New US News Rankings Are Out: SEU #14 in the West

See the new story on the US News rankings.  In addition to our #14 ranking in the West Regional Universities, SEU has been recognized for its strong commitment to undergraduate teaching, “the foreign student factor,”  “A+ Schools for B Students,”  and “Best Colleges for Veterans.”

Congrats faculty, staff, and students!

 

Wednesday, Sept 21st 5pm JBWS 268 — Study Abroad Information

Capstone Ecuador Study Abroad Spring 2017

Please contact Dr. Toledo with questions at stoledoc@stedwards.edu

info-session-flyer-ecuador-capstone

App Enables Citizen Science Contributions to NASA Earth Science

Check out the new NASA “GLOBE Observer” app, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play for Android devices.  I just downloaded and will try myself.  You can learn more about NASA’s GLOBE program here.

Below is an excerpt from Dr. Trena Ferrell’s email advertising a talk at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on 20 Sept. 2016 by Holli Riebeek Kohl, a NASA education and communication specialist in the Earth Science Division at NASA Goddard since 2003.

With the new GLOBE Observer app, everyone around the world can contribute meaningfully to NASA Earth Science missions…The inaugural “GLOBE Clouds” content allows users to collect data that helps scientists interpret satellite observations of clouds—a critical observation for understanding climate and climate change…Upcoming projects will have citizen scientists assisting with the monitoring of land cover and mosquito populations, and the GLOBE Observer team is looking for science advisors to provide input. 

If you download the app and use it, perhaps you can add a comment in response to this post describing your experience.

The era of citizen science is arriving!
GM

NSF Supplemental Award for CASAR Granted to SEU

The National Science Foundation has awarded St. Edward’s University a supplemental award to the Community for Achievement in Science, Academics, and Research (CASAR) grant of $9,346. This brings the total CASAR award up to $599,867 through the life of the grant, which ends on July 31, 2017.

This supplemental award aims to support additional assessment activities for CASAR, which is under the direction of Drs. Richard Kopec, Lisa Goering, Charles Hauser, Michael Saclolo, Mary Kopecki-Fjetland and Michael Kart. For more information on this award, as well as other awards issued to SEU, please visit http://think.stedwards.edu/sponsoredprograms/grants.

This week: Wild Basin eBird walk + bird talk by Dr. Amy Belaire

“Birds, Yards, and People” lecture at Travis Audubon
Thursday, September 15, 6:30pm-8:30pm

Dr. Amy Belaire will be giving a presentation at Travis Audubon this Thursday at 7pm on her research that explores the dynamics between people and birds in urban ecosystems.  All are welcome!  Click here for more information about the event.

 

Citizen Science eBird Walk
Saturday, September 17, 7:00am -10:00am

Join us for our quarterly eBird walk to help record the bird species that we see and hear along the trail and log them in the eBird citizen science database.  Bring a field guide and binoculars (if you have them!).  All experience levels are welcome!  Please RSVP to jbelaire@stedwards.edu, as group size is capped at 12.

Three more weather balloon launches from St. Edward’s

There have been three more launches from St. Edward’s recently.  The took place from just outside of Moody Theatre on September 1st, 4th, and 11th.  Once processed, data from the flights is hosted on St. Edward’s Institutional Repository at http://ir.stedwards.edu/ozone/.

weather-balloon-launch-9-1-2016-061September 1 launch (AT004):
Our weather balloon launches are funded by the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) and on this day Matthew Holderread from CAPCOG joined us.  Graduate students Kelsey Emmons and Chris Cormier along with undergraduate Gilbert Rivera all helped with the balloon launch.

September 4 launch (AT005):Launch Prep on September 1 (Flight AT004)
Launch prep during the September 4 launch.  Kelsey Emmons, Gilbert Rivera, and fellow undergraduate Andy Barnes all helped with the balloon launch.  During this phase the balloon train is assembled and they are filling the balloon about 15 minutes prior to launch.  The first five balloon launches thus far all traveled far to the west of Austin.  The winds are changing and our next flight (AT006) traveled to the east.

September 11 launch (AT006):
Chris Cormier and undergraduates Anais Matalet and Valeria Gonzalez helped with the balloon launch.  As soon as the balloon is let go everything happens quite quickly.

After this launch we were notified by Jack and Jane Willy of our ozonesonde instrument landing in their backyard.  A special thanks to both of them for letting us retrieve one of our instruments, which are partly re-usuable.

If the wind conditions are favorable, we will launch Monday, September 12 at ~1 pm just outside of Moody Theatre.

Kozmetsky Center Presentation on 12 Sept. by Visiting Senior Fulbright Scholar

Please join the Kozmetsky Center for our semester opening event on Monday, September 12 at 12:00 noon in the Mabee Ballroom A welcoming Dr. Volodymyr Dubovyk, Visiting Senior Fulbright Scholar at St. Edward’s University for the 2016-2017 academic year. Please encourage your students and your classes to attend. For additional details, please see:
http://think.stedwards.edu/kozmetsky/upcoming-events-and-projects-2016

Dr. Dubovyk is Associate Professor of International Relations and Director of the Center for International Studies at Odessa National University in Odessa Ukraine. Dr. Dubovyk will be offering a senior seminar course for Global Studies and Political Science in Spring 2017, and the Kozmetsky
Center is honored to feature Professor Dubovyk’s first lecture event in Austin on Monday September 12 in Mabee Ballroom A at 12:00 noon-1:00 PM entitled “Ukraine’s Political & Economic Challenges: National and International Prospects.” Please join us in welcoming Professor Dubovyk to St. Edward’s University!

Sharyl Cross, PhD
Director, Kozmetsky Center &
Global Policy Fellow, Kennan Institute Wilson Center

Dean Morris Serves as Delegate at 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium

The Edinburgh Castle, near the Edinburgh International Conference Center, site of the 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium.

The Edinburgh Castle, near the Edinburgh International Conference Center, site of the 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium.

Once every four years, scientists from around the world gather to discuss the state of ozone in the atmosphere:  the Quadrennial Ozone Symposium (QOS for short).  This year’s event is being held 4 – 9 September in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.  You can learn more about the symposium here.  This year’s symposium follows a long tradition of such gatherings, organized by the International Ozone Commission, dating back to 1929!

St. Edward’s connection to the event is provided by the Dean of Natural Sciences, Gary A. Morris.  When not performing administrative duties or teaching, Dr. Morris continues his work studying ozone pollution via three funded projects:

  • Austin ozone profiling and surface ozone measurements – funded by the Capital Area Council for Governments
  • Houston, TX and Idabel, OK ozone profiling as part of the Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project – funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
  • Ozone and Sulfur Dioxide profiling as part of the TICOSONDE project in Costa Rica – funded by the NASA Division of Earth Science.

Dr. Morris, attending his second QOS, presented two posters at the meeting:  one on the Houston profiling record and the other TICOSONDE project at the QOS.  He also is a co-author on another TICOSONDE presentation given by NASA scientist, Dr. Henry Selkirk.

“I hope that 4 years from now, I’m able to bring my students to show their research results at the next Quadrennial Ozone Symposium Meeting.  All of the top ozone scientists from around the world attend, and it’s a great meeting to catch up on all the latest ozone science,” said Dean Morris at this year’s event.

You can read Dr. Morris’ posters online here (links coming soon).

Dr. Gary A. Morris presented two posters at the 2016 QOS Meeting.

Dr. Gary A. Morris presented two posters at the 2016 QOS Meeting.

The stage at the Edinburgh International Conference Center, home of the 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium

The stage at the Edinburgh International Conference Center, home of the 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium

Where will the Portal take you today?

You might have noticed the bright gold box between Andre Hall and the Munday Library.  That box is a Shared Studios portal — a technologically decked-out space that can transport you to meet with someone or a group of people in countries around the world.  “Take On Your World” St. Edward’s University.

You can read more about the Portal in my prior post here.

To make a reservation for your journey, visit the Shared Studies Reservation WebSite for St. Edward’s University.

The “Book a Time” link will take you to a calendar view where you can click on a posted time and RSVP.  The times currently on the calendar are just the beginning and more times will be added as the schedule gets built out.  

Here are some links to stories to learn more about the Portal:

Tweet about your experience in the portal:  @sharedstudios, @stedwardsu and use the hash tag:  #SEUPortal.

The Portal has been brought to you by the Office of Information Technology (OIT), Instructional Technology, the Global Engagement Office (GEO), the School of Humanities, the School of Natural Sciences, Facilities Management, St. Edward’s University, and Shared Studios.

2016 Lucian Symposium Poster Session Information

Dear colleagues and students,

A reminder to students that if you did research ANYWHERE this past summer and would like to present a poster on that work as part of the student poster session following this year’s Lucian Symposium (Friday, 23 September), here are the deadlines:

If you have not already done so, submit title, author list, and abstract to NSCIdean@stedwards.edu by 5 pm on Friday, 09 Sept.

This year, we are using Spoonflower to print fabric posters for each student so we will need extra time to allow for the print process.  Submit your poster print request in .PDF format ASAP but absolutely no later than 10 am on Monday, 12 September.  Submit your requests to nscidean@stedwards.edu.

Each student may have ONE poster printed by the School of Natural Sciences each academic year.  Additional poster printing should be paid for by research grant accounts as appropriate.  Students should use the poster they print for all appropriate conference presentations during the 2016 – 2017 academic year.

NOTE:  posters submitted after 10 am on Monday, 12 Sept. will not be printed by the School of Natural Sciences.  I recommend that if you need to print your poster after that date, please look for poster printing services at local area businesses (e.g., FedEx/Kinkos).

We are asking students to hang their posters by 1 pm on Thursday, 22 Sept.  That afternoon, the School of Natural Sciences Advisory Board will meet.  Members of the board often enjoy reading through student posters.  They will have time to do so after their meeting concludes around 4:30 pm that afternoon.

We ask students to take their posters down by 5 pm on Friday, 23 Sept.

We ask students to plan to be at their posters for some portion of the time period 1:00 – 3:00 pm on Friday, 23 September.  It is not necessary to stand at your poster for the entire period of time, but do commit to spending some portion of that period of time at your poster if at all possible.

Last year’s event was a tremendous success, and with our prestigious visitors on campus (both for the Advisory Board meeting and for the Lucian Symposium), we have a great opportunity to share what our students have been doing in the area of research and the successes you all are having in advancing the frontiers of science.

Remember, it is not essential that the research occurred at St. Edward’s— any REU or other university research program at which you did research this summer is eligible for a printing of one poster.

Finally – if you were a recipient of a Brother Romard research grant this past summer, the expectation is that you will print out and present a poster at this event.

If you have any questions, please contact NSCIdean@stedwards.edu.

Looking forward to another great student research poster session.