Digital Showcase in the Library: How Trace Enhances UT\u27s Virtual Library

UT’s Virtual Library Steering Committee is charged to enhance the library’s virtual presence through efficient searching capabilities, interactive features, archiving services, tools for discovery and delivery of scholarly resources, and new technologies that advance and scale services. Trace supports all of these enhancements as UT’s digital showcase. Trace is an evolving concept defined by and for UT’s user communities to promote local and global research. Its services are collaborative, discoverable, contextual, and scale from a single item to data sets in multiple formats. As Trace nears the end of its first year, we’re excited to offer more contributions to the virtual library services, such as conference hosting

Voyager cartography

The Jovian and Saturnian satellites are being mapped at several scales from Voyager 1 and 2 data. The maps are especially formatted color mosaics, controlled photomosaics, and airbrush maps. At 1:5,000,000 scale, mapping of Io, Europa, and Ganymede is complete. At 1:15,000,000 scale, mapping of Io and Europa is complete, and mapping of Ganymede is approximately complete. A controlled mosaic of Rhea has been compiled as a Digital Image Model (DIM) in the same format as is being used for Mars. The mosaic is being formatted for publication as a two-sheet set (Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area, Mercator, and Polar Stereographic projections). Magnetic tape copies of the DIM have been distributed to regional Planetary Image Facilities and other interested users. The DIM has a scale of 1/16 degree/pixel, corresponding to approximately 833 m/pixel on Rhea. Details of the status of the various map series are reported quarterly to Planetary Geology Principal Investigators

Disaster preparedness training for tribal leaders

It was with considerable irony that tribal leaders began a collaboration with the University of Arizona and the Arizona Department of Health Services for training in public health preparedness, as the tribes had an extended prior history of responding to a host of hazards caused by the dominant culture. The objective of the training was to ensure that Native American communities were adequately informed and trained to implement coordinated response plans for a range of potential public health emergencies on tribal lands and in surrounding communities. This commentary outlines how cultural competency (including public prayer by an elder during the training), respect for tribal sovereignity, solicitation of historical examples of indigenous preparedness, and incorporation of tribal community networks were essential to the success of this program

Implementing CAS Undergraduate Research Standards for Assessment

The Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) recently released specialized standards for assessing undergraduate research programs (URPs) including self-assessment instruments and tools for developing and implementing action plans. These standards align with the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) strategic pillars and include twelve primary parts: (1) mission, (2) program, (3) organization and leadership, (4) human resources, (5) ethics, (6) law, policy, and government, (7) diversity, equity, and access, (8) internal and external relations, (9) financial resources, (10) technology, (11) facilities and equipment, and (12) assessment. This project outlines the process of and lessons learned from the first phase of implementation of these standards within an Office of Undergraduate Research

Radiometric performance of AVIRIS: Assessment for an arid region geologic target

Data from several AVIRIS flight lines were examined to assess instrument stability and response. Both scene and in-flight calibration data were analyzed statistically. The data clearly indicates that, although the instrument output was noisy and unstable at the time of the data acquisition, valuable spectral signatures can still be extracted and analyzed. Some first order calibration corrections can be performed by forcing internal consistency within the data. AVIRIS data are delivered in band-interleaved-by-line format, but high efficiency routines were developed which access the data as either image or spectral planes and enable effective statistical and visual examination of both AVIRIS scenes and ancillary files. Two methods were used to extract spectral information from segment 4 of the Kelso Dunes flight. Both successfully identified at least three distinct spectral signatures, but neither has positively identified a specific material

Low temperature shape relaxation of 2-d islands by edge diffusion

We present a precise microscopic description of the limiting step for low temperature shape relaxation of two dimensional islands in which activated diffusion of particles along the boundary is the only mechanism of transport allowed. In particular, we are able to explain why the system is driven irreversibly towards equilibrium. Based on this description, we present a scheme for calculating the duration of the limiting step at each stage of the relaxation process. Finally, we calculate numerically the total relaxation time as predicted by our results and compare it with simulations of the relaxation process.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.