October 2006 - UVAA - mailman.xmission.com

Fwd: General Meeting
by Richard Tenney 23 Oct '06

23 Oct '06

Sorry, forgot to send this part too... --- SLAS Announcements <announce(a)slas.us> wrote: > Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 13:12:40 -0600 > From: SLAS Announcements <announce(a)slas.us> > To: Richard E Tenney <retenney(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: General Meeting > > Hello All, Remember our new meeting location at the > U of U, there is still construction of the Warnock > Enginering Building so best access is the Merrill > Eng Bldg parking. For members with Disablities the > access will improve greatly once the Warnock > building is complete (soon). Contact me with any > further questions. See You There, Erik Hansen > Sec/Tres > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Fwd: Tuesdays General Meeting (Salt Lake Astronomical Society)
by Richard Tenney 23 Oct '06

23 Oct '06

SLAS website is http://www.slas.us --- SLAS Announcements <announce(a)slas.us> wrote: > Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 15:00:30 -0600 > From: SLAS Announcements <announce(a)slas.us> > To: Richard E Tenney <retenney(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: Tuesdays General Meeting > > Hello All, Some people have asked for the location, > it is the Engineering/Mines Classroom EMCB #105. > Check SLAS website for map, click on "construction" > for more details. The Classroom entrance is located > in the SE area of the plaza. Thanks, Erik > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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October General Meeting of The Salt Lake Astronomical Soceity
by Lowell Lyon 17 Oct '06

17 Oct '06

Hello again everyone: I have just been informed by my contact at the Physics Department, Lynn Higgs, that SLAS will be able to park for free in the parking lot of the Kennecott Building. Our meeting location in the Engineering/Mines Classroom Building is a short walk east of the Kennecott Building. I confirmed with Dr. Ostlie this morning that he is still planning to come and is looking forward to speaking to our group. Lynn has also offered to help with on-campus promotion of the SLAS meeting. Thank you. Lowell Lyon

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October General Meeting of The Salt Lake Astronomical Society
by Lowell Lyon 17 Oct '06

17 Oct '06

Hello Everyone: Please remember to attend this month's general meeting at our new venue on the campus of the University of Utah. The facility is the Engineering/Mines Classroom Building, Room # 105. The main page of the SLAS website has a map of the U of U campus. You may also check out the Events Calendar link for October 24th where you will find another link to the U of U's online campus map. The Engineering/Mines classroom building is due south of the old Merrill Engineering Building. Parking is free. Available parking areas are also shown on the campus map. The meeting is on Tuesday, October 24th beginning at 7:30pm sharp. Our very special guest speaker is the Dean of the College of Science at Weber State University. Dr. Dale Ostlie has prepared an exciting lecture entitled "The Ins and Outs of Pulsating Stars". Those of you who remember when he spoke at the old Hansen Planetarium may recall just how good he is. Please check out the SLAS website for Dr. Ostlie's biography. See you there!! Lowell Lyon

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Upcoming Frontiers of Science Lectures at the U of U
by Richard Tenney 13 Oct '06

13 Oct '06

Frontiers of Science lecture series Frontiers of Science The COLLEGE OF SCIENCE and THE COLLEGE OF MINES AND EARTH SCIENCES have teamed-up to present FOUR lectures during the 2006-2007 academic year! The 2006-2007 Frontiers lecture series will feature eminent scientists and researchers from across the country who are exploring the latest frontiers in their fields. The Frontiers lecture series was established in 1967, and will celebrate its 40th year in 2007, making it the longest-running lecture series on campus! Over the years, we have hosted many Nobel laureates, Guggenheim Fellows, MacArthur Fellows, and members of the National Academies. Free and open to the public! All lectures begin 7:30 p.m. in the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology building (lower campus, near University Bookstore) The first lecture is Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006. This lecture features James P. Keener, distinguished professor of mathematics at the U, who will discuss "Heart Attacks Can Give You Mathematics" Heart attacks kill hundreds of people daily in the United States; many more than are killed by math anxiety! A heart attack is fatal when there is a subsequent disruption of the normal electrical signal of the heart, leading to fibrillation. There is very little understanding of why this occurs, and there are essentially no reliable predictors for the onset of fibrillation. Professor Keener will give an overview of some of the ways that mathematics can help our understanding of cardiac arrhythmias, how they occur, what they are, and how they might be eliminated or even prevented. The main emphasis will be on how mathematics can be used to give us insights into biological problems that could not otherwise be found. The second presentation will take place on Wednesday, January 31, 2007. This event will feature Matthew P. Golombek, NASA senior research scientist in Pasadena, California. His lecture title is "Mars Exploration Results: Climate Change from Wet to Dry" Dr. Golombek is a research geologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena. He is also a science operations team chair on NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, currently exploring the Red Planet and led the team that selected the landing sites for these missions. Golombek has lectured about Mars internationally and co-wrote the book Mars: Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet for the National Geographic Society. He has served as editor and associate editor of professional journals, has convened scientific sessions at national and international meetings, and has served on numerous NASA science advisory groups. The third Frontiers of Science lecture is on Wed, March 28, 2007. This event will feature Kerry A. Emanuel, professor of meteorology at MIT. His presentation, "Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes," will address the historical importance of hurricanes, and focus on the current state of scientific research. "Imagine standing at the center of a Roman coliseum that is 20 miles across, with walls that soar 10 miles into the sky, towering walls with cascades of ice crystals falling along its brilliantly white surface. That's what it's like to stand in the eye of a hurricane." --excerpt from Divine Wind In his latest bestseller, Divine Wind, Kerry Emanuel, one of the world's leading authorities on hurricanes, gives an engaging account of these awe-inspiring meteorological events, revealing how hurricanes and typhoons have literally altered human history, thwarted military incursions and changed the course of explorations. Offering an account of the physics of the tropical atmosphere, the author explains how such benign climates give rise to the most powerful storms in the world and tells what modern science has learned about them. Kerry Emanuel has been chosen as one of TIME Magazine's '100 People Who Shape Our World.' The book, Divine Wind was named One of the Top Twenty Science Books of 2005 by Discover Magazine. The fourth and final Frontiers of Science lecture is on April 18, 2007, 7:30 PM, presented by Lucy Shapiro, professor of developmental biology at Stanford University. Her lecture title poses a very serious question for researchers and the general public-- "Why Are Bacteria Winning the Antibiotics War?" "Since antibiotics were discovered in the 1950s, they have been over-used. Bacterial cells are smarter than scientists and find ways to build up resistance to current antibiotics. While many antibiotics still function today, the rate at which they are becoming useless is faster than the rate that we are discovering new ones. Furthermore, there is an increase in prevalent infectious diseases, due to overpopulation, globalisation and urbanisation. This results in a lethal combination of emerging diseases and loss of our effective antibiotics. We are rapidly reaching a critical stage," says Shapiro. All Frontiers of Science lectures are videotaped! To obtain a video or DVD, please contact James DeGooyer, (801) 581-6958 at the College of Science. Mark your calendar now for these lectures! Watch your mailbox for our direct mailers. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, contact James DeGooyer, (801) 581-6958 at the College of Science. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Star Party Reminder for tomorrow (Wed.) evening in South Fork Canyon (Provo Canyon)
by Richard Tenney 10 Oct '06

10 Oct '06

UVAA is doing a star party for an Elementary School this coming Wednesday evening (tomorrow night!) starting at 8pm in Provo/South Fork Canyon. Any of you SLAS-ers that want to come join us are more than welcome -- this is a semi-dark site, so your efforts won't be wasted! They are anticipating 70+ kids, so help is needed and appreciated. I'll be there with the 16-inch. It will formally begin at 8pm, but you'll want to be up there sooner to find a spot to set up while there's still some light. >From the mouth of Provo Canyon (starting the odometer where 800 North in Orem Crosses over on to University Ave.) it's 5.8 miles to Vivian Park/South Fork, just right off the highway there. Drive South into South Fork Canyon (narrow, winding road that begins at Vivian Park) 3.25 miles (you'll drive past another nice park on the way) to where you see a brown "National Forest Access" sign -- turn (right) in here. This is a newer park -- drive up another quarter mile and the road ends in a nice big flat parking lot. The sky is fairly dark here despite a somewhat limited horizon. There is a bathroom here and picnic tables if you want to bring dinner and the family along early. The current National Weather Service forecast looks promising. Thanks for your help, Regards, Rich __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Fwd: Open Mechanical Engineering position at a major observatory
by Richard Tenney 06 Oct '06

06 Oct '06

Sorry to forward SPAM to the rest of you, but this sounds like it might be the dream job for those of you with ME backgrounds that wouldn't mind living in West Texas... -Rich --- George and Teresa <gandt(a)nexus.as.utexas.edu> wrote: > Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2006 21:50:38 -0500 > From: George and Teresa <gandt(a)nexus.as.utexas.edu> > To: undisclosed-recipients:; > Subject: Open Mechanical Engineering position at a > major observatory > > Please pardon this unsolicited email. > > The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at McDonald > Observatory part of the > University of Texas at Austin has an immediate > opening for a qualified > mechanical engineer. The text of this advertisement > is part of this > email. A formatted PDF version of this document is > also attached. > > You are receiving this email because your address > was found while > searching for astronomy organizations or clubs > throughout the United > States. Please pass this job advertisement to > anyone that may be > interested. > > Thank you, > George Damm > > --------------------- > George Damm > Electrical Engineer > U.T. McDonald Observatory, H.E.T. > HC 75, Box 1337-MCD > Fort Davis, TX 79734 > 432-426-3693 > gdamm(a)astro.as.utexas.edu > > > McDonald Observatory is looking for a hands-on > Mechanical Engineer to > work at the Hobby- > Eberly Telescope facility in the mountains of West > Texas. The > Hobby-Eberly Telescope, at > McDonald Observatory is part of The University of > Texas at Austin and is > the 4th largest > telescope in the world. If you have had practical > hands-on experience in > an operational > environment and good analytical skills, you may be > qualified for this > position. The job entails > working with large leadscrew-driven > electromechanical systems with > 6-axis placement accuracy > to the micron level within a 4m x 4m x 0.3m volume. > Sustaining ancillary > systems required to > support the telescope would also be in your job > description. The job > applicant must have the > skills necessary to keep this state of the art > facility operating > continuously through out the year. > > The job requirements include: Analysis of > performance of research > telescope facility subsystems. > Identify performance shortfalls & develop solutions > to address these > deficiencies. Propose, plan, > schedule, & coordinate the completion of these > projects. Develop new > designs and approaches to > modify original research equipment, and direct and > assist in the > fabrication of these custom > designs. Develop and revise documentation for HET > mechanical systems. > Maintain engineering > design drawings and documentation along with > technical and > administrative personnel. > Job qualifications include: A Bachelor's degree in > Engineering with four > years of experience in > mechanical engineering, experience maintaining > electro-mechanical, > pneumatic systems, HVAC > systems and emergency generators, experience with > fabrication tools and > techniques, experience > with mechanical design and analysis software. > > On site housing is available within a community of > about 30 employees > located approximately 1 > mile from the 6500ft mountain peak on which the > telescope sits. The > option is also available to > live locally within the area. The local towns of > Fort Davis, Alpine and > Marfa offer a diverse > flavor and a real sense of community. Also within > commuting distance is > Sul Ross University, a > 4 year college with various degree plans. > > The University of Texas offers competitive benefits > with good health > care and retirement plans. > To apply, and for a complete job description please > visit > http://utdirect.utexas.edu/pnjobs/ > and refer to job #060928014209. The University of > Texas at Austin is an > equal > opportunity/affirmative action employer . This is a > security sensitive > position; Conviction > verification conducted on applicant selected. > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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