Physical Modeling of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer in the University of New Hampshire’s Flow Physics Facility

The atmospheric boundary layer is the lowest part of the atmosphere, and is defined by a region from the surface of the earth to approximately 500-1000m altitude in which air velocity changes from zero at the surface to the velocity of the wind at a certain altitude. The type of atmospheric boundary layer is characterized by the terrain it encounters, varying from open sea and mud flats to suburban areas and city centers with high- and low-rise buildings. The goal of this project is to generate different types of atmospheric boundary layers for scale model testing in the UNH Flow Physics Facility (FPF).The project began with the analysis of smooth wall (baseline) data previously recorded in the FPF. Several arrays of roughness elements were designed to simulate varying roughness lengths experienced by atmospheric boundary layers and tested in the FPF. The resulting velocity profiles in the boundary layer were measured using hot wire anemometry and pitot static tubes. These measured velocity profiles (mean and turbulence) and velocity spectra were compared to atmospheric boundary layers using ASCE Standards (ASCE/SEI 49-12). This application can then be used in the future for wind engineering studies, such as the structural analysis of buildings

Young massive stars in the ISOGAL survey I. VLA observations of the ISOGAL l=+45 field

We present VLA radio continuum observations at 3.6 and 6 cm of a ~0.65 sq.deg. field in the galactic plane at l=+45deg . These observations are meant to be used in a comparison with ISO observations at 7 and 15 um of the same region. In this paper we compare the radio results with other radio surveys and with the IRAS-PSC. At 3.6 and/or 6 cm we detect a total of 34 discrete sources, 13 of which are found in five separate extended complexes. These are all multiple or single extended thermal ultra-compact HII (UCHII) regions. While for each of these complexes an IRAS counterpart could be reliably found, no IRAS counterpart could be reliably identified for any of the remaining 21 sources. Of these 21 compact sources, six are candidate UCHII regions, and the other 15 are most probably background extragalactic non-thermal sources. The five IRAS sources associated with the radio continuum complexes all satisfy the Wood & Churchwell (1989; WC89) color criteria for UCHII. None of the other 38 IRAS point sources present in our surveyed field show the same colors. This fraction of WC89 type to total IRAS sources is consistent with what is found over the entire galactic plane. The fact that, when observed with a compact VLA configuration, the IRAS sources with "UCHII colors" are found to be associated with arcminute-scale extended sources, rather than with compact or unresolved radio sources, may have important implications on the estimated lifetime of UCHII regions.Comment: 15 pages, 22 eps figures, A&A Supp. in press, higher resolution figures available at http://www.arcetri.astro.it/~lt/preprints/preprints.htm

Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice: The Agile Research Network

We report an action research-oriented approach to investigating agile project management methods which aims to bridge the gap between academic research and agile practice. We have set up a research network of academics from two universities, through which we run focussed project-based research into agile methods. Organisations are invited to suggest an ‘agile challenge’ and we work closely with them to investigate how challenge affects them. Our approach is both academic and practical. We use appropriate research methods such as interviews, observation and discussion to clarify and explore the nature of the challenge. We then undertake a detailed literature review to identify practical approaches that may be appropriate for adoption, and report our findings. If the organisation introduces new practices or approaches as a result of our work, we conduct an academic evaluation. Alternatively, if we uncover an under-researched area, we propose undertaking some basic research. As befits the topic, we work iteratively and incrementally and produce regular outputs. In this paper we introduce our approach, overview research methods used in the agile research literature, describe our research model, outline a case study, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of our approach. We discuss the importance of producing outputs that are accessible to practitioners as well as researchers. Findings suggest that by investigating the challenges that organisations propose, we uncover problems that are of real relevance to the agile community and obtain rich insights into the facilitators and barriers that organisations face when using agile methods. Additionally, we find that practitioners are interested in research results as long as publications are relevant to their needs and are written accessibly. We are satisfied with the basic structure of our approach, but we anticipate that the method will evolve as we continue to work with collaborators

SB13-20/21: Resolution Regarding ASUM\u27s Endorsement of the University of Montana COVID-19 Reporting System

SB13-20/21: Resolution Regarding ASUM\u27s Endorsement of the University of Montana COVID-19 Reporting System. This resolution was approved unanimously during the September 9, 2020 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)