houck2040/artisci huggingface dataset:
student weather balloon launches impact forecastsapr 14 2016the saying goes: if the radar on o&m starts turning somethings happening and typically that involves dr don conlee with his team of studentsfor quite some time now texas a&m and the college of geosciences have worked in conjunction with the national weather service (nws) in gathering local forecast data once dr conlee is informed of a system in the area he assembles his teams – one on the ground to set up the weather balloon launch and another at the top of o&m that will track the balloon and gather data as it comes in the gulf oil spill of 2010 became a watershed moment for these launches the nws contacted dr conlee and asked if they could conduct balloon launches at the site of the spill that was our first launch with equipment we actually owned dr conlee adds the nws knowing tamu had the capability began calling on a more regular basis for this specific launch (march 30) bryan/college station happened to be on the border of the ‘slight risk area of an active weather system with the storm developing there were no sources of local data thats where dr conlee and his team stepped in what were doing will really help them understand the boundary of the severe risk area which falls right on top of us – where theres no balloon unless we launch he explains the weather balloon launches can have a significant impact on local forecast predictions they have to issue a tornado watch later this will help them bound where that watch should go dr conlee adds the balloon takes approximately one hour to fly – traveling at higher altitudes than a jet since forecast information is so timely their goal is to gather as much data as possible on its way up so they can quickly relay it to the nws eventually the balloon pops and the data pack parachutes to the ground if the pack is found in reasonable shape the team will reuse it – which also contains their contact information in case anyone discovers it theyve had people return them from as far away as huntsville on average we do about 10 a year by: andrew vernon '06 once dr conlee is informed of a system in the area he assembles his teams – one on the ground to set up the weather balloon launch and another at the top of o&m that will track the balloon and gather data as it comes in
once dr conlee is informed of a system in the area he assembles his teams – one on the ground to set up the weather balloon launch and another at the top of o&m that will track the balloon and gather data as it comes in
service learning in geosciences - the story of wine to water texas a&mapr 14 2016in the fall 2015 semester the college of geosciences introduced an undergraduate level course that focused on the world water crisis as seen through the eyes of doc henley founder of wine to water the ngo what came out of it was something no one could have predictedthe course started out as a landmark the first class in the college of geosciences to focus on service learning as part of the high impact learning program students were informed about the class during their new student conference and given the opportunity to sign up if they had interest the proposition was met with great response the main goal of the course was presented by professor judy nunez consisting of a service learning trip to costa rica that focused on helping the local population of san isidro with water testing ­­­­– along with educating the local students on water conservation but before anything could be accomplished the students had to learn why the trip was so important the assigned reading for the class was doc henleys autobiography wine to water the book outlines henleys journey and personal discovery of the world water crisis along with his mission that transferred into the ngo which was founded in 2007 throughout the fall semester students were presented with an idea: what do you think it would be like to not have access to clean drinking water they were encouraged to explore this proposition through individual research and in-class discussion the passion for the project was quickly apparent within the group of students before long they were applying to become a recognized student organization so they could better spread their message to others at texas a&m university and the surrounding community the class also participated in a tour of the wastewater treatment plant the spring 2016 semester focused on learning about the water crisis as it pertained to costa rica – a water-rich country with its own unique crisis in order to better prepare themselves for their service learning trip to costa rica in april the students chose topics to present ­– such as culture geopolitics and geography of costa rica the spring also brought a nice surprise for the class when they were presented with the student assistance funding award from the association of former students by: andrew vernon '06 the spring also brought a nice surprise for the class when they were presented with the student assistance funding award from the association of former students
the spring also brought a nice surprise for the class when they were presented with the student assistance funding award from the association of former students
trey murphy wins earl cook awardapr 13 2016congratulations to trey murphy (14) of aledo tx on winning the earl cook award for best graduate student paper for the energy and environment specialty group of the american association of geographersthis is the second consecutive year that one of my students won this award says dr christian brannstrom professor and director of environmental programs trey's award is testament to his analytical skills and perseverance in working with mineral wealth by using tax appraisal data from a county in the eagle ford shale trey adds the important aspect of wealth ownership of hydrocarbons to the social science approaches to hydraulic fracturing that have mainly focused on policy debates and public opinion murphy says his interests can be traced back to his time as an undergraduate researcher under dr brannstrom with collaborators from our department and the university of north texas we interviewed policymakers in north texas about their intuition for putting in place municipal fracking regulations this background knowledge of oil and gas extraction would serve well for my masters degree he explains the earl cook award was established to honor the work of dr earl ferguson cook particularly his 1976 book man energy and society dr cook served as dean of the college of geosciences at texas a&m university from 1971 to 1981 murphy adds to me the award is a reflection of the great research carried out in the department and the college of geosciences earl cook was the dean of our college many years ago and his legacy of energy geography research continues to this day through dr christian brannstrom dr wendy jepson and their many undergraduate and graduate students i am proud to claim heritage to this lineage" by: andrew vernon '06 congratulations to trey murphy (14) of aledo tx on winning the earl cook award for best graduate student paper for the energy and environment specialty group of the american association of geographers
congratulations to trey murphy (14) of aledo tx on winning the earl cook award for best graduate student paper for the energy and environment specialty group of the american association of geographers
professor joins international research team studying the impact of dust and iron input to the pacific oceanapr 13 2016dr franco marcantonio (robert r berg professor in geology) recently joined an international team of scientists to study samples taken from the pacific ocean that analyzed the impact of iron delivered in dust to the pacific ocean thousands of years ago their work is published in the journal naturein the harsh conditions of the previous ice age which consisted of colder and windier weather large amounts of dust containing iron were scattered from land into the ocean the purpose of the study focused on whether the increase in iron supplied to the pacific ocean produced more carbon-sequestering phytoplankton to take in co2 from the earths atmosphere potentially creating conditions for a cooler climate we proved it was dustier – but was there more photosynthetic production to to help lower co2 we looked at the chemistry of the sediments and concluded that there was not more productivity at least for this area of the worlds ocean says dr marcantonio however he and other scientists believe an increase in iron did lead to an increased growth of phytoplankton in other locations such as the ocean surrounding antarctica iron can only fertilize if there are major nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) available he explains it turns out there was more dust in the southern ocean (off antarctica) during the last ice age about 20 000 years ago and there was a lot more productivity there as a consequence because of the increased iron supply most of the major nutrients were depleted as a result these waters which are ultimately the source for waters upwelled in the equatorial pacific were already devoid of their nutrients so while it was dustier and extra iron was being delivered to the pacific the study found the lack of nitrogen and phosphorus limited phytoplankton growth in that region dr marcantonio was joined by colleagues from columbia university princeton university the university of california-santa cruz and national taiwan university by: andrew vernon '06 dr franco marcantonio (robert r berg professor in geology) recently joined an international team of scientists to study samples taken from the pacific ocean that analyzed the impact of iron delivered in dust to the pacific ocean thousands of years ago their work is published in the journal nature
dr franco marcantonio (robert r berg professor in geology) recently joined an international team of scientists to study samples taken from the pacific ocean that analyzed the impact of iron delivered in dust to the pacific ocean thousands of years ago their work is published in the journal nature
faculty named to inaugural class of aslo fellowsapr 13 2016dr lisa campbell has been named to the inaugural class of aslo sustaining fellows (association for the science of limnology and oceanography) for her years of sustained excellence in contributions to aquatic scienceaslos mission involves the creation communication and integration of knowledge across the full spectrum of aquatic sciences through public awareness and education regarding research – while also promoting scientific stewardship of resources for the public interest it has been a leading organization for educators and researchers of aquatic science for over 60 years tracing its roots back to the limnological society of america (lsa) – founded in 1936 dr campbell joined the faculty in the department of oceanography at texas a&m in 1996 as an associate professor and has served as full professor in the department since 2006 her research statistics are inspiring: over 90 peer-reviewed scientific articles with and h-index of 40 and over 5000 lifetime citations to her papers she has received nearly $5m in grant funding as a pi and co-pi her research focuses on phytoplankton ecology phytoplankton community structure and diversity harmful algal blooms and flow cytometry and in situ imaging dr campbells research seeks to understand the environmental factors that lead to harmful cell proliferation and why these organisms actually produce neurotoxins the society has been very important to me throughout my career so the recognition of my service and contributions is very rewarding dr campbell replied dr debbie thomas (professor and department head – oceanography) adds it is an honor and an inspiration to work with such an outstanding scholar and educator – to use a cycling analogy dr campbell is a true ‘gc rider in that she excels at all aspects of the role of a tenured full professor this award is only the beginning for her! by: andrew vernon '06 dr lisa campbell has been named to the inaugural class of aslo sustaining fellows (association for the science of limnology and oceanography) for her years of sustained excellence in contributions to aquatic science
dr lisa campbell has been named to the inaugural class of aslo sustaining fellows (association for the science of limnology and oceanography) for her years of sustained excellence in contributions to aquatic science
summer 2016 fellowship opportunity at the berg-hughes centerapr 7 2016the berg-hughes center is pleased to announce a new fellowship opportunity for the summer of 2016the fellowships are intended to assist with living and educationally related expenses for full-time study during the summer semester and make progress on your research we will award 6 fellowships for a full summer semester and each award will be for $9 000 to submit your proposal please complete the attached proposal form and note that this proposal requires endorsement from your academic faculty advisor proposals are due by april 29th 2016 and awards are expected to be announced by may 13 2016 proposals need to meet the intent of the funding donors to support students working towards degrees in petroleum geosciences related field the proposals will be evaluated by a team of faculty members composed of drs r gibson j reece m everett n perez and c dengo please submit your proposal to dawn spencer dspencer@tamuedu should you have any questions related to this request please contact carlos dengo at cdengo@tamuedu phone (979) 845-6269 application
geography professor dr wendy jepson named fulbright scholarmar 21 2016geography professor dr wendy jepson has recently been named a fulbright scholar for her work on urban water provisioning and household water security the prestigious fulbright scholar program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by senator j william fulbright of arkansas the us department of states bureau of educational and cultural affairs sponsors the program and awards roughly 8 000 grants a year and the fulbright program is present in over 155 countries around the world dr wendy jepson has been selected to teach in brazil at the universidade federal de ceará - fortaleza (ufc) while there she will conduct research on water accessibility and the infrastructure required to meet growing demand in urban and peri-urban areas this correlates with jepsons most recent research which has studied household water security among low-income communities on the us-mexico border dr jepson is no newcomer to brazil as she conducted research ten years ago on brazilian agricultural development and the dynamic transformation of central brazils cerrado a tropical savanna ecoregion jepson is looking forward to returning to the country and developing the institutional collaborations between the texas a&m university geography department and the faculty at universidade federal de ceará - fortaleza (ufc) the fulbright program will allow me to build on these emerging connections by deepening the sustainability of our educational and research relationships said jepson the proposed project will provide the necessary institutional and collaborative context to exchange methodologies and research approaches on water resource governance and water security with brazilian geographers dr jepson will be teaching a graduate course on environmental justice at ufc followed by a shortened course on this topic at the universidade federal do pará in bragança while there she will be co-supervising graduate students at both universities on topics related to water security these students will then partake in an exchange program in the us working with texas a&m students and faculty in the human-environment research group when asked about her goals for this trip dr jepson replied with three objectives the first to strengthen ties with brazilian scholars and pave the way for future collaborative research the second to expand her research on water security in urban and peri-urban communities and the third to reestablish a research portfolio in brazil to be built on for years to come fulbright allows me to do what i love my vocation said dr jepson in the end i am a geographer scholar and explorer at heart by: emily peter '15 dr wendy jepson has recently been named a fulbright scholar for her work on urban water provisioning and household water security
dr wendy jepson has recently been named a fulbright scholar for her work on urban water provisioning and household water security
facilities director maureen reap retires from the college of geosciencesmar 9 2016facilities coordinator maureen reap has recently retired from the college of geosciences she leaves behind a long list of accomplishments and very large shoes to fill maureen has been an asset to the texas a&m university system for quite some time starting out as a student she graduated with a bachelor's degree in education curriculum and instruction after teaching science for a few years she returned to aggieland where she earned a masters degree in oceanography this is when her career in the college of geosciences began working as a graduate assistant-researcher in 1986 for the department of oceanography maureen then moved into the role of research associate where she worked until 2002 following this position she accepted the job of operations manager for the department of oceanography she spent three years in this space learning the basics of facility management her experiences included conducting inventories managing building personnel and overseeing the renovation of a chemistry laboratory it is these skills which carried maureen to her most recent and impactful role maureens heroic contributions arise from her inspiring efforts to improve the teaching and research infrastructure of the college so that the aggies who pass through our doors have access to world-class facilities said deborah thomas oceanography department head her goal is not functional facilities but exceptional facilities - facilities that propel us toward our strategic goals in december 2015 maureen was awarded with the prestigious deans achievement award for exemplary staff services within the college of geosciences one of her many nominators said the following maureen serves the college with dedication striving for and achieving excellence in her work her excellence integrity loyalty respect and selfless service through the 30 years she has been with the college do all aggies proud maureen has had a profound influence on the college of geosciences and the thousands of students and faculty members who have walked through its doors dr thomas states maureen is one of the true heros of our university and generations of aggies have benefitted and continue to benefit from her insight proactive planning and creative design maureen embodies the aggie spirit with loyalty and pride in everything that she does although her presence will be missed her impact will not be forgotten by: emily peter '15 dean miller presenting maureen reap with the deans achievement award for exemplary staff services
dean miller presenting maureen reap with the deans achievement award for exemplary staff services
meteorology major cecille sorio ‘17 is selected as second female corps commander in texas a&m historyfeb 26 2016meteorology major cecille sorio is leaving her mark on this university as the second female corps commander in texas a&m history following in the footsteps of alyssa michalke sorio is the second consecutive female to hold this prestigious position originally from san antonio texas sorio knew she wanted to attend a university with a strong rotc program it wasnt until she tagged along on a friends college visit that she found her way to texas a&m and the college of geosciences all of the staff and student recruiters were incredibly friendly and passionate about their courses of study said sorio growing up sorio was always curious about the weather and as she puts it - she was the kid who did rain dances during recess with dreams of commissioning as a weather officer in the united states air force meteorology seemed like the perfect major to prepare me for my goal stated sorio sorio has enjoyed her time in the college of geosciences especially in her atmo 335 class - dynamics i the college has provided her with a wide range of experiences and a niche for passionate scientific thinkers who are diligent in their studies but who also love to embrace hands-on learning experiences in the wild outdoors sorios time at texas a&m has been filled with classes leadership training and of course the age-old traditions of this campus she will serve as the corps commander for the 2016-2017 school year and said she is most looking forward to creating an environment that both highlights the importance of leadership development along with scholastic success and career-motivation applicable post-graduation sorio wants her cadets to be prepared to take on the real world after graduation and to represent this university with the upstanding character which aggies are known for texas a&m university the corps of cadets and the college of geosciences have given this to her and she views this position as her opportunity to pass these skills along to others texas a&m and the college of geosciences have equipped me with the knowledge i will need said sorio preparing me to be a woman who knows how to balance the rigors of education while leading a group of motivated individuals by: emily peter '15 sorio in front of the texas a&m radar pedestal
gis goes far beyond geography at texas a&mfeb 26 2016 from its humble beginnings gis at tamu has grown to support research in virtually every college and agency at the university deep in the heart of texas lies texas a&m university (tamu) known to generations of former students as aggieland founded in 1876 tamu was the first public university in texas and is now one of the largest research universities in the united states with more than 58 000 students including nearly 14 000 graduate students it was one of the first us universities to hold the triple distinction of being a land- sea- and space-grant institution meaning it does leading research in all three domains thus it is prime breeding ground for gis the organic growth of gis during the 1980s gis research developed organically across tamu professors in several departmentsincluding landscape architecture entomology parks and recreation forest science and geosciencesused the emerging technology to support their diverse research needs due to the high costs of computers at the time tamu began gis instruction in 1985 only in the forest science department after phd student (and now associate professor) douglas wunneburger developed microgis this homegrown program ran on 20 tandy 2000 personal computers in the universitys then state-of-the- art computer lab continue reading on page 32 of the winter 2016 issue of arcnews
marathon oil donates laptops workstations and monitors to geology and geophysicsfeb 23 2016the department of geology and geophysics at texas a&m university would like to thank marathon oil for a generous donation of used laptops workstations and monitors vernon moore '98 senior geologist at marathon oil was instrumental in facilitating the donation the department will use the 20 laptops as the foundation for a new undergraduate computer lab the transportable laptops will allow the department to have a roaming lab which can be used in multiple classrooms and even outdoors for a variety of courses and applications the 52 monitors will be used to upgrade aging monitors in the seismic computing lab and to extend capability in the graduate working lab additionally two linux boxes will be used as workstations in the seismic computing lab and specialty workstations in the graduate working lab the seismic computing lab is currently used to teach graduate courses in seismic processing and interpretation this donation marks an important step in the department's continued growth and towards the realization of an advance computing center for geoscience research