The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

VAR (Virtual and Augmented Reality) Scent

The VAR (Virtual and Augmented Reality) Scent project was started by Dr. John Bieter and Dr. Peter Mullner in the fall of 2017, under the College of Innovation and Design (CID) as a Vertically Integrated Project (VIP). Vertically Integrated Projects are classes offered to students looking for opportunities to excel and work on innovative projects. Students learn to work in groups and create original ideas. Our class has two main outcomes; the first goal of VAR Scent is to develop a software application and engineer a device that aims to deliver a scent to a user in virtual reality. We are using an existing virtual reality (VR) headset called an Oculus Rift to help us achieve this goal. The second goal of VAR Scent is to develop students and invite them to challenge themselves as professionals. VAR Scent aims to develop a product that can be used in a variety of scenarios in the future; such as Alzheimer’s memory therapy, education, or professional training. The curriculum also focuses on the importance of character development. Responsibility, Self-Reflection, and Communication are some of the traits that are studied by students to understand the importance of developing themselves

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least 4 m. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the 6.5 m James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 yr, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit