Adobe Design Achievement Awards

The 2010 Adobe Design Achievement Awards give higher education students from around the world the shortcut to brilliance to propel their careers in the future.  Enter in 12 categories in 3 media areas endorsed by industry.  Cash prizes will be awarded during Adobe MAX 2010 in Los Angeles.
Submissions close June 4, 2010.
For more information and to submit: adaa.adobe.com

Mobile Networking and Communications Fair

The next Mobile Networking meeting will be held in conjunction with the Mobile Communications Fair coming up on FEB 23 (see http://itc.virginia.edu/techconnect/mobilefair ). Although the Mobile Com Fair will be focused on smartphones and communications devices, the MobiNet meeting will be about eBooks and eReaders.  If you’re not familiar with the Mobi Net group, we meet bi-monthly to present and discuss a range of topics on mobile technologies.  Emphasis is on open group discussion, and we structure our meetings so that we open with a sort of show-and-tell forum we call the Mobile Blast.  During this time, anyone can get up and show off or discuss their interest, expertise or experience with any aspect of mobile technologies in short presentations that can be anywhere from 1 – 10 minutes (or longer if necessary – we’re flexible).  With the explosion of eBooks, eReaders and <tablets> on the market lately, we thought it might be appropriate to let these technologies guide the next meeting.  Consider joining us at our next meeting and bring along any discussion you might have about eBooks or eReaders, or any mobile technology for that matter.  Or if any of you know of anyone with interests or experience using eBooks/eReaders, perhaps you could steer them our way.  The meeting will be from 11:30-1 in the Newcomb South Meeting Room during the Mobile Communications Fair on TUES 23 FEB.  For more info about Mobi Net visit our video blog at http://beam.to/mobilib.

Also, for anyone who’s really interested, the TechConnect folks at ITC that are hosting the Mobile Com Fair, are looking for people to participate in a panel discussion on the “Future of Mobile Communications”.  I’m hoping to help them find 4-5 people who would like to serve on such a panel.  Let me know if you are interested and I’ll fill you in on the details.

Thanx everyone!

Will Rourk
Digital Media Lab
University of Virginia
will@virginia.edu
434-243-6300

Paperless Learning

Publishers Reach Deals For iPad-Compatible Textbooks.

The Wall Street Journal (2/2, Trachtenberg, Kane) reported that a number of textbook publishers have reportedly reached an agreement with software company ScrollMotion to make versions of their textbooks available electronically, with devices such as the new iPad in mind. A McGraw-Hill official said, “People have been talking about the impact of technology on education for 25 years. It feels like it is really going to happen in 2010.” However, he added, “nobody knows what device will take off, or which ‘killer app’ will drive student adaptations.”

Reposted from the February 3, 2010 ASEE First Bell.

X-Ray Vision… Almost

Device To Allow US Troops To See Through Walls.

The Wired (2/2, Pierce) “Danger Room” blog reported, “Later this year, American troops fighting in Afghanistan will begin to get gadgets designed to peer inside buildings and detect the heartbeat of people buried under rubble.” The TiaLinx Eagle Scanner works “by sending out low-power, wideband radio-frequency signals toward a target, and measuring how the signals bounce back.” Popular Science (2/3, Fox) reports, “By measuring the various densities of the materials its radio waves pass through, these hand-held scanners can look through concrete.” According to the company, “the models deploying with the troops to Afghanistan can see up to 20 feet behind an eight-inch-thick concrete wall, and identify whether or not there are any people on the other side.” It also features a wireless connection, “and send images back to HQ immediately.

Reposted from the February 3, 2010 ASEE First Bell.

Welcome to Data.gov

The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Although the initial launch of Data.gov provides a limited portion of the rich variety of Federal datasets presently available, we invite you to actively participate in shaping the future of Data.gov by suggesting additional datasets and site enhancements to provide seamless access and use of your Federal data.  Data.gov includes searchable data catalogs providing access to data in three ways: through the “raw” data catalog, the tool catalog and the geodata catalog.

Note that not all included datasets relate to science and engineering but many do.

Engineering Presentations

Systems and Information Engineering Colloquium

Friday February 5th, 2009

2:00 – 3:15 pm

Olsson 005

 ”The Art and Science of Reading, Writing, and Presenting “,  presented by Members of SYS7021, Fall 2009 Class,  School of Engineering and Applied Science University of Virginia

This group of eleven diverse graduate students from the Systems Engineering department discusses the lessons they have learned through critical reading and presenting of seminal research papers from a variety of disciplines. These include strategies for critical reading and writing of technical research papers and techniques for delivering effective presentations. This interactive colloquium will share personal insights and experiences and engage students to evaluate and improve their own research habits and skills.

Everyone is invited!

Research Computing Lab Short Course: Research Data Lifecycle

“Managing the Research Data Lifecycle”

Sherry Lake

Research Computing Support Specialist

Thursday, February 11, 2010, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

In the Brown Science and Engineering Library Electronic Classroom 

This session will offer an overview of what to “think” about in regards to managing data throughout a scientific research project. It will cover collection, storage, metadata, analysis, rights, access, and other relevant phases.

Anyone interested in attending a session is asked to sign-up by submitting a ticket at the following url:   http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/brown/rescomp/help/index.html.

Research Computing Lab Short Course: LaTeX

“LaTeX Basics”

 Aubry Verret, Research Computing Support Specialist

Monday, February 8, 2010, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In the Brown Science and Engineering Library Electronic Classroom

This class is a hands on introduction for those who have no prior experience with LaTeX but are interested in using it to write academic/scientific papers. It will contain an overview of capabilities and features as well as basic commands. By the end of the class you will be able to create a document that includes sections, figures, a bibliography and mathematics.

Anyone interested in attending a session is asked to sign-up by submitting a ticket at the following url:   http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/brown/rescomp/help/index.html.

Squeezing Out More Power

Piezoelectric Material Harvests Record Amount Of Energy.

Technology Review (1/29) reports, “Researchers at Princeton University have created” a piezoelectric material that “can harness 80 percent of the energy applied when it is flexed–four times more than existing flexible piezoelectric materials.” The researchers used PZT, “the most efficient piezoelectric material known, but its crystalline structure means that it must be grown at high temperatures, which normally melt a flexible substrate. The Princeton researchers, led by mechanical engineering professor Michael McAlpine, got around this by making PZT at high temperatures and then transferring thin ribbons of the material onto silicone.” The researchers are particularly focused on biomedical applications.

The above reposted from the January 29, 2010 issue of ASEE First Bell.

Nuclear Fusion Milestone

Scientists Reach Milestone In Nuclear Fusion Experiment.

According to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), AFP (1/29) reports, “US scientists have produced a laser shot with an unprecedented energy level that could be a key step towards nuclear fusion.” In a statement, the NNSA said that “researchers for the first time delivered a megajoule of energy to a target by focusing 192 laser beams at the same time at a temperature of 111 million Celsius (200 million Fahrenheit).” NNSA administrator Thomas D’Agostino said, “Breaking the megajoule barrier brings us one step closer to fusion ignition,” adding, “This milestone is an example of how our nation’s investment in nuclear security is producing benefits in other areas, from advances in energy technology to a better understanding of the universe.”

In a report that only refers to the NNSA’s funding of the project, the San Francisco Chronicle (1/29, Perlman) reports that scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility said that their work “marked the most important advance yet in more than 10 years of work at the $3.5 billion facility.” In the coming months, “the team will start a new round of experiments seeking finally to achieve what they call ‘ignition’ — a true thermonuclear reaction inside the laboratory’s tiny targets.” L. Jeffrey Atherton, one of the lead physicists on the project, said, “We’re confident of our ability to start seeking ignition this summer.” Atherton added, “And we’re optimistic that at some point soon we’ll achieve it.”

The above reposted from the January 29, 2010 issue of ASEE’s First Bell.