Geospatial initiatives at the J. Willard Marriott Library

presentationSlideshow presentation given May 9th, 2012 at the UGIC conference held at Ruby's Inn, Bryce Canyon National Park. Presentation includes information on: A clickable county map of our digital assets. Hidden Water unveils surface water systems on the east side of the Salt Lake Valley. A collaboration with Utah Geological Survey to digitize and provide access to Geology thesis maps. Western Soundscapes offers thousands of recordings of Western animal species and their environments An historical GIS project with a faculty member in the Geography Department

Sudden collapse of a colloidal gel

Metastable gels formed by weakly attractive colloidal particles display a distinctive two-stage time-dependent settling behavior under their own weight. Initially a space-spanning network is formed that for a characteristic time, which we define as the lag time \taud, resists compaction. This solid-like behavior persists only for a limited time. Gels whose age \tw is greater than \taud yield and suddenly collapse. We use a combination of confocal microscopy, rheology and time-lapse video imaging to investigate both the process of sudden collapse and its microscopic origin in an refractive-index matched emulsion-polymer system. We show that the height $h$ of the gel in the early stages of collapse is well described by the surprisingly simple expression, h(\ts) = \h0 - A \ts^{3/2}, with \h0 the initial height and \ts = \tw-\taud the time counted from the instant where the gel first yields. We propose that this unexpected result arises because the colloidal network progressively builds up internal stress as a consequence of localized rearrangement events which leads ultimately to collapse as thermal equilibrium is re-established.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, final versio

New ISU Research May Help Farmers Make More Informed Decisions About Land Use

A new study from a multidisciplinary team led by Iowa State University agronomists shows that significant portions of Iowa farmland consistently lose money and could influence many farmers to change how they use some of the acres they devote to corn and soybeans

Program Redesign to Prepare Transformative Special Educators

Teacher educators are in a unique position to prepare future educators to disrupt the status quo and enact changes that ensure equitable access to educational opportunities for all students, including those with disabilities. It is critical that those who prepare future special education teachers (SETs) ensure they are prepared to engage with the broader school community to foster inclusivity and positive outcomes for all students, in addition to designing specially designed instruction (SDI) responsive to the unique learning needs of individual students with disabilities. Addressing this task requires candidates who are prepared to employ high leverage and evidence-based practices, culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy, and universal design for learning. In this article, we describe how one small Department of Special Education sought to reinvent its program to center anti-racism and anti-ableism to inspire the next generation of SETs to adopt a transformative vision for public education. The result was a cohesive course roadmap that employs a “common trunk” of classes aligned with differentiated coursework needed for specialization for each credential that centers these principles while reducing assignments. The newly aligned road- maps ensure candidates in our programs will be ready to situate their work with students with identified disabilities within the context of the broader goals of public education