The National Weather Service (NWS) will offer it’s free SKYWARN training class to the St. Edward’s community on Wednesday, April 19, in Carter Auditorium from 9 to 11 a.m.  The class is designed to educate the community about severe weather topics specific to South Central Texas, severe weather preparedness and safety, and procedures for reporting severe weather to the local Austin/San Antonio National Weather Service Office.  All interested members of the St. Edward’s community are invited to attend especially those members who may routinely have personnel or events outside.  Please use the link below to register.

Registration information online

Coordinated by Billy Atkins, Director of Campus Resilience

Drs. Gary Morris and Paul Walter have a publication that appears in the March issue of The Physics Teacher titled, “Transition Matrices:  A Tool to Assess Student Learning and Improve Instruction.” Common multiple-choice diagnostics are often given to students at the beginning and end of a semester to assess how much learning has taken place.   Previous work by Dr. Morris provided a way of ranking the answer choices from worst to best.  This work constructs a 5 x 5 matrix for each question that provides the percentage of students that made each pre-/post-test selection possibility and makes it easy to determine whether students are not just moving to the correct answer but also if they are at least making some progress by moving to a better wrong answer.  This can provide valuable information for an instructor.  The authors constructed a tool to perform the analysis that is freely available to physics instructors.  The approach was applied to the Force Concept Inventory for first-semester introductory physics, but can be adopted and applied to other similar multiple-choice diagnostics where the wrong answers function as distractors.  The abstract is available at http://aapt.scitation.org/toc/pte/55/3?expanded=55.  A freely available version of the article is available on the arXiv at https://arxiv.org/abs/1703.01565.

Drs. Walter and Morris also published 2016 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings titled, “Assessing Student Learning and Improving Instruction with Transition Matrices.”  The proceedings are freely available at http://www.compadre.org/per/perc/conference.cfm?Y=2016#PRP89.  One interesting finding in that work is that the likelihood of moving to the correct answer choice on the Force Concept Inventory was independent of which wrong answer choice was chosen on the pre-test.  Future work will investigate whether that holds true for larger data sets and various instructional approaches.

The folks from UT-Austin’s NASCENT Nanotechnology Center will be giving an informational session on Monday, March 6, 5 – 6 pm in JBWS 362.  The 3-course sequence Hands-on Nanotechnologies are online and students receive kits to complete labs throughout the semester.  Each course will count as PHYS 3345 Special Topics in Physics credit at SEU.  Please see the attached flyers and let Paul Walter know if you have any questions.   Come attend the information session to meet the instructors, see an example of the labs, and get a feel for the topics covered.

Flyer_Hands-On Nanotechnologies Certificate Program

NASCENT-Flyer

Google will be hosting the Applied CS Android Workshop starting next month.  You will have a unique opportunity to work side-by-side with Google engineers to create projects using the Android operating system.  This workshop is meant to educate students on Google’s operating system, which will help add to a CS portfolio. The dates are March 19th, 26th then April 2nd, 9th (skip the 16th for Easter) then come back April 23rd and 30th.

If you’re interested in being in the workshop please email: mikelg@stedwards.edu. Thank you to those that have already sent me an RSVP.  Requirements: If you want to participate in the workshop you must have taken or be in COSC 3327 Algorithms and Data Structures Spring 2017.

Please RSVP if you want to participate, thank you to those that have already sent me an RSVP!

Michael L. Guerrero

mikelg@stedwards.edu

The Wild Basin Creative Research Center is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for 2017/18 creative research awards from the Hook Endowed Wild Basin Creative Research Fund. The Dr. Allan W. Hook Endowed Wild Basin Creative Research Fund offers awards up to $3,000 for creative research by students in the schools of Natural Sciences, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Management and Business, and Humanities. The fund also offers research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from other institutions that are based at the university’s Wild Basin Creative Research Center and the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system.

The deadline for applications is Friday, March 10^th, 2017 at 5pm. Applicants should review the fellowship guide and fill out the attached application form (available on the Wild Basin website welcome page) and submit it via email (or mail) to the Director of Wild Basin (Dr. Barbara Dugelby; bdugelby@stedwards.edu). Interested students should contact the Wild Basin Director or Wild Basin Research Director (Dr. Amy Belaire, jbelaire@stedwards.edu) if they have questions. Descriptions of past projects supported by the Endowment can be found on the Wild Basin website.

This opportunity is made possible by the commitment and generosity of Dr. Allan W. Hook and Rosemary Guzman Hook, who established the endowment to honor Hook’s life work and dedication to providing students with opportunities both in and outside of the classroom. Dr. Hook’s philosophy is that “one can learn more from the natural world than from the human-made world.” The fund will promote a greater understanding of and appreciation for the Wild Basin Preserve and the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system.

The (Professional and Scholarly Excellence) PROSE Awards recognize distinguished professional and scholarly books, reference works, journals and electronic content.  For the 2017 Awards, the latest book of St. Edward’s University Alumnus Michael F. L’Annunziata, Ph.D., was included among the PROSE Award 2017 winners in the category of Chemistry and Physics.  Titled “Radioactivity: Introduction and History, From Quantum to Quarks,” this marks the ninth book by Dr. L’Annunziata who earned his B.Sc. degree from St. Edward’s University in 1965.

We wish Dr. L’Annunziata all the best and very sincere congratulations on being awarded this great honor.

Wild Basin Acoustic Biodiversity Monitoring Project Interns

Wild Basin is seeking enthusiastic and responsible students interested in conservation biology and urban ecology to assist with a new biodiversity monitoring project beginning in early 2017. Wild Basin will install an array of bioacoustics recorders to track bird and anuran communities in the preserve. Students working on this project will work as a team with Wild Basin staff to install acoustic recorders in the field, identify species by sound using bioacoustics analysis software, and use GIS data and other data sources to quantify human activity and urbanization surrounding Wild Basin. This project will also include a science communication component to share the results of this project with students and the public with videos and digital storytelling techniques. To apply, please send a resume and short cover letter to Dr. Belaire at jbelaire@stedwards.edu. In your cover letter, please indicate your spring schedule and availability during the week.

Austin Wildlife Watch Interns

Wild Basin is seeking students with an interest in conservation biology and urban ecology to assist with a new wildlife tracking project in Wild Basin and other Austin green spaces. This is a collaborative effort between Wild Basin, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, and the Urban Wildlife Information Network of cities across the U.S. The goal is to study and quantify how urbanization affects the habitat dynamics and distribution of wildlife, especially mammals. Students working on this project will work as a team with Wild Basin staff to install wildlife camera traps in green spaces across Austin, review and classify images from the cameras, and use GIS and other data to quantify the extent of urbanization surrounding each camera site. This project will also include a science communication component to share the findings with students and the public. To apply, please send a resume and short cover letter to Dr. Belaire at jbelaire@stedwards.edu. In your cover letter, please indicate your spring schedule and availability during the week.

Wild Basin Stewardship and Mapping Intern

Wild Basin Creative Research Center is seeking enthusiastic and responsible students who love the outdoors to assist with environmental management at Wild Basin. Intern responsibilities will include land stewardship tasks and data collection about the flora and fauna at Wild Basin. The internship will also include a mapping component, in which the intern will help Wild Basin Land Steward create a spatial record of stewardship activities and information. Previous experience with ArcGIS and using handheld GPS units is strongly preferred, but not required. Hours are flexible, but we require a commitment of 10 hours per week. To apply, please send a resume and short cover letter to Dr. Belaire at jbelaire@stedwards.edu. In your cover letter, please indicate your availability during the week and preferred semester for internship.

Wild Basin Stewardship and Sustainability intern

Wild Basin Creative Research Center is seeking a student with an interest in conservation, sustainability, and outdoor adventure to assist with stewardship activities and sustainability education at Wild Basin. Intern responsibilities will include assisting and coordinating stewardship activities, such as invasive species removal, trail restoration, site clean-ups, water quality monitoring, and protection of rare plants. The internship will also include a sustainability education component, including developing social media posts, printed materials, or signs, and/or organizing events that educate visitors about the stewardship and sustainability elements and practices of Wild Basin. Hours are flexible, but we require a commitment of 10 hours per week. To apply, please send a resume and short cover letter to Dr. Belaire at jbelaire@stedwards.edu. In your cover letter, please indicate your availability during the week and preferred semester for internship.

Wild Basin Outreach and Public Relations intern

Wild Basin Creative Research Center is seeking a student with excellent communication skills to assist with outreach to students and the general public. Intern duties include organizing outreach activities, such as tabling in Ragsdale Student Center and student Stewardship Days at Wild Basin, as well as writing blog posts and creating social media posts that appeal to students and the Austin community. This internship could also include graphic design, video, photography, writing articles for local newspapers, or other components depending on the student’s interests and abilities. Hours are flexible and will require some time spent at Wild Basin and some time spent on campus. To apply, please send a resume and short cover letter to Kim Johnson at kimj@stedwards.edu.

Wild Basin Environmental Education intern

Wild Basin Creative Research Center is seeking a motivated student interested in environmental education, especially for younger visitors to Wild Basin (K-12). Intern duties including helping to develop educational, interpretive, and promotional materials for K-12 students on field trips or on family visits to Wild Basin. This internship can include designing and creating additional educational resources space in the visitors’ center, development of printed or digital media as well as materials for hands-on activities for children, depending on the interests and abilities of the intern. Other duties as assigned. Hours are flexible and will require at least 5 hours at Wild Basin per week, although some work can be done from campus. To apply, please send a resume and short cover letter to Kim Johnson at kimj@stedwards.edu.

The Office of Campus Safety will conduct a full system test of the SEU Alert system on Thursday, November 17th. This test will include the activation of the SMS text and email communication methods via TopperText.  

This TEST is required by law and assists the University in evaluating the performance of our emergency notification system. The test lasts approximately 1 minute and all messages will clearly state, “This is a test of the SEU Alert emergency notification system. This is only a test.  No further actions are required.”  

Please make sure your contact information is correct to ensure you receive messages during a campus emergency. Log into myHilltop and click the TopperText (Campus Emergency Notifications) button under Quick Links and follow the prompts. Contact us at campus.safety@stedwards.edu if you need further assistance.   

Info: Office of Campus Safety, 512-448-8444

On Monday December 5, the Kozmetsky Center will feature a lecture offered by Dr. Dianne Barton who is currently responsible for managing water quality, environmental toxics, and regulatory processes at the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC).

Her lecture entitled “Native American Perspectives on Science, Spirituality, Nature, and the Environment” is scheduled for 12:00 noon – 1:00 PM in Mabee Ballroom A.

Dr. Barton helps restore fish in the ancestral homeland of the CRITFC tribes and also serves as Chair of the National Tribal Toxics Council (NTTC) which advocates for tribal interests in toxic policy decisions. Previously, Dr. Barton was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She holds a Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the University of Arizona.

If you would like to read the Kozmetsky’s Information Sheet on Dr. Barton click the link below:

dr-dianne-barton

For more information about the event:

The Kozmetsky Center