Agencies

Crittenden, Garland, Mississippi Counties Eligible for FEMA Public Assistance

Published: 27 June 2025
Categories: FEMA News

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Crittenden, Garland and Mississippi counties have been added to the major presidential disaster declaration for the April 2-22 severe storms, tornadoes and flooding, meaning state and local governments and certain nonprofit organizations in those counties may seek funding under FEMA’s Public Assistance program. 

The three counties are now authorized to recover eligible costs for emergency work including debris removal and emergency protective measures; and permanent work that includes projects to permanently restore community infrastructure affected by the storms.

FEMA had previously designated Clark, Clay, Craighead, Cross, Dallas, Desha, Fulton, Greene, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Izard, Jackson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Little River, Lonoke, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Nevada, Newton, Pike, Poinsett, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, St. Francis, Saline, Scott, Searcy, Sevier, Sharp, Stone and Woodruff counties for Public Assistance funding for the April storms.

The Public Assistance program is FEMA’s largest grant program, providing funding to help communities pay for emergency work to save lives and protect property, for debris removal, and for repairs to roads, bridges, water control facilities, public buildings, public utilities, parks and recreational facilities. The program reimburses eligible costs to local and state government agencies, and certain private nonprofits including houses of worship. 

Federal funding is typically available on a cost-sharing basis, with FEMA reimbursing Arkansas applicants 75% of eligible costs and the applicant is responsible for the non-federal share, or up to 25%.

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Superconducting material stabilized at everyday pressure, another step toward real-world applications

Published: 25 June 2025
Categories: National Science Foundation

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

U.S. National Science Foundation-funded researchers have stabilized a composite material in a superconducting state at ambient or normal, everyday pressure. Their technique, called the “pressure-quench protocol,” offers a new approach for exploring and developing superconducting materials. Superconducting materials have the potential to enable highly efficient electronic devices and minimal energy loss in power grids.

Superconducting materials typically exhibit zero electrical resistance only at very low temperatures or very high pressures, depending on the material. Researchers at the University of Houston overcame these limitations by using their pressure-quench technique to stabilize a composite of bismuth, antimony and tellurium in a superconducting state under ambient pressure. This study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also included contributions from researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Illinois Chicago.

Credit: Liangzi Deng and Ching-Wu Chu

A multi-purpose measurement device used in the pressure-quenching experiments can reach a temperature of 1.2 degrees Kelvin (-457 degrees Fahrenheit).

The new protocol also opens up a new way to explore material phases that usually exist only under extreme pressure. “It should help our search for superconductors with higher transition temperatures,” says Paul Ching-Wu Chu, a study author and professor of physics at the University of Houston.

“The technique used in this study not only demonstrates potential

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Chemical process more efficiently converts carbon dioxide to methanol, a chemical used in manufacturing and a potential fuel

Published: 25 June 2025
Categories: National Science Foundation

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

A new chemical process funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation has produced methanol — a type of alcohol essential for manufacturing many common products and a potential fuel source — more efficiently than ever before. The method generates methanol from carbon dioxide nearly 66% more efficiently than the next best approach.

The process uses a dual combination of nickel- and cobalt-based compounds as a catalyst on nanotubes, where multiple chemical reactions and electricity convert carbon dioxide to methanol. More of the C02 is transformed into methanol and with comparatively less electricity consumption, making the overall process more efficient. The findings are published in Nature Nanotechnology by a team of scientists spanning Yale University, Oregon State University and The Ohio State University.

“Methanol is a flexible chemical feedstock that is used for hundreds of common products including plastics, chemicals and solvents,” says Alvin Chang, an OSU doctoral student and coauthor on the study. By improving methanol production, scientists could make it faster, cheaper and with less waste.

Methanol is being explored as a low-cost fuel for generating electricity, powering ships, supplementing gasoline for automobiles and more. In addition to using C02 from the atmosphere, the process could enable methanol production from plentiful agricultural and municipal waste.

Having steady access to such a versatile and renewable resource could transform many aspects of daily life, including the transportation

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