July 23, 2004 Announcements
Utah
State Info Tech VP Takes Job at University of Georgia
 Utah
State University's Vice President for Information Technology/Chief
Information Officer has accepted a position at The University
of Georgia.
Barbara A. White accepted the offer this week to serve as chief
information officer and associate provost at the 33,000-student
flagship university in Athens, Ga. She starts October 1.
"The University of Georgia is an institution that's really
moving in the area of information technology," White said.
"It’s clearly an opportunity to apply many of the
things I've learned throughout my career."
Utah State President Kermit L. Hall praised White for her efforts
and leadership in the areas of information technology.
"Barb White has made an outstanding contribution to the
development of information technology at Utah State University,
especially in leading the implementation of the Banner system,"
Hall said. "She will be missed, although all of us take
real pride in her professional success."
Read the full news release announcing White's new position
in the Utah State Today archives.
SDL
Project Launches to Help Observe the Earth's Atmosphere
 A
critical piece of hardware built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory
for the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument
launched into space July 15 aboard NASA's Aura satellite on
its way to help scientists study the ozone.
The TES interferometer, or sensor, will break light up into
colors in order to measure chemicals that affect the ozone.
This data will enable scientists to better understand the condition
of the Earth's upper and lower atmosphere and will help them
study global warming.
"It was a difficult piece of hardware to build,"
Robert Anderson, SDL program manger for TES, said. "It's
always a pleasure to see something I worked on go up in space."
The SDL built hardware worth $3.1 million is called TES-FPOMA
(Focal Plane Opto-Mechanical Assembly). It is the housing for
TES's infrared interferometer sensor. The requirements for TES-FPOMA
from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) were so difficult
that SDL was the only company to bid on the project.
"FPOMA was challenging because of its tight tolerance
system, and building it for three temperature zones was just
another tricky part to the project," Blake Crowther, a
senior optical scientist at SDL, said. "It's built to withstand
temperatures that other mechanisms on TES cannot."
TES-FPOMA consists of FPOMA-1 and FPOMA-2; both are designed
for separate spectral channels. It was completed and delivered
in 2000, and since then SDL has been anxiously awaiting its
launch.
Read the full press release detailing the launch on SDL's Web
site.
Meet
the Judges — Campus to be Evaluated, Every Bloomin' Thing
Staff members in Utah State University Facilities Division,
especially its Landscape Operations and Maintenance area, have
been busily preparing for a visit by two judges who will evaluate
the campus environment for the America In Bloom program.
Interested gardeners and members of the public are invited
to an open house to meet the judges, Gerald Klingaman and Alex
Pearl, Monday, July 26, from 5-6 p.m. in the Champ Room in the
Smith Spectrum. Klingaman is a professor of horticulture at
the University of Arkansas and Pearl is a vocational horticulture
instructor at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections
Institute.
America in Bloom is an independent non-profit organization
dedicated to promoting beautification program nationwide, as
well as personal and community involvement in these efforts
through the use of flowers, landscapes, trees and other environmental
and lifestyle enhancements.
This is the first year that universities have been included
in the America In Bloom competition. Utah State will
be evaluated in eight areas — (1) tidiness effort, (2)
environmental effort, (3) community involvement, (4) heritage,
(5) urban forestry, (6) landscape areas, (7) floral displays
and (8) turf and ground cover areas.
Utah State's effort in the program is coordinated by Ellen
Newell, the university’s landscape manager. A judge's
report will be provided to Utah State and final awards will
be presented this fall.
"The university's environmental awareness is a strong
point, and we can show our efforts with the shuttle bus system
and the new heating plant," Newell said. "Some of
the criteria in the program do not match what we do as a university
but we will emphasize how we hire student interns and work with
various academic departments on campus."
In addition to Utah State University, the city of Vernal is
a participant in the program this year.
Utah
State's President Kermit L. Hall to Serve Term as President
Of INRA
 The
Inland Northwest Research Alliance (INRA), a consortium of eight
research universities in the northwestern United States, announced
today that Utah State University President Kermit L. Hall will
serve at its president for a one-year term. Hall will continue
to serve as president of Utah State during his term with INRA.
A nonprofit, scientific and educational organization, INRA
fosters collaborative research programs to educate America's
future scientists and engineers. Since its inception in 1999,
the alliance has brought $27 million into the inland northwest
region in the form of new innovative research and educational
programs.
In addition to Utah State, INRA includes Boise State University,
Idaho State University, Montana State University, University
of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Idaho, University of Montana
and Washington State University. INRA is the only organization
of its kind in the country.
"The solidarity of the eight universities in five states
brings unique advantages and strengths to these universities,"
said Hall. "The Department of Energy has recognized INRA's
significant role at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
Laboratory. I look forward to working with the other board members
to broaden INRA's mission and continue its many successes."
INRA was formed to promote research in the area of science
and engineering, with a focus on studies that will result in
practical applications, such as water treatment, soil remediation
and infectious disease research. INRA provides the organizational
structure for rapid development of collaborative research and
educational programs in technical disciplines for its member
institutions. This is accomplished through partnerships with
government agencies, national laboratories and businesses. The
research is focused in critical areas such as environmental
sciences, national security and energy.
INRA is a partner with Bechtel and BWXT, Inc., in the management
and operations contract for the INEEL, operated for the U.S.
Department of Energy. INRA's roles in this contract include
the support of collaborative basic and applied research programs
between its member universities and the INEEL staff by funding
diverse multi-year research projects in the critical mission
areas of the laboratory. These include environmental management,
energy sciences, and national security.
Gautam Pillay, the INRA executive director since 2001, is resigning
in August to take a university leadership position. INRA Chief
of Staff Steven R. Billingsley was selected as the new executive
director. Billingsley said he is honored to be selected and
looks forward to working with Hall and the board to continue
INRA's accomplishments.
For more information on Hall, visit the Utah State University
Web site at www.usu.edu. For
more information on INRA visit www.inra.org.
utah
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