Author Archives: Gary Morris

About Gary Morris

Dean of the School of Natural Sciences at St. Edward's University.

Videos of Weather Balloon Filling and Release from 30 July 2016

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MSEM Graduate student Chris Cormier set up a GoPro camera to record the filling and release of a weather balloon as part of the Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project.  Set up in front of Main Building, it was a picturesque day for the first TOPP launch from St. Edward’s University.

Until I get that uploaded, here is my Vine video of the second launch on Thursday, 4 August!

You can find the data on the Munday Library Institutional Repository Website.  Stay tuned to this blog for more information on the project.

Coming soon!

Welcome Our New NSCI Full-Time Faculty Members

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I’m excited to welcome our new, full-time colleagues to NSCI:

  • Kaitlyn Phillipson, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
  • Raychelle Burks, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
  • Thomas Moe, Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science
  • Mitch Phillipson, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics
  • Erika Schwarz, Visiting Assistnat Professor of Biological Sciences
  • Casey Parish-Fisher, Assistant Professor of Forensic Science

Be sure to say, “Hello!” and offer your welcome and greetings to our new, full-time colleagues this year.

Kaitlyn comes to us from Texas A&M, where she just earned her Ph.D. this past Spring.  Her husband Mitch got his Ph.D. from A&M in May 2015 and spent the last year teaching at SUNY Oswego.  They both join our Dept. of Mathematics.

Raychelle (a.k.a., Dr. Rubidium or @DrRubidium on Twitter) joins our Dept. of Chemistry from Doane College, where she taught the last 3 years after two years of teaching at Seattle University and a summer semester at Seattle Central Community College.  Her Ph.D. is from U. Nebraska, Lincoln.

Thomas just retired after 23 years working with the Texas Legislature, most recently as a manger of infrastructure and operations in I.T.  His MS degree is from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. He’s joining our Dept. of Computer Sciences.

Erika arrives at St. Ed’s after adjuncting for 3 years at ACC (where she taught) Biotechnology and Biology) while she was completing her Ph.D. at the University of Texas, earning her degree this past May. She will be on the faculty in the Dept. of Biological Sciences this academic year.

Finally, we’re happy to formally welcome Casie Parish-Fisher as a member of the NSCI faculty!  Casie has led the Forensic Science program at St. Edward’s in the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences since 2008.  She had her Ph.D. conferred this past year from the University of Central Lancashire and moved her program to NSCI (under the Dept. of Chemistry) this past summer.

Welcome to all!

Austin Area STEM Teachers Attend Second Weather Balloon Launch

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Weather balloon inflated with helium in front of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre at St. Edward's University prior to its release around 1:30 pm CDT on Thurs., 4 Aug. 2016.

Weather balloon inflated with helium in front of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre at St. Edward’s University prior to its release around 1:30 pm CDT on Thurs., 4 Aug. 2016.

A dozen Austin area STEM middle and high schools teachers participated in the second weather balloon launch from St. Edward’s University on Thursday, 4 August.

The teachers were attending a workshop entitled, “Air Quality in Austin,” as part of the larger Austin Area STEM Teachers Conference, hosted at St. Edward’s University 2 – 5 August.

The air quality workshop is sponsored by a grant from 3M, while the data are provided courtesy the Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project (TOPP), which has been funded by TCEQ, NASA, Fulbright, and the Shell Center for Sustainability at Rice University.  Our current project at St. Edward’s University is funded by the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG).

Dr. Steven Fletcher (Assoc. Prof. of Education), Dr. Bill Quinn (Prof. of Biological Sciences), Dr. Paul Walter (Visiting Asst. Prof. of Physics), Ms. Ashley Moreno (undergraduate student), and Dr. Gary A. Morris (Dean of Natural Sciences and Prof. of Physics) led the workshop at St. Edward’s University.

Launch team finishing tying off the balloon and attaching the payload immediately before launch.

Launch team finishing tying off the balloon and attaching the payload immediately before launch.

As part of the workshop, attendees participated in a weather balloon launch around 1:30 pm in front of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre at St. Edward’s.  Another glorious day made for good viewing as the balloon ascended on its journey through the ozone layer to an altitude of 28 km before bursting and descending back to Earth, landing somewhere near Northeast of Johnson City, Texas around 3:30 pm.

You can eventually find all of our project data on the St. Edward’s University Institutional Repository.  A few plots from today’s flight are below.

Ozone (blue), temperature (red), and potential temperature (orange) data from the weather balloon flight of 4 August 2016.

Ozone (blue), temperature (red), and potential temperature (orange) data from the weather balloon flight of 4 August 2016.

 

Google Earth images of the flight path for the Thurs., Aug. 4 weather balloon from St. Edward's Univ. Green are the ascending data and red are the descending data.

Google Earth images of the flight path for the Thurs., Aug. 4 weather balloon from St. Edward’s Univ. Green are the ascending data and red are the descending data.

First Weather Balloon Launch from the Hilltop!

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Preparing to release the balloon in front of Main Building with Austin in the background.

Preparing to release the balloon in front of Main Building with Austin in the background on Saturday, 30 July 2016 – the first flight from St. Edward’s University.

The Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project (TOPP) has come to the Hilltop!  The project, started by Dean of Natural Sciences Gary A. Morris in Houston in 2004, has since coordinated >750 flights  from Beaumont, College Station, Ft. Worth, Galveston, and Nacodoches in Texas; Valparaiso and Ft. Wayne in Indiana; University Park, PA; Cumberland, MD; St. Louis, MO, and Hastings, MI, as well as Las Tablas, Panama; San Jose, Costa Rica, and Sapporo, Japan.

Now we add Austin, Texas to the list.  With funding from the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the St. Edward’s University team will fly 16 weather balloons to measure ozone along with meteorological data over the next two ozone seasons (2016 and 2017).

Ace Manning (SEU undergraduate) prepares an ozonesonde for flight while Physics Professor Paul Walter supervises.

Ace Manning (SEU undergraduate) prepares an ozonesonde for flight while Physics Professor Paul Walter supervises.

The project’s initial Austin flight occurred on Saturday, 30 July.  The launch team prepped and calibrated the instrument in the John Brooks Williams South Building, then assembled in front of historic Main Building to fill and release the balloon around 2:15 pm CDT.  The balloon ascended past 30 km at a rate of ~ 5 m/s before popping.  Members of the launch team were able to see the balloon (a small white dot) overhead for the entirety of the ascending portion of the flight.

The balloon came down near Spicewood, TX about 2 and a half hours later.  The initial ozone profiles can be found on the project website.

The second weather balloon launch has been scheduled in conjunction with the Austin Area STEM Conference for Thursday, 4 August at around 1:30 pm CDT, weather permitting.  Given the start of the construction project at Main Building, our next launch will occur on the North side of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre Building.  All are welcome to come watch.

Filling the balloon with Austin in the background

Filling the balloon with Austin in the background

Filling the balloon with historic Main Building of St. Edward's University in the background.

Filling the balloon with historic Main Building of St. Edward’s University in the background.

Flight trajectory based on GPS data for 30 July 2016 ozonesonde from St. Edward's University. Map courtesy Google Earth.

Flight trajectory based on GPS data for 30 July 2016 ozonesonde from St. Edward’s University. Map courtesy Google Earth.

Initial ozone (blue), temperature (red), and potential temperature (orange) data over Austin, Texas from ozonesonde flight of 30 July 2016.

Initial ozone (blue), temperature (red), and potential temperature (orange) data over Austin, Texas from ozonesonde flight of 30 July 2016.  The ozone layer is visible near 25 km (the peak of the blue curve), while the tropopause appears near 15 km (minimum of the red temperature curve).

Portal to the World Arriving at St. Edward’s – Sept. 2016

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What would you do if you had 10 minutes to communicate with someone from the other side of the world? Share a meal?  Share a song?  Perform a short play? Would you speak?  What if you didn’t know the language? How do we communicate with others in cultures different from our own?  What can we learn about each other and ourselves?

Starting 30 August 2016 and continuing throughout September, St. Edward’s University will host a portal (a technologically enhanced shipping trailer) from Shared Studios.  The gold colored portal will be on our campus to provide our students, faculty, and staff as well as Austin area schools and our Austin community family members a chance to connect to a part of the world they might otherwise never experience in person.

Take on Your World in the Shared Studios Portal.  Learn more about what others have done on Instagram for Shared Studios and on YouTube and see the significant media coverage of this groundbreaking project that we now have the chance to bring to our campus.

More details to come, including reserving times for your planned activities.  Watch for future posts with more information.

How will you spend your time in the Portal?  And where will you go?

This project is coming to St. Edward’s thanks to the efforts of the Office of Information Technology with support from faculty and staff in Instructional and Emerging Technology, the Global Engagement Office, the School of Humanities, and the School of Natural Sciences.

NEW INFO:  Here’s a link to the sites with which the portal will be connected:

https://stedwards.app.box.com/notes/78135201822

Lucian Professorship History

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Prior to the summer of 1982, J.B.N. Morris and family (hs ’48, ’52) established an endowment with the University to honor the name of Brother Lucian Blersch, CSC, a longtime professor of engineering, who died in 1986.  Proceeds from the endowment support a faculty chair in the name of Brother Lucian.

The Lucian Professor, among other tasks, has been the lead faculty member in organizing the Lucian Symposium each year, a roster of renowned experts in a particular subfield of interest to the Lucian Professor.

There have been 4 Lucian Professors appointed since the endowment was established:

Brother Daniel Lynch, CSC (biology):  1982 – 1997
Dr. Jean McKemie (mathematics):  2000 – 2005
Dr. Allan Hook (biology):  2005 – 2009
Dr. Eamonn Healy (chemistry):  2010 – 2016

Lucian Professor – Eamonn F. Healy

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Dr. Eamonn F. Healy is the Brother Lucian Blersch Professor of Science and Professor of Chemistry at St. Edward's University.

Dr. Eamonn F. Healy is the Brother Lucian Blersch Professor of Science and Professor of Chemistry at St. Edward’s University.

Eamonn F. Healy, PhD, is the Brother Lucian Blersch Professor of Science and Professor of Chemistry at St. Edward’s University. The general focus of his research involves the use of molecular modeling to design structure-activity probes for the purpose of elucidating enzymatic activity. Recent targets have included HIV-1 integrase, the c-Kit and src-abl proteins associated with tumor development and certain leukemias, and the metalloproteinases. Dr. Healy’s group has also developed in silico characterizations of the mechanism of action for the heat shock response associated with the Mtb alpha-crystallin protein, the heat shock response of Escherichia coli, and the observed suppression of spinocerebellar ataxia and superoxidxe dismutase (SOD1) aggregation by human alphaB-crystallin, He received his doctorate in Chemistry from UT–Austin.

Lucian Symposium Speakers 2016 – Antonio Fojo

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Dr. Antonio Fojo is Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Columbia University Medical Center.

Dr. Antonio Fojo is Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Columbia University Medical Center.

Antonio “Tito”Fojo, M.D. Ph.D. is Professor in the Division of Hemotology and Oncology at Columbia University Medical Center. He received his M.D. and Ph.D.from the University of Miami and completed internal medicine training at Washington University School of Medicine / Barnes Hospital. Prior to his arrival at Columbia Dr. Fojo was a Principal Investigator in the Medicine Branch, and Program Director for the Medical Oncology Fellowship Program, of the National Cancer Institute, where he established a highly successful translational clinical program. Dr. Fojo works to understand the molecular basis of drug resistance, and has worked on the development of novel microtubule-targeting agents therapies for endocrine and neuroendocrine cancers, Dr. Fojo is also active in the design, conduct and interpretation of oncology clinical trials.

Lucian Symposium Speakers 2016 – Beverly A. Teicher

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Dr. Beverly A. Teicher, Cheif of the Molecular Pharmacology Branch at the National Cancer Institute

Dr. Beverly A. Teicher, Cheif of the Molecular Pharmacology Branch at the National Cancer Institute

Beverly A. Teicher, PhD is Chief of the Molecular Pharmacology Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Dr. Teicher completed a PhD in Bioorganic Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University and postdoctoral training at Yale University School of Medicine. After positions at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Teicher served as Research Advisor in Cancer Drug Discovery at Lilly Research Laboratories and Vice President of Oncology Research at Genzyme. Dr. Teicher is best known for her work in solid tumor models and physiologic measurements of tumor hypoxia and oxygenation. She has authored or co-authored more than 400 scientific publications, edited eight books, and is editor for the journal Clinical Cancer Research, the journal Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and the Cancer Drug Discovery & Development book series.

Lucian Symposium Speakers 2016 – Michael A. White

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Prof. Michael A. White, U. Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Prof. Michael A. White, U. Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Michael A. White, Ph.D. is Professor of Cell Biology and the Grant A. Dove Chair for Research in Oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. His research is aimed at uncovering the molecular nature of cell autonomous regulatory mechanisms with the goal of permitting appropriate responses of human cells to their environment. Dr. White received his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina. Through elaboration of the biogenesis of catabolic organelles, Dr. White’s laboratory is helping to uncover some of the central principles that govern cellular homeostasis, and examining the processes governing the adaptive modulation of cell growth and self-renewal. His ultimate goal is to identify authentic intervention targets for the development of a sufficiently diverse cohort of therapies to contend with oncological heterogeneity.