those interactions,
introducing small alterations to keep the player engaged.

Early Successful Models
Oregon Trail, an early program developed by the Minnesota Educational Computing
Consortium for the Apple II computer, attempted to educate players about the journey from
Missouri to Oregon along the Oregon Trail. During the virtual trip, one must ration food, trade
with outposts for supplies, and avoid sudden death from disease along the way. The game
successfully fused the command structure of simple text adventures with brief action sequences
when hunting for food and rafting downriver. Actual historical content was light and mostly
optional; the primary requirement for success in the game was careful management of supplies,
chiefly oxen and food, and a healthy supply of luck to avoid the random attacks of dysentery
and typhoid. The historical settings were difficult to convey adequately with the technology of
the time, so the developers erred on the side of entertainment.
It is our opinion that being proclaimed the “Oregon Trail of chemistry education” would
be a great achievement. While it is true that the game was light on historical and geographical

detail, the challenges faced by the player were plausible. The game succeeded in being
memorable, and useful as a reward in class room activities. Whether the players remember the
game primarily for in-game activities such as the hunting game or tombstone creation, the game
is a concrete example of role based learning.

Serious Games
“Serious game” is a recent attempt to provide a catchall term for the usual classroom
video games as well as games that educate while not exactly conforming to a school syllabus.
The Serious Game Initiative was founded in 2000 by the Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars to “help usher in a new series of policy education, exploration, and management
tools utilizing state of the art computer game designs, technologies, and development skills.”
This is a fair bit broader then the historical goals of “teach arithmetic” or “drill the QWERTY
keyboard layout.”
The Serious Game Initiative itself does not make games or hold conferences, but an
event called the Serious Games Summit is a portion of the Game Developer Conference. The
Game Developer Conference, a 19-year-old industry veteran, had 13 serious game
presentations in 2006 out of 446 total; a small percentage, but still better represented than the
single presentation and two-day generic listing of “summit” they had in 2005. [GDC 2006]

Problems and Opportunities
The consumer game market is large enough that it can be unexpected. The following
chart (taken from http://vgchartz.com, referenced 12/4/07) gives an indication of the scale of this
broad international market.
Console

Units Shipped or Sold

Console Cost

Typical New Game
Cost

Nintendo DS

57.48 M

$130

$20-40

Sony PSP

27.02 M

$170

$20-40

Nintendo Wii

15.16 M

$250

$40-50

Microsoft XBox 360

13.82 M

$300

$60

Sony PS3

6.55 M

$300

$60

As with any entertainment product, from hand held electronics to collectible card games,
their popularity is peppered with periodic anecdotal stories of restrictions on their use at schools.
In this case, popularity of the hand held units and video game consoles is an advantage. As
potential target platforms, the XBox and Wii are listed primarily for their XBox Arcade and
WiiWare small or casual game platforms, respectively.
While it appears to be a lucrative market, there are factors to be considered which are
not present in the normal personal computer market. Computing resources can be more limited
than on a personal computer; software updates are typically more difficult and as a result, more
stringent testing and development is required; and each game platform requires separate
licensing and software development tools to be obtained.
At this time, development for Microsoft's XBox Arcade appears to have the lowest cost of
entry, although the Nintendo hand held market appears to be the most lucrative. Due to the
increase in educational or informative titles being released for the Nintendo DS, it is likely that
third party development permission can be obtained.

Comparisons with other software
Products such as Riverdeep's BBC Science Simulations and High School Science
Explorer focus on science instruction by faithfully simulating traditional lab exercises and lack
game play elements. Other educational titles such as Brain Age lack any specific educational
content beyond the drill activities. While such activities seem to be better implemented in
UbiSoft's My Word Coach series of games, the activities remain primarily drills.

Game Content
Chemu's design is based entirely on the periodic table of the elements. The periodic
table is central to chemistry classes from middle school onward, so there is a broad potential
base for the software. Further, when examined from the perspective of a game developer the
traditional grid of groups and periods is an almost-complete design document. Elements are
distinct areas in the grid, numbered sequentially, essentially comprising a ready-made map of
the game's rooms or levels. All manner of game properties can be derived from the atomic
number to provide a natural progression of difficulty. At the same time, the grid is not a simple
rectangle, suggesting more complex interconnections between the rooms/levels themselves.
When viewed as a whole, the profile is roughly that of a stereotypical medieval castle. Medieval
Europe is an aesthetic direction that Chemu does not take, but the resemblance is there to be
exploited by other games.
Between the elements and the table itself, there are the subdivisions of the chemical
series. Groups of mostly-contiguous elements such as the noble gasses, transition metals, and
nonmetals lend themselves to the video game cliché of "theme worlds" (e.g. desert world, ice
world, nighttime world, lava world). This method of grouping levels under a common graphical
or thematic banner extends at least as far back as Adventure, with its color-coded mazes and
castles, but is especially explicit in the Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Characters
The characters of Chemu and Atomi are ninjas for two main reasons. The first is that it
was necessary for them to wield both a sword and a projectile weapon. This will be described in
more detail in the Weapons section below, but the summary is that having a melee weapon and
an exhaustible ranged weapon is important to both the educational focus of the game and to
provide tools for the player to defeat that game. The ninja stereotype is an easily recognizable
figure that is traditionally depicted as having both melee and projectile weapons. The
combination of weapons is less easily explained with a stereotypical modern military soldier,
superhero, or medieval European warrior.
The second reason is that ninjas have a long history in action video games. The
importance of Japan in the video game industry of the middle to late 1980s resulted in a number
of Japanese myths and figures becoming central to video games of the day. The romanticized
view of the ninja appeared in many classic series such as Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, and Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles. These games series continue to this day, exploiting the nostalgia built
over the old games and the twenty-year indoctrination that "ninjas are awesome." Chemu uses
this stereotype as well to capture the imagination of the player; it is more entertaining to be a
ninja late for school than to be a regular student late for school. On top of which, in the current
American culture it would be undesirable to show a normal student bringing swords and
shuriken into a school.

Enemies
The enemy characters further the game's presentation of chemistry through their
appearance and actions. Walking and flying enemies resemble the false-colored spherical

representation of molecules that frequently appear in textbooks. The flyers are especially
modeled after a water molecule with one large central atom and two smaller atoms in a 90degree spread, coupled with their blue color. Walkers appear in levels associated with solid
elements and metals while flying enemies are more common in the gasses and liquids. The
spark enemies show up in only a few rooms for those elements that are noted for their electrical
conductivity.
Enemies also surround the player with the presence of the atomic elements. Each
enemy walker or flyer is associated with a semi-random element when the player enters the
level. The elements associated with the enemy are not strictly the same element as the level in
which they appear, but are chosen from a small pool of the "closest" atoms in the table,
calculated by the atomic number. When an enemy is defeated, it will drop either a health
restoration item or some of their given element that the player can then collect and add to their
weapon inventory.
To represent the concept of valence electrons (the outer orbital shell of each atom's
electron cloud, which determine which atoms may bond with which), each enemy is visibly
surrounded by a number of bright yellow "electrons". To damage the enemy with an element
weapon, the valence of the weapon must complement the valence of the visible electrons.
Enemy health and the amount of damage they deal are also calculated from the atomic number
of their associated element. Altogether this has the effect that as the player penetrates farther
into the map they are presented with steadily stronger monsters that require an ever-shifting
range of elements to defeat.

Weapons
The weapon design was also suggested directly by the chemistry setting. The player
character has one "ionic" melee weapon, one "covalent" melee weapon, and access to an
inventory of the atomic elements. The ionic and covalent weapons correspond to the ionic and
covalent bonds that exist in molecules. The two weapons have differing characteristics so that
they may both be useful in different circumstances; in Chemu, the ionic weapon is faster and
longer, while the covalent weapon has very short range but deals much more damage.

Fig 1: The four main characters of the game. From left: Chemu, Atomi, walking enemy,
flying enemy.
The player's inventory is initially a blank periodic table. Each level in the game contains
at least one element item that the player can collect, and most enemies leave behind an item of

their element when defeated. By collecting these items the associated elements are added to
the player's inventory. As the player collects elements, the squares of the periodic table are
filled in with information on that element. The player can then select an element to use as a
third weapon, beyond their ionic and covalent weapons. Elements are fired as projectiles and
deal damage equal to their atomic number if the valence shell of the enemy complements one
of the possible valences of the element. The player is thus constantly reminded of what their
selection of elements is able to damage, and by how much, all of which is directly tied into
elemental principles.
The bunny-eared octopus cyclops that kidnaps Atomi at the beginning of the game has
no real connection to chemistry. It is meant only to be weird enough that it makes an
impression on the player.

Fig 2: Atomi is kidnapped
By themselves the ionic and covalent weapons do not instruct the student about ionic
and covalent bonds. This lesson comes from the manner in which these weapons are made
more powerful. When an elemental weapon destroys an enemy the electronegativities of the
weapon element and enemy element are compared. Just as in real-world chemistry, if the
difference of electronegativities is greater than a certain amount the resulting bond is ionic, and
if the difference is slight then the bond is covalent. The strength of the enemy defeated is then
translated into another video game staple, "experience points". These points are then added to
either the ionic or covalent weapon. At certain predetermined amounts the weapons "level up"
and become stronger. (Hawley 435)
It must be noted that at no time is the player required to use the elemental weapons; it is
entirely possible (although not recommended) to reach the end of the game using only one's
melee weapons at level 1. The game is simply made vastly more survivable by understanding
the elements and powering up the melee weapons. Enemies quickly become too large to deal
with effectively by swords alone, and the lower transition metals are especially deadly to the
unprepared player.

Level Design
The level design of Chemu is the most important element in communicating the periodic
table to players. If the characters, enemies, and weapons described above were placed in a

sunny meadow or frozen mountaintop it would be very difficult to focus the player on the
periodic table. Furthermore, if the game is not carefully designed the only way students would
learn about the elements and periods would be through text, which is precisely the opposite of
what Chemu hopes to achieve.

Fig 3: Chemu fires a Hydrogen shot (round object, right) inside the Hydrogen room.
Chemu takes place inside 111 rooms corresponding to the atomic elements. The
individual rooms are each 1000-pixels square, and generally have two exits along the perimeter,
two element items to collect, and a number of platforms and enemies. Additionally, there are
two rooms for the East and West Towers of the school building (outside Helium and Hydrogen,
respectively) as well as two long skywalks in the second and third periods bridging the gaps
between the second and thirteenth groups. Each room is connected to its neighbors through
player-activated doors. The connections are laid out such that a player may escape the school
after visiting as few as fifty rooms, but it is impossible to gather all the elements without visiting
all 111. Collecting all 111 elements unlocks a bonus player character with the ability to fly.
Platforms and background images are color-coded to visually represent the chemical
series; for example, the transition metals have gray backgrounds and thin metallic platforms that
evoke the stainless and brushed steel that students would see in their everyday lives. The
alkaline earth metals are brown with rough-textured tan and brown platforms, not for any
properties of the elements themselves but to resemble rock and dirt, i.e. “earth”. Radioactive
rooms are the sickly green of the stereotypical glowing radioactive substance.
Elements farther down the periodic table use darker versions of their series' background
(e.g. Cadmium48 has a slightly darker version of the transition metal background seen in
Zinc30). The patterns and textures applied to objects remain the same but the colors slowly
inch closer to black. The effect is designed to help the player mentally group the chemical
series while subtly increasing the tension of later levels.
Even the position and size of the platforms help distinguish series; alkaline earth metals
have large chunky blocks for platforms, heaped in apparently careless groups, while the noble
gases are entirely filled with thin moving platforms. Motion plays a part as well, and is
instrumental in combining elemental properties with increasing difficulty. Liquid elements have
platforms that tend to "wave" vertically. Naturally magnetic elements have moving platforms
bracketed with cartoon horseshoe-shaped magnets. Gaseous elements have thin, slow-moving
platforms that tend to travel either vertically or horizontally; the lighter gases have shorter

platforms that move a little faster and occasionally diagonally. Radioactive elements have small
fast platforms shooting off in all directions, meant to represent the radioactive particles emitted
by the element. All of these begin to appear more frequently as the player progresses deeper
into the game, not by some conceit of game design but from the natural order of the periodic
table itself.

Fig. 4: the Krypton room,with flying enemy, the atomic symbol, and moving platforms.
Sometimes the distinctive properties of elements are represented with enemies. For
example, the metals with notably low electrical resistance (Copper, Silver, and Gold) have
special enemies that look like sparks racing along the ground. Gaseous elements are almost
entirely populated with flying enemies. The synthetic elements are never dropped when an
enemy dies, and there are almost no enemies found in their rooms, which is meant to
emphasize their extremely odd and transitory natures.

Narrative
The plot of the game is conveyed in static images ("cutscenes") placed at important

points in the game map. These cutscenes are triggered either by initiating a New Game at the
title screen or by passing through certain doors in the game. The art style of the cutscenes
matches the rest of the game graphics, with solid coloration on characters and simple shapes.
The cutscenes are presented as a sequence of images resembling pages from a comic book,
complete with panel borders and word balloons.

Fig. 5: the Copper room shows Chemu and a couple electrical sparks.
The first cutscene immediately presents the blue ninja Chemu as sympathetic to the
player; he is running late for class and is quite honestly a little befuddled by all the goings-on. A
love interest, the pink ninja Atomi, is quickly introduced and just as quickly kidnapped by An Evil
Thing. This sets up the classic "rescue the princess" video game plot that, while not technically
the oldest one in existence, has been borne out repeatedly for over twenty years.
At the end of the game the player is awarded a completion cutscene that is determined
by their actions during the game. Rescuing Atomi and escaping the school results in the
traditional "rescued the princess" happy ending as well as setting up for a possible sequel.
Collecting all 111 elements before escaping accesses a different ending featuring the bonus
character. If the player leaves the school while failing to rescue Atomi, there is a "bad" ending
to motivate the player to complete all goals successfully in future play.

Assessment
The evaluation of the test software targeted two levels of educational depth. The first
section requested students to fill in as much of a blank periodic table as they can. Rote
memorization of the periodic table is not of great educational benefit, but it is important as a

visual representation of how different elements are related and a rough reference for valence
numbers. It is not critically important to place each transition metal in its exact location, but the
student should not put oxygen in their midst.
The second section was a more standard test on elemental properties. Example
questions were "Which two elements are liquid at standard temperature and pressure?" and
"List the naturally magnetic elements". These properties are communicated to the player
through both level design and the short textual description of elements in the player's inventory.
Chemistry questions covered valence shells, magnetism, chemical series, while the mid- and
post-tests also included experiential questions for the Chemu software.

Experimental Design
In order to test the effectiveness of the software, an experiment with two test groups was
designed using a typical classroom assignment as an alternate exercise. Test subjects were
divided into two groups, with one group initially assigned to play the game and the other group
initially assigned the alternate exercise. At the midpoint of testing, each group was assigned the
other activity. Knowledge assessments were administered to both groups at the beginning, just
before the change in activities, and at the end of the testing period. Thus, results from Group 1
should demonstrate the effects of the software as an independent treatment, and Group 2
should demonstrate the effects of the software as a reinforcing treatment.

Experimental Conditions
The test population was the North Dakota Governor's School Science class of Summer
2006. North Dakota Governor's School is a summer residential program open to North Dakota
high school students, and students with above average abilities, aptitudes and an interest in the
sciences and mathematics are encouraged to apply. Sixteen students were evaluated during
the weeks of June 12-16 and June 19-23. For the first week a group of eight students played
the game while the other eight worked on an alternate assignment provided by their Governor's
School teacher. For the second week the two groups switched tasks.
Evaluations were administered prior to the first group beginning the game, at the
midpoint when the groups switched tasks, and in the final minutes of the last day. At the
beginning of the experiment each student also filled out a World Wide Web Instructional
Committee (WWWIC) standardized survey assessing their comfort and experience using
computers for a variety of tasks.
Each group was given an equal amount of lab time with the software and their alternate
task, an equivalent of four class periods. There was a scheduling error on 15 June 2006 that
sent the students to Stevens Hall instead of the computer lab, but this actually worked out in the
experiment’s favor as it meant an even four days for each group rather than 4.5 or an uneven 45 weekday split.
Students were not prevented from playing the game outside of class; indeed, several
students explicitly asked if it was allowed, as they enjoyed the game.

Experiment Results
The computer experience surveys showed that the students had used computers to play
games (94%), do homework (81%), and surf the web (100%). These three skills are most
closely related to the software experiment and alternative exercise. Further, they are quite
comfortable with their skill level at these tasks; self-confidence is an average 87%, 96%, and
97% respectively.
Chemistry evaluations were scored with one point for each correct answer. Questions
that required a list were worth one point for each item on the list. Evaluations were thus worth a

total of 10 points, plus the periodic table on the rear. During the period they used the software,
Group 1 improved their scores in all but one category. Group 2 had less improvement, but no
scores decreased.
Individual items of note are the increase in the scores on the ferromagnetism question
and the relatively low percentage in the chemical series questions. Iron, Cobalt, and Nickel -the three naturally ferromagnetic elements -- had rooms based around metallic platforms
moving between pairs of cartoon horseshoe magnets. Because they are also fairly early in the
periodic table, every student had a chance to see them. This resulted in the largest increase in
average score for both groups, with the alternate assignment providing no increase whatsoever.
The experimental results were weakest for chemical series question, although the cause is still
under investigation.
A statistical analysis of the evaluation scores supports the thesis statement; not only do
the scores improve post-treatment, but the difference is statistically significant. Group 1’s
improvement was significant with the usual confidence of 95%, while Group 2 fell into the
slightly less stringent 90%. The results of a one-tail dependent t-test on both Group 1 and
Group 2 are below. Significant changes in scores from the previous test are marked with an
asterisk for P < .05 and two asterisks for P < .1. Note that this significance test is most accurate
with sample sizes as small as 10, and there were only 8 data points in either group. The
combined results show that the total results are still significant for all 16 students, measured
from the week before each group played the game to the week afterwards.
Table 1: T-Test of Evaluation Results
Avg Score (higher is better)
Group 1
Group 2
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

5
6.5*
6.75

4.75
4.875
5.75**

Significance (lower is better)
Group 1
Group 2

0.02397239
0.17530833

0.39244076
0.07748585

Table 2: T-Test of Evaluation Results, Combined
Avg Score Significance
Before Chemu 4.8375
6.125*
0.00707026
After Chemu

Research Design and Methods
The project milestones will lead to accomplishing the technical objectives and metrics
described in the Specific Aims section of this proposal.
Development work on game software typically divides into the following sections:
development of the software with which the player will interact (the “game engine”);
development of sections of the game as data for the game engine; and development of the
software tools for creating the game data.
The focus of this Phase I development is primarily on software development. The
transition from a PC game demo to game console or hand held device presents additional
challenges due to resource limitations and alternate control methods.

Milestone 1. Initial conversion of game software to target
platform.
The first main technical goal is to port the code for running the game to the target

platform. The initial goal will be to revisit the software design for the game to reflect the new
target language and platform, and the final goal will be the implementation of the updated
design.

Plan for Milestone 1.
Given the existing design for the game software, a schedule of four weeks to adjust the
design for the target platform and 12 weeks for implementation should be sufficient. At the
successful completion of this milestone, the game will be able to load and play a sequence of
test game sections, and all game play elements will be functional.

Milestone 2. Conversion of content tools to support target
environment.
In addition to specific resource limitations, each console is likely to impose various
constraints and requirements on resource packaging and access. While this does not require
completely rewriting the existing content tools, it is expected that some effort will be
unavoidable.

Plan for Milestone 2.
It is expected that any software development for this milestone should require less than
two months. At the successful completion of this milestone, 100% of the data and resources will
be ready for packaging and use with the game software.

Milestone 3. Functional conformance
Demonstrate >90% functional conformance between the new and legacy systems. By
meeting this objective we will show that the new and legacy Chemu games have equivalent and
consistent functionality.

Method and Procedure
Our method for testing the new system will provide a full coverage of the functions of the
legacy system. We will first create a function tree for the game play modes. At the root of each
function tree is the mode (e.g. Tutorial, Element Room, Cut-scene Mode, etc.) in the legacy
system. For each of these modes, the user's actions will be identified and the targets of those
actions arranged in the tree. Our approach aims at testing all the paths in the function tree of
each module. Although the steps for some modes are similar, it is important to test all of them
to ensure consistency.
To verify conformance, our approach will exercise the new and legacy systems with the
same test cases. For a given test case, the system conforms to the legacy system if and only if
they produce the same effects, including the visual display and score.

Milestone 4. Completion of conversion of game content to
target platform.
The work for milestone four builds on the work from milestones two and three, and
serves to ensure that the assembled game code and data meets the requirements and fits
within the limits of the target platform.

Plan for Milestone 4.
Beyond the trivial checks for loading and startup, it is critical to ensure that the game is

fully functional and satisfies the reliability requirements.
We plan to accomplish Milestone 4 in five months. In the first month, we will design
systematic test cases for the proposed functional conformance between the legacy and new
Chemu systems. The test cases will be designed based on the functional trees of individual
learning modules. In the second month, we will test the legacy system with the functional test
cases and collect the log data of the test cases. In the third month, we will develop a Java
program to derive test cases from the log data of the legacy Chemu system. In the fifth month,
we will test the new system with the same test cases for the legacy system

Milestone 5.
Conduct system performance experiment
comparing the two systems
Demonstrate significant improvement in reliability. By meeting this objective, we will
show that the new system will significantly reduce the number of failures and hence improve the
usability.

Method and Procedure
The legacy Chemu system has suffered from failures or crashes primarily caused by the
limitations of the memory management and garbage collection provided by the Java
programming language.. This project is expected to significantly reduce the failure rates due to
the development of the new system and a rigorous process of software testing and analysis.
We plan to evaluate the reliability and performance of the new system through stress
testing. Specifically, we will use combinations of the test cases created for the functional
coverage (as described before). The test programs represent various scenes (i.e., different
configurations of the functional test cases). We will collect the metrics information through a
series of experiments under a range of conditions. Thus we will be able to analyze the corelation between independent variables and the proposed metrics (e.g., response times and
failure rates). This will also enable us to conduct more extensive measurements by using the
data collected from the real learning sessions in Phase II.

Plan for Milestone 5
We plan to accomplish Milestone 5 during the fifth and sixth months of this project. In the
fifth month, we will design the testing experiments with varying configurations. In the sixth
month, we will perform the test experiments, collect the experimental data, and evaluate
performance (e.g., response time) and reliability (e.g., failure rates) of the new system.

Anticipated Outcome of the Proposed Research
Successful completion of the Phase I objectives will clearly demonstrate the feasibility of
the architecture for delivering educational content in an efficient, timely, and cost-effective
manner. Since the legacy system has established credentials arising from empirical studies of
student learning and successful implementation in local contexts, there is every reason to
believe the new implementation will enjoy even greater success.
Upon completion of Phase I and II, WoWiWe Instruction Co. will be in an excellent
position for a commercially successful educational software business that will lead to additional
learning systems in other science disciplines of interest to NSF. The proposed system will
provide immersive educational experiences for Chemistry students across the globe. The
ultimate beneficiaries of the research will be the citizens who are better able to understand the
science-based issues of the day, because of their increased science literacy, resulting from the
development of software and tools for science education.

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“GDC 2006 Proceedings.” <https://www.cmpevents.com/GD06/a.asp?option=C&V=1>
Accessed Dec 4, 2007.
Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New
York; Palgrave Macmillan 2003.
Hawley, Gessner Goodrich. Condensed Chemical Dictionary, The. Tenth Edition. New York;
Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, Inc 1981. 1135pp.
King, Brad. “Educators Turn to Games for Help.”
<http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,59855,00.html> Accessed Dec 4, 2007.
McClean, Phillip, Bernie Saini-Eidukat, Donald Schwert, Brian Slator, Alan White (2001).
Virtual Worlds in Large Enrollment Biology and Geology Classes Significantly Improve
Authentic Learning. In Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on
College Teaching and Learning (ICCTL-01), Jack A. Chambers, Editor). Jacksonville,
FL: Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. April 17-21, pp. 111-118.
“Number Munchers.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_Munchers. Accessed
Dec 4, 2007.
“Ninja Gaiden.” Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_gaiden>. Accessed Dec 4,
2007.

“Oregon Trail.” Wikipedia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oregon_Trail_%28computer_game%29> Accessed
Dec 4, 2007.
Schneider, Edd. “Virtual Worlds in Instruction: How Real is Too Real?”
<https://www.cmpevents.com/GD06/a.asp?option=G&V=3&id=435864> Accessed Dec
4, 2007.
Schwert, Donald P., Brian M. Slator, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, (1999). A Virtual World For
Earth Science Education In Secondary And Post-Secondary Environments: The Geology
Explorer. International Conference on Mathematics/Science Education &Technology
(M/SET-99), March 1-4, 1999, San Antonio, TX, pp. 519-525.
Slator, Brian M. and Curt Hill (1999). Mixing Media For Distance Learning: Using IVN And
Moo In Comp372. World Conference on Educational Media, Hypermedia and
Telecommunications (ED-MEDIA 99), June 19-24, Seattle, WA, pp. 881-886.
Slator, Brian M., Paul Juell, Phil McClean, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald Schwert, Alan
White, Curt Hill (1999). Virtual Worlds for Education. Journal of Network and Computer
Applications, 22(4).
Slator, Brian M., Jeffrey T. Clark, Lisa Daniels, Curt Hill, Phil McClean, Bernhardt SainiEidukat, Donald P. Schwert, Alan R. White (2002). Use of Virtual Worlds to Teach the
Sciences. Virtual Environments for Teaching and Learning, edited by L. C. Jain, R. J.
Howlett, N. S. Ichalkaranje, and G. Tonfoni. World Scientific Publishing Company:
Singapore, pp. 1-40.
“Teaching the Trail.” <http://www.wm.edu/amst/370/2005F/sp1/Teaching_the_trail.htm>
Accessed Dec 4, 2007.

“Video Game Chartz”. VG Chartz. <http://vgchartz.com/> Accessed Dec 4, 2007.

Bradley L Vender
Programmer/Analyst
North Dakota State University, Computer Science Department
bradley.vender@ndsu.edu
701-429-3246
Professional Preparation
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND. Computer Science. BS. 1998.
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND. Computer Science. MS. 2004.
Appointments
10/2007 to present. Programmer analyst for NDSU WWWIC.
8/2006 to 10/2007. Sabbatical.
12/2000 to 8/2006. Programmer/Analyst in support of NSF/ITR No. EIA-0086142.
1/1999 to 12/2000. Graduate research assistant for the Virtual Cell project of the NDSU WWWIC
4/1997 to 12/1998. Undergraduate research assistant for the NDSU WWWIC.
12/1996 to 8/1997. Computer Consultant for NDSU ACM Consultants. Provided basic printer
maintenance and user support for students in the IACC computer clusters.
11/1996 to 4/1998. Tutor for the NDSU Trio Program. Provided additional support, materials and
instruction to supplement students’ regular course work in lower level Computer Science courses.
12/1995 to 4/1996. Analysis, reverse engineering and translation of control program for an industrial
wheel balancer from Z80 assembly and binary form to equivalent C code.
Publications – Related
Borchert, Otto, Aaron Bergstrom, Lisa Brandt, Rob Brantsig, Wade Burns, Jeffrey T. Clark, Bob
Cosmano, Lisa Daniels, Ben Dischinger, Josh Dorothy, Joe Duncan, Derrick Eichele, Kellie Erickson,
Shawn Fisher, Richard Frovarp, Elisa Goldade, Christina Grimsrud, Justin Hawley, Curt Hill, Guy
Hokanson, Bill Jockheck, Christina Johnson, Eunice Johnston, Paul Juell, Ryan Kranitz, James Landrum,
Mei Li, Jessica Mack, Atif Majeed, Kellie Martindale, Phil McClean, Dale Muchow, John Opgrande,
Ganesh Padmanabhan, Patrick Regan, Carson Rittel, Roxanne Rogers, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald
P. Schwert, Brian M. Slator, Daniel Small, Doug Snider, Shannon Tomac, Liess Vantine, Bradley Vender,
Karen Cassie Curtis Vorthmann, Alan R. White, Shanhong Wu, and Melissa Zuroff (2003). Advances in
Immersive Virtual Worlds for Science Education. Proceedings of the 36th Midwest Instructional
Computing Symposium (MICS): April 11 - 12. College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN
Borchert, Otto, Aaron Bergstrom, Jill Hockemeyer, Jeffrey Clark, Paul Juell, Phil McClean, Bernhardt
Saini-Eidukat, Donald P Schwert, Brian M Slator, Alan R White, Curt Hill, John Bauer, Francis Larson,
Brad Vender, Bryan Bandli, Bing Chen, Michelle Dean, Richard Frovarp, Guy Hokanson, Christina
Johnson, Jeff Kittleson, Ned Kruger, James Landrum, Mei Li, Benjamin Nichols, John Opgrande,
Rebecca Potter, Patrick Regan, Lai Ong Teo, Anurag Tokhi, Shannon Tomac, Joy Turnbull, Jane
Willenbring, Qiang Xioo, Xinhai Ye, Melissa Zuroff. (2001), Recent Advances in Immersive Virtual Worlds
For Education. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Midwest Instruction and Computing Symposium (MICS01), Cedar Falls, IA. April 5-7. [CD-ROM: /PAPERS/ BORCHERT.PDF]
Slator, Brian M, Jeffrey Clark, Paul Juell, Phil McClean, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald P. Schwert, Alan
R. White, John Bauer, Francis Larson, Bradley Vender, Aaron Bergstrom, Otto Borchert, Robert
Cosmano, Justin Hawley, Christina Johnson, John Opgrande, Rebecca Potter, Paul Rye, Lester Sjoblom,
Shannon Tomac, and the NDSU Worldwide Web Instructional Committee (2001). Demonstrations of
Virtual Worlds for Education Research at NDSU. Proceedings of the International Conference on
Intelligent Multimedia and Distance Education (ICIMADE-01). Fargo, ND, June 1-3. pp. 148-154
Slator, Brian M, Jeffrey Clark, Paul Juell, Phil McClean, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald P. Schwert, Alan
R. White, John Bauer, Francis Larson, Bradley Vender, Aaron Bergstrom, Otto Borchert, Robert
Cosmano, Justin Hawley, Christina Johnson, John Opgrande, Rebecca Potter, Paul Rye, Lester Sjoblom,
Shannon Tomac, and the NDSU Worldwide Web Instructional Committee (2001). Demonstrations of

Virtual Worlds for Education Research at NDSU. Invited presentation at the International Conference on
Intelligent Multimedia and Distance Education (ICIMADE-01). Fargo, ND, June 1-3.
Slator, Brian M., D. Schwert, B. Saini-Eidukat, P. McClean, J. Abel, J. Bauer, B. Gietzen, N. Green, T.
Kavli, L. Koehntop, B. Marthi, V. Nagareddy, A. Olson, Y. Jia, K. Peravali, D. Turany, B. Vender, J.
Walsh (1998). Planet Oit: a Virtual Environment and Educational Role-playing Game to Teach the
Geosciences. In the Proceedings of the Small College Computing Symposium (SCCS98). FargoMoorhead, April 17-18. pp. 378-392. Online see:
http://www.cs.ndsu.NoDak.edu/~slator/html/abstracts/sccs-oit-98.html
Publications - Significant publications
Opgrande, John E., Brian M. Slator, Aaron Bergstrom, Phillip McClean, Brad Vender, Alan R. White
(2002). Coordinating Pilot Studies for Distributed Learning Environments with Web-based Support Tools.
Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference Information and Knowledge Sharing (IKS 2002)
November 18-20, 2002 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, USA
Synergistic Activities
Contribution to Xj3D Browser library and involvement in the X3D Consortium.
Collaborators & Other Affiliations
(a) Collaborators and Co-Editors.
Aaron Bergstrom, Otto Borchert, Lisa Brandt, Rob Brantsig, Wade Burns, Jeffery T. Clark, Bob Cosmano,
Lisa Daniels, Ben Dischinger, Josh Dorothy, Joe Duncan, Derrick Eichele, Kellie Erickson, Shawn Fisher,
Richard Frovarp, Elisa Goldade, Christina Grimsrud, Justin Hawley, Curt Hill, Guy Hokanson, Bill
Jockheck, Christina Johnson, Eunice Johnston, Paul Juell, Ryan Kranitz, James Landrum, Mei Li, Jessica
Mack, Atif Majeed, Kellie Martindale, Dale Muchow, John Opgrande, Ganesh Padmanabhan, Patrick
Regan, Carson Rittel, Roxanne Rogers, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald P. Schwert, Brian M. Slator,
Daniel Small, Doug Snider, Shannon Tomac, Liess Vantine, Bradley Vender, Karen Cassie Curtis
Vorthmann, Alan R. White, Shanhong Wu, and Melissa Zuroff
(b) Graduate and Postdoctoral Advisors.
(i) Graduate Advisor
Brian M Slator, North Dakota State University
(ii) Thesis committee members
Alan White, North Dakota State University, Kendal Nygard, North Dakota State University, Bruce
Erickson, North Dakota State University
(c) Other professionals
Justin Couch, Yumetech, Alan Hudson, Yumetech, Dr. Don Brutzman, Naval Postgraduate School

HTU

Robert Anthony Cosmano
monthenor@gmail.com
http://www.monthenor.com
(office) 701-281-5312
(home) 701-261-3458
UTH

HTU

UTH

Professional Preparation
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University

Computer Science
Computer Science

B.S 2002
M.S. 2007

Appointments
2006-present Programmer, Multiband Inc. Projects: Internal billing and customerservice applications.
2002-2006
Graduate Research Assistant, World Wide Web Instructional Committee,
North Dakota State University. Projects: Geology Explorer, Dollar Bay.
2001-2002
Undergradute Research Assistant, World Wide Web Instructional
Committee, North Dakota State University. Projects: Geology Explorer.

Publications
Cosmano, Robert (2007, in press). An Application of Videogame Design Principles to
Science Education. Masters Thesis. North Dakota State University. Fargo, ND. 61
pages.
Brandt, Lisa, Otto Borchert, Kimberly Addicott, Bob Cosmano, Justin Hawley, Guy
Hokanson, Dan Reetz, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald P. Schwert, Brian M. Slator,
Shannon Tomac (2006). Roles, Culture, and Computer Supported Collaborative Work
on Planet Oit. Journal of Advanced Technology for Learning. 3(2), pp. 89-98.
Slator, Brian M., Harold Chaput, Robert Cosmano, Ben Dischinger, Christopher Imdieke
and Bradley Vender (2006). A Multi-User Desktop Virtual Environment for Teaching
Shop-Keeping to Children. Virtual Reality Journal, 9, pp. 49-56. Springer-Verlag.
Brandt, L., Borchert, O., Addicott, K., Cosmano, B., Hawley, J., Hokanson, G., Reetz, D.,
Saini-Eidukat, B., Schwert, D.P., Slator, B.M., and Tomac. S., 2005, Roles, Culture,
and Computer Supported Collaborative Work on Planet Oit. Proc., International
Conference on Computers and Advanced Technology in Education (CATE ’05).
Brian M. Slator, Jeffrey Clark, Paul Juell, Phil McClean, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat,
Donald P. Schwert, Alan R. White, John Bauer, Francis Larson, Bradley Vender,
Aaron Bergstrom, Otto Borchert, Robert Cosmano, Justin Hawley, Christina Johnson,
John Opgrande, Rebecca Potter, Paul Rye, Lester Sjoblom, Shannon Tomac, and the
NDSU Worldwide Web Instructional Committee (2001). Demonstrations of Virtual
Worlds for Education Research at NDSU. Proceedings of the International
Conference on Intelligent Multimedia and Distance Education (ICIMADE-01). Fargo,
ND, June 1-3. pp. 148-154

Synergistic Activities
Robert Cosmano was a graduate research fellow for four years at North Dakota
State University, during which time he worked on the Geology Explorer and Dollar Bay
educational simulations. He helped redesign the graphical user interfaces as well as
implementing basic player animation and image recognition in Geology Explorer.

Collaborators and other affiliations
The NDSU World Wide Web Instructional Committee (WWWIC), Brian Slator, Don
Schwert, Bernie Saini-Eidukat, Lisa Daniels, Geosciences, Education Departments at
NDSU

Graduate Advisor
Dr. Brian M. Slator, Department of Computer Science, North Dakota State University,
IACC Bldg, Rm. 258-A6, Fargo, ND 58015

Brian Michael Slator
Computer Science Dept, North Dakota State University,
IACC Bldg, Rm. 258-A6, Fargo, ND 58105
slator@cs.ndsu.edu http://www.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/~slator/
(office) 701-231-6124
(home) 701-271-8875
Professional Preparation
University of Wisconsin La Crosse.
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University

Computer Science (with Honors;
second major in English)
Computer Science (Minor:
Linguistics)
Computer Science (Related Area:
Linguistics)

B.S. 1983
M.S. 1985
Ph.D. 1988

Appointments
2001-present Professor (and Head, as of 2007), Computer Science Dept., North Dakota State University.
1996-2001 Associate Professor, Computer Science Dept., North Dakota State University.
1992-1996 Assistant Professor (Research), The Institute for the Learning Sciences, Northwestern
University.
1990-1992 Research Associate, The Institute for the Learning Sciences, Northwestern University.
1989-1992 Research Specialist, Natural Language Group, (Summer position), Computing Research
Laboratory, New Mexico State University.
1988-1990 Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, North Dakota State University.
1985-1988 Graduate Research Fellow, Natural Language Group, Computing Research Laboratory, New
Mexico State University.
Up to 5 Publications Most Closely Related
1. Slator, Brian M., Richard Beckwith, Lisa Brandt, Harold Chaput, Jeffrey T. Clark, Lisa M. Daniels,
Curt Hill, Phil McClean, John Opgrande, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald P. Schwert, Bradley
Vender, Alan R. White. (2006). Electric Worlds in the Classroom: Teaching and Learning with
Role-Based Computer Games. New York: Teachers College Press. Columbia University. 192 p..
2. Slator, Brian M., Harold Chaput, Robert Cosmano, Ben Dischinger, Christopher Imdieke and Bradley
Vender (2006). A Multi-User Desktop Virtual Environment for Teaching Shop-Keeping to
Children. Virtual Reality Journal, 9, pp. 49-56. Springer-Verlag.
3. Slator, Brian M. Curt Hill, Dayna Del Val (2004). Teaching Computer Science with Virtual Worlds.
IEEE Transactions on Education 47(2), May. New York: IEEE Press.
4. Slator, Brian M., Jeffrey T. Clark, Lisa Daniels, Curt Hill, Phil McClean, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat,
Donald P. Schwert, Alan R. White (2002). Use of Virtual Worlds to Teach the Sciences. Virtual
Environments for Teaching and Learning, edited by L. C. Jain, R. J. Howlett, N. S. Ichalkaranje,
and G. Tonfoni. World Scientific Publishing Company: Singapore, pp. 1-40.
5. Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald P. Schwert, and Brian M. Slator. (2002). Geology Explorer: Virtual
Geologic Mapping and Interpretation. Journal of Computers and Geosciences. 28(1), 1167-1176..
Up to 5 Other Significant Publications
1. Slator, Brian M., Otto Borchert, Lisa Brandt, Harold Chaput, Kellie Erickson, Gabriel Groesbeck, Jacob
Halvorson, Justin Hawley, Guy Hokanson, Dan Reetz, Brad Vender (2007). From Dungeons to
Classrooms: the evolution of MUDs as learning environments. Edited by L.C. Jain, Evolution of
Technology and Pedagogy. Studies in Computational Intelligence (SCI) 62, pp. 119-159.
Springer-Verlag, Germany.
2. Slator, Brian M. and Harold "Cliff" Chaput (1996). Learning by Learning Roles: a virtual role-playing
environment for tutoring. Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Intelligent
Tutoring Systems (ITS'96). Montréal: Springer-Verlag, June 12-14, pp. 668-676..
3. Guthrie, Louise, James Pustejovsky, Yorick A. Wilks and Brian M. Slator (1996). The Role of
Lexicons in Natural Language Processing. Communications of the ACM. (Special Edition on
Natural Language Processing, edited by Yorick A. Wilks), Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 63-72.

-1-

4. Wilks, Yorick A., Brian M. Slator, and Louise Guthrie (1996). Electric Words: Dictionaries,
Computers and Meanings. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press..
5. Slator, Brian M. (1999). Intelligent Tutors in Virtual Worlds. 8th International Conference on
Intelligent Systems. Denver, CO. June 24-26, pp. 124-127.
Synergistic Activities
Dr. Brian M. Slator is a Professor of Computer Science at North Dakota State University. He has
broad experience with the design, development and implementation of a number of virtual environments
for learning. For six years as a research scientist at the Northwestern University Institute for the Learning
Sciences (ILS), he designed and managed the development of a number of multimedia applications in
educational technology, case-based reasoning for intelligent tutoring, and job-aid style performance
support (e.g. Slator and Riesbeck, 1992; Slator and Chaput, 1996). He was the architect of an interactive,
multi-user retailing game, its economic simulation, software agent-based tutoring, and manager of the
GAMES project. Since joining North Dakota State University, he is directly involved with no less than five
graphically oriented educational media projects. He has taught courses in user interface design and human
computer interaction, and he is experienced in dealing with the issues involved with both developing
virtual worlds and designing graphical user interface. He is first author on a paper (Slator et al., 1999)
given an outstanding paper award at ED-Media-99, has appeared as panelist on a PBS satellite broadcast
forum on “Exemplary Models for Web-based Learning”, won the $5000 Ernest L. Boyer International
Award for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology at the 11th International Conference on
College Teaching and Learning, Jacksonville, FL, April 12-15, 2000, and the $2500 NDSU Peltier Award
for Innovation in Instruction, May 2004. His leadership role in the NDSU WWWIC team has led to over
$4 million in research funding since his arrival at NDSU in 1996. His most recent book is "Electric Worlds
in the Classroom" published by Teachers College Press in 2006
Collaborators and other affiliations
Roger Schank, Chris Riesbeck, Ray Bareiss, Alex Kass, Gregg Collins, Tom Hinrichs, Cliff Chaput, Bob
Hooker, Scott MacQuarrie, Kerim Fidel: Institute for the Learning Sciences at Northwestern
University
Kendall Nygard, Ken Magel, Paul Juell, Bill Perrizo: Computer Science Dept. at NDSU
The NDSU Worldwide Web Instructional Committee (WWWIC) Phil McClean, Alan White, Don
Schwert, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat Lisa Daniels, Jeffrey Clark, Plant Science, Botany/Biology,
Geosciences, Education, and Sociology/Anthropology Departments at NDSU
Richard Beckwith, Intel Corporation; Yorick Wilks: Sheffield University; Louise Guthrie: University of
Texas, El Paso
Bill Manaris: University of Southwest Louisiana; Brian K. Smith, MIT Media Center
Graduate and Postdoctoral Advisors
Dr. Yorick A. Wilks, Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Regent Court, 211
Portobello Street, Sheffield, UK, S14DP (ph: 011-44/742-825-571; email:
yorick@dcs.sheffield.ac.uk)
Thesis Advisor
Completed: Curt Hill, Ph.D. 2004; Ge Peng, M.S. 2004; Bradley Vender, M.S. 2004;.John Opgrande, M.S.
2003; Patrick Regan, M.S. 2003; Atif Majeed, M.S. 2002; Qiang Xiao, M.S. 2001; Xinhai Ye,
M.S. 2000, Bing Chen, M.S. 2000; Jin Wang, M.S. 1999, Jozef Zelenak, M.S. 1999, Yongxin Jia,
M.S. 1998, Hong Wu, M.S. 1998, Yihe Wu, M.S. 1998, Jun Zhou, M.S, 1998
Ongoing:
Otto Borchert, Ph.D.; Robert Cosmano, M.S.; Jacob Halvorson, M.S.; Guy Hokanson, M.S.; Mei Li, M.S.;
Ganesh Padmanahban, M.S.; Shanhong Wu, M.S.

-2-

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Dianxiang Xu
I. PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION
Nanjing University, Computer Science, B.S., 1989
Nanjing University, Computer Science, M.S., 1992
Nanjing University, Computer Science, Ph.D., 1995
Florida International University, Computer Science, Postdoctoral Researcher, May 1999-August 2000
II. APPOINTMENTS
July 2003– present. Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, North Dakota State University
August 2000 – July 2003. Research Assistant Professor/Engineer, Department of Computer Science,
Texas A&M University
May 1999 – August 2000. Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Computer Science, Florida International
University
March 1998 – November 2000. Associate professor, Department of Computer Science and Technology,
Nanjing University (On leave from May 1999 to November 2000)
July 1995 – February 1998. Assistant professor, Department of Computer Science and Technology,
Nanjing University
III. PUBLICATIONS
Related Publications
1. Dianxiang Xu and Kendall Nygard. Threat-Driven Modeling and Verification of Secure Software
Using Aspect-Oriented Petri Nets. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering. Vol. 32, No. 4,
pp. 265-278, April 2006.
2. Dianxiang Xu, Weifeng Xu, and W. Eric Wong, Testing Aspect-Oriented Programs with UML
Design Models, International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering, To
appear.
3. Dianxiang Xu, Izzat Alsmadi, and Weifeng Xu, Model Checking Aspect-Oriented Design
Specification, In Proc. of the 31st IEEE International Computer Software and Applications
Conference (COMPSAC'07), Vol. 1. pp. 491-500, Beijing, July 2007.
4. Dianxiang Xu and Weifeng Xu. State-Based Incremental Testing of Aspect-Oriented Programs.
In Proc. of the 5th International Conf. on Aspect-Oriented Software Development (AOSD’ 06),
pp. 180-189, Bonn, Germany, March 2006.
5. Dianxiang Xu, Weifeng Xu, and W. Eric Wong. Automated Test Code Generation from UML
Protocol State Machines, In Proc. of the 19th International Conference on Software Engineering
and Knowledge Engineering (SEKE'07), Boston, July 2007.
Other Publications
6. Dianxiang Xu, Jianwen Yin, Yi Deng, and Junhua Ding, A Formal Architectural Model for
Logical Agent Mobility, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Vol. 29, No.1, pp. 31-45,
January 2003.

7. Dianxiang Xu, Xudong He, and Yi Deng, Compositional Schedulability Analysis of Real Time
Systems Using Time Petri Nets, IEEE Trans. on Software Engineering, Vol.28, No.10, pp. 984996, October 2002.
8. Dianxiang Xu and Kendall Nygard. A Threat-Driven Approach to Modeling and Verifying
Secure Software. In Proc. of the 2005 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated
Software Engineering (ASE'05), pp. 342-346, California, USA, November 2005.
9. Dianxiang Xu, Vivek Goel, Kendall Nygard, and W. Eric Wong. Aspect-Oriented Specification
of Threat-Driven Security Requirements, International Journal of Computer Applications in
Technology, Special Issue on Concern Oriented Software Evolution. To appear.
10. Dianxiang Xu and Joshua Pauli. Threat-Driven Design and Analysis of Secure Software
Architectures. Journal of Information Assurance and Security. Vol.1, No.3, pp. 171-180, 2006.
IV. SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES
Senior member, IEEE
Member, IASTED Software Engineering Technical Committee
Editorial board: The Open Software Engineering Journal, Journal of Information Assurance and Security
Program committee: WTAOP(’07-Co-Chair, ’06), COMPSAC(’08, ’07,’06), ACM SAC SE Track
(’08,’07), MSVVEIS(’08,’07, ’06,’05), ICTAI(’04), etc.
Reviewer: IEEE TSE, IEEE TKDE, IEEE TSMC, IEEE TRA, Journal of Systems and Software,
Information and Software Technology, International J. of Software Engineering and Knowledge
Engineering, Annals of Software Engineering, International Conferences on Application and
Theory of Petri Nets (ICATPN’06, ’05,’04), ACSAC(’05, ’06), etc.
V. COLLABORATORS & OTHER AFFILIATIONS
(a) Collaborators
Deng, Yi (Florida International University)
He, Xudong (Florida International University)
Fan, Xiaocong (Pennsylvania State University)
Ioerger, Thomas R. (Texas A&M University)
Volz, Richard A. (Texas A&M University)
Wong, Eric (University of Texas at Dallas)
Yen, John (Pennsylvania State University)
(b) Advisors
Postdoctoral Advisor: Dr. Yi Deng, Florida International University
Ph.D. Advisor: Professor Guoliang Zheng, Nanjing University
(c) Advisees
Pauli, Joshua, Ph.D. (Dakota State University)
Xu, Weifeng, Ph.D. (The University of Virginia's College at Wise)

SUMMARY
PROPOSAL BUDGET

YEAR

1

FOR NSF USE ONLY
PROPOSAL NO.
DURATION (months)
Proposed Granted
AWARD NO.

ORGANIZATION

WOWIWE INSTRUCTION CO.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR / PROJECT DIRECTOR

Bradley Vender
A. SENIOR PERSONNEL: PI/PD, Co-PI’s, Faculty and Other Senior Associates
(List each separately with title, A.7. show number in brackets)

NSF Funded
Person-months

CAL

ACAD

1. Bradley Vender - PI
6.00 0.00
2. Brian M Slator - Co-PI
0.50 0.00
3.
4.
5.
6. ( 0 ) OTHERS (LIST INDIVIDUALLY ON BUDGET JUSTIFICATION PAGE)
0.00 0.00
7. ( 2 ) TOTAL SENIOR PERSONNEL (1 - 6)
6.50 0.00
B. OTHER PERSONNEL (SHOW NUMBERS IN BRACKETS)
1. ( 0 ) POST DOCTORAL SCHOLARS
0.00 0.00
2. ( 1 ) OTHER PROFESSIONALS (TECHNICIAN, PROGRAMMER, ETC.)
6.00 0.00
3. ( 0 ) GRADUATE STUDENTS
4. ( 0 ) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
5. ( 0 ) SECRETARIAL - CLERICAL (IF CHARGED DIRECTLY)
6. ( 0 ) OTHER
TOTAL SALARIES AND WAGES (A + B)
C. FRINGE BENEFITS (IF CHARGED AS DIRECT COSTS)
TOTAL SALARIES, WAGES AND FRINGE BENEFITS (A + B + C)
D. EQUIPMENT (LIST ITEM AND DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR EACH ITEM EXCEEDING $5,000.)

equipment item 1

$

Funds
Requested By
proposer

SUMR

Funds
granted by NSF
(if different)

0.00 $
0.00

10,000 $
5,682

0.00
0.00

0
15,682

0.00
0.00

0
17,500
0
0
4,000
0
37,182
9,295
46,477

0

0
3,200
0

TOTAL EQUIPMENT
E. TRAVEL
1. DOMESTIC (INCL. CANADA, MEXICO AND U.S. POSSESSIONS)
2. FOREIGN

F. PARTICIPANT SUPPORT COSTS
0
1. STIPENDS
$
0
2. TRAVEL
0
3. SUBSISTENCE
0
4. OTHER
(
)
TOTAL
PARTICIPANT
COSTS
0
G. OTHER DIRECT COSTS
1. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
2. PUBLICATION COSTS/DOCUMENTATION/DISSEMINATION
3. CONSULTANT SERVICES
4. COMPUTER SERVICES
5. SUBAWARDS
6. OTHER
TOTAL OTHER DIRECT COSTS
H. TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (A THROUGH G)
I. INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)(SPECIFY RATE AND BASE)

0
2,000
0
6,000
0
26,554
0
34,554
84,231

FirstIndirectCostItem (Rate: 18.0000, Base: 57677)
TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)
J. TOTAL DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS (H + I)
K. FEE (IF REQUESTED MAXIMUM = 7% OF J )
L. TOTAL COST AND FEE (J + K)

$

10,382
94,613
5,387
100,000 $
fm1030sb-07

PI/PD NAME

Bradley Vender
ORG. REP. NAME*

FOR NSF USE ONLY
INDIRECT COST RATE VERIFICATION
Date Checked

Date Of Rate Sheet

Initials - ORG

Brian slator
1 *ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES REQUIRED ONLY FOR REVISED BUDGET

SUMMARY
PROPOSAL BUDGET

Cumulative
FOR NSF USE ONLY
PROPOSAL NO.
DURATION (months)
Proposed Granted
AWARD NO.

ORGANIZATION

WOWIWE INSTRUCTION CO.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR / PROJECT DIRECTOR

Bradley Vender
A. SENIOR PERSONNEL: PI/PD, Co-PI’s, Faculty and Other Senior Associates
(List each separately with title, A.7. show number in brackets)

NSF Funded
Person-months

CAL

ACAD

1. Bradley Vender - PI
6.00 0.00
2. Brian M Slator - Co-PI
0.50 0.00
3.
4.
5.
6. (
) OTHERS (LIST INDIVIDUALLY ON BUDGET JUSTIFICATION PAGE)
0.00 0.00
7. ( 2 ) TOTAL SENIOR PERSONNEL (1 - 6)
6.50 0.00
B. OTHER PERSONNEL (SHOW NUMBERS IN BRACKETS)
1. ( 0 ) POST DOCTORAL SCHOLARS
0.00 0.00
2. ( 1 ) OTHER PROFESSIONALS (TECHNICIAN, PROGRAMMER, ETC.)
6.00 0.00
3. ( 0 ) GRADUATE STUDENTS
4. ( 0 ) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
5. ( 0 ) SECRETARIAL - CLERICAL (IF CHARGED DIRECTLY)
6. ( 0 ) OTHER
TOTAL SALARIES AND WAGES (A + B)
C. FRINGE BENEFITS (IF CHARGED AS DIRECT COSTS)
TOTAL SALARIES, WAGES AND FRINGE BENEFITS (A + B + C)
D. EQUIPMENT (LIST ITEM AND DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR EACH ITEM EXCEEDING $5,000.)

$

Funds
Requested By
proposer

SUMR

Funds
granted by NSF
(if different)

0.00 $
0.00

10,000 $
5,682

0.00
0.00

0
15,682

0.00
0.00

0
17,500
0
0
4,000
0
37,182
9,295
46,477

0

0
3,200
0

TOTAL EQUIPMENT
E. TRAVEL
1. DOMESTIC (INCL. CANADA, MEXICO AND U.S. POSSESSIONS)
2. FOREIGN

F. PARTICIPANT SUPPORT COSTS
0
1. STIPENDS
$
0
2. TRAVEL
0
3. SUBSISTENCE
0
4. OTHER
(
)
TOTAL
PARTICIPANT
COSTS
0
G. OTHER DIRECT COSTS
1. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
2. PUBLICATION COSTS/DOCUMENTATION/DISSEMINATION
3. CONSULTANT SERVICES
4. COMPUTER SERVICES
5. SUBAWARDS
6. OTHER
TOTAL OTHER DIRECT COSTS
H. TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (A THROUGH G)
I. INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)(SPECIFY RATE AND BASE)

0
2,000
0
6,000
0
26,554
0
34,554
84,231

TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)
J. TOTAL DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS (H + I)
K. FEE (IF REQUESTED MAXIMUM = 7% OF J )
L. TOTAL COST AND FEE (J + K)

$

10,382
94,613
5,387
100,000 $
fm1030sb-07

PI/PD NAME

Bradley Vender
ORG. REP. NAME*

FOR NSF USE ONLY
INDIRECT COST RATE VERIFICATION
Date Checked

Date Of Rate Sheet

Initials - ORG

Brian slator
C*ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES REQUIRED ONLY FOR REVISED BUDGET

Budget Justification Page

Salary is requested for the project PI, Bradley Vender, who will manage the project through
its six month life cycle. Salary is also requested for WoWiWe Instruction Co. President, Brian
M. Slator, who will oversee the operation of the project.
Salary is requested for a programmer/analyst to perform contract programming work under the
direction of the PI in the latter half of the development schedule.
Funds are requested for secretarial support of the project at a level of approximately 10
hours/week.
Fringe benefits are calculated at 25% of Total Salaries and Wages
Travel funds are requested for two individuals to attend the mandatory PIs meeting.
Funds are requested for incidental materials and supplies.
Funds are requested to hire a content area consultant for approximately two hours per week
throughout the course of the project
Funds are requested for a subaward to North Dakota State University for Software Engineering
expertise, design, and testing.
Indirect Costs are calculated at 18% of Total Direct Costs minus Equipment, Participant Expenses,
and Subawards [H-(D+F+G.5)]
A fee of 5.7% is requested.

SUMMARY
PROPOSAL BUDGET

YEAR

1

FOR NSF USE ONLY
PROPOSAL NO.
DURATION (months)
Proposed Granted
AWARD NO.

ORGANIZATION

North Dakota State University Fargo
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR / PROJECT DIRECTOR

Dianxiang Xu
A. SENIOR PERSONNEL: PI/PD, Co-PI’s, Faculty and Other Senior Associates
(List each separately with title, A.7. show number in brackets)

NSF Funded
Person-months

CAL

ACAD

1. Dianxiang Xu - PI
1.00 0.00
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. ( 0 ) OTHERS (LIST INDIVIDUALLY ON BUDGET JUSTIFICATION PAGE)
0.00 0.00
7. ( 1 ) TOTAL SENIOR PERSONNEL (1 - 6)
1.00 0.00
B. OTHER PERSONNEL (SHOW NUMBERS IN BRACKETS)
1. ( 0 ) POST DOCTORAL SCHOLARS
0.00 0.00
2. ( 0 ) OTHER PROFESSIONALS (TECHNICIAN, PROGRAMMER, ETC.)
0.00 0.00
3. ( 1 ) GRADUATE STUDENTS
4. ( 0 ) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
5. ( 0 ) SECRETARIAL - CLERICAL (IF CHARGED DIRECTLY)
6. ( 0 ) OTHER
TOTAL SALARIES AND WAGES (A + B)
C. FRINGE BENEFITS (IF CHARGED AS DIRECT COSTS)
TOTAL SALARIES, WAGES AND FRINGE BENEFITS (A + B + C)
D. EQUIPMENT (LIST ITEM AND DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR EACH ITEM EXCEEDING $5,000.)

Funds
Requested By
proposer

SUMR

Funds
granted by NSF
(if different)

0.00 $

8,000 $

0.00
0.00

0
8,000

0.00
0.00

0
0
6,048
0
0
0
14,048
2,521
16,569

0
1,000
0

TOTAL EQUIPMENT
E. TRAVEL
1. DOMESTIC (INCL. CANADA, MEXICO AND U.S. POSSESSIONS)
2. FOREIGN

F. PARTICIPANT SUPPORT COSTS
0
1. STIPENDS
$
0
2. TRAVEL
0
3. SUBSISTENCE
0
4. OTHER
(
)
TOTAL
PARTICIPANT
COSTS
0
G. OTHER DIRECT COSTS
1. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
2. PUBLICATION COSTS/DOCUMENTATION/DISSEMINATION
3. CONSULTANT SERVICES
4. COMPUTER SERVICES
5. SUBAWARDS
6. OTHER
TOTAL OTHER DIRECT COSTS
H. TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (A THROUGH G)
I. INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)(SPECIFY RATE AND BASE)

0
1,000
0
0
0
0
0
1,000
18,569

H-(D+F) (Rate: 43.0000, Base: 18569)
TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)
J. TOTAL DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS (H + I)
K. FEE (IF REQUESTED MAXIMUM = 7% OF J )
L. TOTAL COST AND FEE (J + K)

$

7,985
26,554
0
26,554 $
fm1030sb-07

PI/PD NAME

Dianxiang Xu
ORG. REP. NAME*

FOR NSF USE ONLY
INDIRECT COST RATE VERIFICATION
Date Checked

Date Of Rate Sheet

Initials - ORG

Brian slator
1 *ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES REQUIRED ONLY FOR REVISED BUDGET

SUMMARY
PROPOSAL BUDGET

Cumulative
FOR NSF USE ONLY
PROPOSAL NO.
DURATION (months)
Proposed Granted
AWARD NO.

ORGANIZATION

North Dakota State University Fargo
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR / PROJECT DIRECTOR

Dianxiang Xu
A. SENIOR PERSONNEL: PI/PD, Co-PI’s, Faculty and Other Senior Associates
(List each separately with title, A.7. show number in brackets)

NSF Funded
Person-months

CAL

ACAD

1. Dianxiang Xu - PI
1.00 0.00
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. (
) OTHERS (LIST INDIVIDUALLY ON BUDGET JUSTIFICATION PAGE)
0.00 0.00
7. ( 1 ) TOTAL SENIOR PERSONNEL (1 - 6)
1.00 0.00
B. OTHER PERSONNEL (SHOW NUMBERS IN BRACKETS)
1. ( 0 ) POST DOCTORAL SCHOLARS
0.00 0.00
2. ( 0 ) OTHER PROFESSIONALS (TECHNICIAN, PROGRAMMER, ETC.)
0.00 0.00
3. ( 1 ) GRADUATE STUDENTS
4. ( 0 ) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
5. ( 0 ) SECRETARIAL - CLERICAL (IF CHARGED DIRECTLY)
6. ( 0 ) OTHER
TOTAL SALARIES AND WAGES (A + B)
C. FRINGE BENEFITS (IF CHARGED AS DIRECT COSTS)
TOTAL SALARIES, WAGES AND FRINGE BENEFITS (A + B + C)
D. EQUIPMENT (LIST ITEM AND DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR EACH ITEM EXCEEDING $5,000.)

Funds
Requested By
proposer

SUMR

Funds
granted by NSF
(if different)

0.00 $

8,000 $

0.00
0.00

0
8,000

0.00
0.00

0
0
6,048
0
0
0
14,048
2,521
16,569

0
1,000
0

TOTAL EQUIPMENT
E. TRAVEL
1. DOMESTIC (INCL. CANADA, MEXICO AND U.S. POSSESSIONS)
2. FOREIGN

F. PARTICIPANT SUPPORT COSTS
0
1. STIPENDS
$
0
2. TRAVEL
0
3. SUBSISTENCE
0
4. OTHER
(
)
TOTAL
PARTICIPANT
COSTS
0
G. OTHER DIRECT COSTS
1. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
2. PUBLICATION COSTS/DOCUMENTATION/DISSEMINATION
3. CONSULTANT SERVICES
4. COMPUTER SERVICES
5. SUBAWARDS
6. OTHER
TOTAL OTHER DIRECT COSTS
H. TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (A THROUGH G)
I. INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)(SPECIFY RATE AND BASE)

0
1,000
0
0
0
0
0
1,000
18,569

TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)
J. TOTAL DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS (H + I)
K. FEE (IF REQUESTED MAXIMUM = 7% OF J )
L. TOTAL COST AND FEE (J + K)

$

7,985
26,554
0
26,554 $
fm1030sb-07

PI/PD NAME

Dianxiang Xu
ORG. REP. NAME*

FOR NSF USE ONLY
INDIRECT COST RATE VERIFICATION
Date Checked

Date Of Rate Sheet

Initials - ORG

Brian slator
C*ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES REQUIRED ONLY FOR REVISED BUDGET

Budget Justification Page

Salary is requested for Dr. Xu to manage the project.
A full-time (20 hours/week) graduate student stipend is requested for a student to work under
Dr. Xu’s supervision.
Fringe Benefits are calculated at 30% for faculty and 2% for graduate students.
Funds are requested for travel to professional meetings.
Funds are requested for incidental materials and supplies.
Indirect costs are calculated at 43% of Total Direct Costs minus Equipment and Participant
Expenses.

Current and Pending Support
(See GPG Section II.C.2.h for guidance on information to include on this form.)
The following information should be provided for each investigator and other senior personnel. Failure to provide this information may delay consideration of this proposal.

Other agencies (including NSF) to which this proposal has been/will be submitted.

Investigator: Bradley Vender
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title: SBIR Phase 1 - Chemu the Chemistry Ninja

NSF-SBIR
Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
100,000 Total Award Period Covered: 05/01/08 - 11/01/08
Location of Project:
Fargo, North Dakota
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:6.00
Acad: 0.00 Sumr: 0.00
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title: A multi-user virtual Biology environment for

discovery-oriented science education
NIH SBIR
Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
100,000 Total Award Period Covered: 09/01/07 - 04/01/08
Location of Project:
Fargo, North Dakota
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:6.00
Acad: 0.00 Sumr: 0.00
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title:

Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
Total Award Period Covered:
Location of Project:
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:
Acad:
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

Sumr:
*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title:

Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
Total Award Period Covered:
Location of Project:
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:
Acad:
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

Sumr:
*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title:

Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
Total Award Period Covered:
Location of Project:
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:
Acad:

Summ:

*If this project has previously been funded by another agency, please list and furnish information for immediately preceding funding period.

Page G-1

USE ADDITIONAL SHEETS AS NECESSARY

Current and Pending Support
(See GPG Section II.C.2.h for guidance on information to include on this form.)
The following information should be provided for each investigator and other senior personnel. Failure to provide this information may delay consideration of this proposal.

Other agencies (including NSF) to which this proposal has been/will be submitted.

Investigator: Robert Cosmano
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title: Chemu the Chemistry Ninja (this project)

NSF-SBIR
Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
100,000 Total Award Period Covered: 05/01/08 - 11/01/08
Location of Project:
Fargo, ND
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:1.00
Acad: 0.00 Sumr: 0.00
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title:

Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
Total Award Period Covered:
Location of Project:
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:
Acad:
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

Sumr:
*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title:

Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
Total Award Period Covered:
Location of Project:
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:
Acad:
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

Sumr:
*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title:

Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
Total Award Period Covered:
Location of Project:
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:
Acad:
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

Sumr:
*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title:

Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
Total Award Period Covered:
Location of Project:
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:
Acad:

Summ:

*If this project has previously been funded by another agency, please list and furnish information for immediately preceding funding period.

Page G-2

USE ADDITIONAL SHEETS AS NECESSARY

Current and Pending Support
The following information should be provided for each investigator and other senior personnel.
Failure to provide this information may delay consideration of this proposal.

Investigator: Brian M. Slator
Support:

X Current

Other agencies to which this proposal has been/will be submitted.

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

Project/Proposal Title: Instructional Materials for Teaching Science through Virtual Environments
Source of Support: NSF-IMD
Total Award Amount: $727,282
Total Award Period Covered: 2005-2008
Location of Project: NDSU
Person Months Per Year Committed to the Project.
Cal: 0.5
Acad:
Sumr:
Support:
X Current
Pending
Submission Planned in Near Future
Project/Proposal Title: Pilot Project: Research on Serious Games for Geoscience Education
Source of Support: NSF-Geoscience
Total Award Amount: $149,984
Total Award Period Covered: 2006-2008
Location of Project: NDSU
Person Months Per Year Committed to the Project.
Cal: 0.5
Acad:
Sumr:
Support:
X Current
Pending
Submission Planned in Near Future
Project/Proposal Title: Visualization in Biology Education
Source of Support: NSF-CCLI
Total Award Amount: $452,355
Total Award Period Covered: 2006-2009
Location of Project: NDSU
Person Months Per Year Committed to the Project.
Cal: 0.25
Acad:
Sumr:
Support:
Current
X Pending
Submission Planned in Near Future
Project/Proposal Title: A Multi-user Biology Environment for Discovery-based Science Education
Source of Support: NIH-SBIR
Total Award Amount: $100,000
Total Award Period Covered: 3/1/08-9/1/08
Location of Project: WoWiWe Instruction Co
Person Months Per Year Committed to the Project.
Cal: 0.25
Acad:
Sumr:
Support:
Current
Pending
Submission Planned in Near Future
Project/Proposal Title:
Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
Location of Project:
Person Months Per Year Committed to the Project.

Total Award Period Covered:
Cal:

Acad:

Sumr:

If this project has previously been funded by another agency, please list and furnish information for immediately preceding funding period.

Current and Pending Support
(See GPG Section II.C.2.h for guidance on information to include on this form.)
The following information should be provided for each investigator and other senior personnel. Failure to provide this information may delay consideration of this proposal.

Other agencies (including NSF) to which this proposal has been/will be submitted.

Investigator: Dianxiang Xu
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title: Testing for software safety

NASA
Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
407,500 Total Award Period Covered: 01/01/07 - 12/31/09
Location of Project:
NDSU
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:0.00
Acad: 0.00 Sumr: 1.00
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title: Automated generation of safety tests

ND NASA EPSCoR
Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
13,143 Total Award Period Covered: 11/01/07 - 08/31/08
Location of Project:
NDSU
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:0.00
Acad: 0.00 Sumr: 0.00
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title: A multi-user virtual Biology environment for

discovery-oriented science education
NIH
Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
100,000 Total Award Period Covered: 03/01/08 - 08/31/08
Location of Project:
NDSU
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:0.00
Acad: 0.00 Sumr: 1.00
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title: CPA-SEL: Collaborative Research - Automated Generation of

Aspect Tests from State Models
NSF
Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
205,228 Total Award Period Covered: 06/16/08 - 06/15/11
Location of Project:
NDSU
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:0.00
Acad: 0.00 Sumr: 2.00
Support:

Current

Pending

Submission Planned in Near Future

*Transfer of Support

Project/Proposal Title:

Source of Support:
Total Award Amount: $
Total Award Period Covered:
Location of Project:
Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal:
Acad:

Summ:

*If this project has previously been funded by another agency, please list and furnish information for immediately preceding funding period.

Page G-1

USE ADDITIONAL SHEETS AS NECESSARY

Facilities and Other Resources
WoWiWe Instruction Co. currently has no physical plant. Participants in this project will
be working in their homes or in space provided by North Dakota State University, the
subaward/consortium partner in the project.

Equipment
WoWiWe Instruction Co. currently has no capital equipment. Participants in this project
will be using personal computers or machines provided by North Dakota State
University, the subaward/consortium partner in the project.






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