Category Archives: Faculty News

Stargazing at Wild Basin on Sept. 30, 7 – 9 pm

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Austin Astronomical Society members conduct special astronomy tours at Wild Basin, weather permitting. Telescopes for viewing are set up in the parking lot. It is recommended that you bring drinking water, a small flashlight, and good walking shoes. There will be 1/4 mile walk in the dark.  A presentation will begin on the deck of the Wild Basin Visitor Center promptly at 7pm. 

Suggested donation of $5 per adult and $3 for seniors, students and children.

RSVP required:  sign up by email with the total number of people in your group at: kimj@stedwards.edu.

Kozmetsky Center: Climate Change and National Security

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The next Kozmetsky Center event of the semester features a lecture on The Climate Change Challenge and Implications for National Security with Dr. David Titley, Rear Admiral (ret.), U.S. Navy, and Professor of Practice in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. The event is cosponsored by the World Affairs Council of Austin and will take place on Tuesday, October 4th in Carter Auditorium from 7:00-8:30pm.

Dr. Titley is an internationally recognized expert in the field of climate, the Arctic, and National Security, and he is founding Director of Penn State’s Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk.  Dr. Titley’s career includes duties as Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy, and Deputy Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance.  While serving in the Pentagon, Dr. Titley initiated and led the U.S. Navy’s Task Force on Climate Change.  After retiring from the Navy, Dr. Titley served as the Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Operations, the Chief Operating Officer position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  He completed his advanced graduate studies in the fields of meteorology and physical oceanography.

Updated Active Learning Lab (ALL) Schedule JBWS 267

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Greetings everyone,

The ALL has expanded its services to include the calculus-based physics course (PHYS 2325/2425).  An updated schedule reflecting these changes is posted below. The new schedule has been posted on the JBWS 267 door for reference.

For any questions regarding the ALL and its hours of operation, please contact Richard Kopec at kopec@stedwards.edu or Weston Wilson at wwilson2@stedwards.edu.

Thanks to all who are keeping the ALL staffed and ready!

all-schedule-updated-9-21-16

 

Exhibition Piloted in JBWS Building Last Spring to Appear at Bulloch

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Butterfly Project Installation in JBWS last Spring.

Butterfly Project Installation in JBWS last Spring.

Those of you who wandered through JBWS last Spring might have noted the multiple iterations of paper “butterflies” suspended from our staircase in the lobby.  That project, led by SEU Assoc. Prof. of Art Alex Robinson, was a pilot for the “Butterfly Project” art installation at the Bullock Museum as part of the exhibit, “State of Deception:  The Power of Nazi Propaganda.”  I encourage you to visit the exhibition if you are able — you may even recognize some of the butterflies in the exhibit from last spring.

Here’s more info:

The Butterfly Project
Between 1942-1944, more than 15,000 children passed through the Terezin Concentration Camp. The vast majority of these children did not survive the Holocaust. Brave teachers in the camp taught art lessons to the children as a form of therapy. Some of their poetry and art, saved in suitcases and later discovered, have been published in a book titled I Never Saw Another Butterfly. The poems and pictures drawn by the young inmates of Terezin illustrate the intense emotions of these displaced children, ranging from fear, sorrow, hope, and courage.

The “Butterfly Project” at the Bob Bullock Museum consists of large fabric panels covered with thousands of uniquely colored butterflies, which will be suspended over the museum’s Grand Lobby. The butterflies were created and sent from every corner of Texas by children who were inspired by the poem The Butterfly written in 1942 by a young man imprisoned at Terezin. The butterflies represent endurance, change, hope, and life. By contributing a butterfly these youngest Texans committed to take a stand against intolerance.

Additional information about the exhibit is available at: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/visit/exhibits/state-of-deception
The exhibit is on loan from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

 

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

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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!

 

App Enables Citizen Science Contributions to NASA Earth Science

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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

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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.

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

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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

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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?

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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.