Chantecaille, a luxury cosmetics company, will donate five percent of the proceeds of its new “Protected Paradise” Face and Eyes compacts to support marine science research and conservation efforts. Specifically, the funds will support the Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation program, which provides a $150,000 award to five ocean experts around the world annually to develop solutions to critical ocean challenges.
Soundings is the monthly school newsletter for faculty, students, alumni, and staff like Jennifer Roshaven, our new Assistant to Dean Otis Brown, who has just started working at the Rosenstiel School.
Managing
Editor
Barbra Gonzalez
Editor
Christian Howard
Production
Hunter Augustus
Click here If you have trouble reading our e-mail version to switch to a PDF |
TWO FAMILIAR FACES JOIN ROSENSTIEL FACULTY
The Rosenstiel School's Division of Applied Marine Physics has welcomed two Rosenstiel researchers into their faculty ranks. Drs. Claire Paris-Limouzy and Maria Josefina Olascoaga have both been appointed as Assistant Professors. Both will add their extensive expertise in biophysical oceanic interactions to the already impressive credentials of our scientists. Paris' primary research has been focused on the transport dynamics of planktonic organisms, developing a Lagrangian modeling tool to describe the spatial pattern of marine populations and how changes in the environment may affect population connectivity. It has wide applications from conservation issues such as the design of marine reserve networks, to fisheries management issues related to fluctuation of species recruitment. Her modeling work has integrated several disciplines in close collaboration with Ashwanth Srinivasan (CCS) and Dr. Robert Cowen (MBF). Paris' most recent work includes four weeks of field research earlier this year on Lizard Island, a secluded island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, as part of a research grant from The Hermon Slade Foundation and a fellowship from the Australian Museum. Employing the aid of researchers from James Cook University and the Australian Museum, Paris put her innovative larval monitoring system, the Orientation With No Frame Of Reference (OWNFOR) to the test. The one-of-a-kind monitoring system was designed and built at the Rosenstiel School. Paris and her colleagues from Australia were interested in gathering data on larval abilities to orientate to a permanent coral reef home as they mature. She hopes the data will help fill in the gaps left by previous larval orientation research methods. Paris holds a master's from the University of Bordeaux and earned her Ph.D. in Coastal Oceanography from SUNY Stony Brook's MSRC.
Olascoaga is currently working on the application of dynamical systems tools to various problems in geophysical fluid dynamics. Her immediate focus is on the dynamics of the toxic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, which produces harmful algal blooms (HABs) on the West Florida Shelf. Olascoaga has employed Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs) to identify a barrier that inhibits transport across the shelf. It has been hypothesized that this barrier provides favorable conditions for the development HABs by allowing for substantial nutrient build up and increases in dinoflagellate concentration on the shoreside of the barrier. The LCS technique has made it possible to trace the early development stages of a HAB, as detected in satellite imagery. Olascoaga is also using LCSs to aid in the identification of mesoscale oceanic eddies from altimetry-derived surface ocean currents. One further problem that she has been studying, which in addition to LCS theory involves the application of results relating to Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser theory, is the connection between jets, transport barriers and potential vorticity barriers in the Earth's oceans and stratosphere, and gas giants. Her work is heavily collaborative, incorporating scientists Javier Beron-Vera and Mike Brown (AMP), Huseyin Kocak (UM Math Department), Larry Brand (MBF), and Gustavo Goni (NOAA/AOML). Olascoaga earned both her master's and doctorate in Physical Oceanography from the CICESE in Ensenada, BC, Mexico. Congrats to both!
PEW PARTNERS FOR “PARADISE”
Sylvie Chantecaille, owner and founder of Chantecaille Beauté, was born in France and is a devoted environmentalist and successful international businesswoman. She co-founded the Prescriptives cosmetics line for Estée Lauder and then started her own exclusive brand, which has soared to success and is a popular choice of celebrities and models alike. Her Chantecaille products are sold in high-end retail stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. http://www.pewoceanscience.org/chantecaille
|
|
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the creation of five new Centers of Excellence nationwide. The Centers will study border security and immigration; explosives detection, mitigation and response; maritime, island and port security; natural disasters, coastal infrastructure and emergency management; and transportation security.
CSTARS will serve as a key partner to the Stevens Institute of Technology in acquiring images that will help strengthen port security and increase maritime domain awareness. Working collaboratively with Steven, Rutgers and other schools, CSTARS will be able to make significant contributions to research that will benefit the nation's maritime security infrastructure, and help to safeguard human lives.
According to Stevens' Provost & University Vice President George P. Korfiatis, working with its partners, he anticipates that the team will break new ground in the integrated use of multi-scale sensors and computer simulation, as well as forecasting models to equip port security and first-responder communities with the technologies and processes needed to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the Marine transportation System (MTS), which is responsible for the vast majority of the nation's international commerce. This recognition of CSTARS comes on the heels of a visit by Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who presented a federal appropriations check for $2 million to UM President Donna E. Shalala, UM Rosenstiel School Dean Dr. Otis Brown, and CSTARS Co-Directors Drs. Hans Graber and Tim Dixon.
“This money keeps us on the cutting-edge of technology,” said Shalala, who called Diaz-Balart a “true champion” of CSTARS. “UM's investment is in the scientists who use the facility.”
Since its launch in 2003, the center has received more than $14 million in federal appropriations. CSTARS has expanded its capabilities and now provides directly down-linked, high-resolution data for environmental monitoring of the Gulf of Mexico, Southeastern United States, northern South America, Central America and the Caribbean Basin. It also furnishes a reliable communications channel for researchers stationed at the Antarctic Southpole Research Station, connecting them via VoIP (Voice over the Internet Protocol), and providing electronic medical file transfers, when required.
SCIENTISTS & STUDENTS TAKE |
||
If you thought normal in-flight safety training sessions were a pain to get through, take a look at this! A group of Rosenstiel professors, students, and a handful of AOML personnel took part in a two-day, classroom and pool training course this February. Designed to teach flight participants about the physiological effects on the human body while flying in an airplane or pressurized cabin, attendees learned safety measures in the event of a crash, and how to use the aircraft's available equipment to survive.
Students also learned how to pack a personal survival kit, and were given pool demonstrations before being offered the chance to practice with Winslow life rafts, HEEDS bottles, Switliks, and a Shallow Water Egress Trainer (SWET) chair. In 2006, NOAA determined that anyone flying on a NOAA aircraft or a NOAA-chartered aircraft, including the P3 or G4 airplanes typically used to study hurricanes, need to have Aviation Safety Training. Training is good for five years. For more information on NOAA Aviation Safety and the Aviation Safety Policy, visit: http://www.omao.noaa.gov/aviationsafety/index.html
|
||
Above, (clockwise) Sundararaman Gopalakrishnan (NOAA/AOML), Erica Rule (NOAA/AOML), Jodi Brewster (MPO), Benjamin Jaimes (MPO), Sylvie Lorosolo (NOAA/AOML), and Alexander Lowag (UM/MPO) practice huddling together to keep warm after a crash. |
2008 OCEANS DAY IN TALLAHASSEE
Early this month, the Rosenstiel School was represented at the State Capitol building in Tallahassee, Fla. as part of annual Florida Oceans Day. The event recognizes those dedicated to making the Sunshine State's oceans and coasts cleaner, healthier and more productive. The theme of this year's celebration was “Ocean Technology: Protecting Florida's Oceans/Sustaining Florida's Economy.”
Outreach Coordinator, Laura Bracken, represented the School to educators, legislators, community members, and others with a new information booth. The booth highlighted several areas of marine research, including coral reefs, Little Salt Spring, CSTARS, the R/V Walton Smith, and current projects from all six of our academic divisions.
Other organizations represented at Oceans Day were the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, the Florida Aquarium, FSU, FIT, FIO, FAU, UF, and a diverse collection of smaller research institutions and environmental organizations.
With the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, Florida is home to 41 aquatic preserves, three of the nation's National Estuarine Research Reserves, the Coral Reef Conservation Program and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, one of the largest underwater protected areas in the world.
FLORIDA RED TIDE DOCUMENTARY FEATURES FLEMING
A new documentary focused on Florida red tide -- its prevalence, distribution, and methods of prediction for future events in and around Florida's Gulf Coast - features Dr. Lora Fleming. The only board-certified Occupational and Environmental Medicine Physician and Epidemiologist in South Florida, she provided valuable insight and research expertise to the producers of “Guardians of the Gulf.”
Fleming, a scientist at the NSF/NIEHS Oceans and Human Health Center, is working closely with other Rosenstiel researchers to create educational materials concerning the human health effects of marine and freshwater natural toxins. She has performed research in Ciguatera fish poisoning, Florida red tides (Brevetoxins) and the application of GIS to the Marine and Freshwater Toxin Diseases. Her current research projects involve the study of human health effects of aerosolized red tide toxins, a study of the possible acute health effects associated with exposure to surface drinking waters contaminated by blue green algal toxins, and the development of K-12 environmental health curriculum materials.
"Guardians of the Gulf," has been selected for screening at the 2008 Sarasota Film Festival on Monday, April 7 at 5:45 p.m., and on Tuesday, April 8 at 1:45 pm. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.sarasotafilmfestival.com. You may also be interested in reading further about the "Guardians" documentary on-line at the SFF web site, as well.
FACILITIES UPDATE
The Rosenstiel School hosted the official grand opening of its new chiller plant on March 6. The new plant has resulted in an average of 30% in energy savings since January 1, 2008. This milestone was commemorated with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by representatives from to Trane, Hill York, and other community partners, as well as UM Provost Thomas J. LeBlanc, UM Associate Vice President for Budget & Planning Mark Diaz and Rosenstiel School Dean Otis B. Brown, Ph.D.
The two new chiller units cool and circulate water to air handling units or fan coils where the chilled water is converted to cool air. The cooled air is then supplied to the nearly 300,000 square feet of research laboratories, classrooms, and administrative offices that comprise the Rosenstiel School campus on Biscayne Bay.
Hill York's teams totally removed the School's antiquated, less efficient ammonia ice plant, and installed two new energy efficient Trane Centrifugal Chiller systems -- all while keeping the campus' cooling system online and working. The team had to recover 3,000 pounds of ammonia refrigerant and 6,000 gallons of glycol, and remove ice storage tanks, evaporative condensers and compressors, and 6,000 pounds of glycol. In order to perform this task without affecting the University's production schedule, Hill York installed a temporary generator, and FPL later installed a 1,500 KW transformer to make round-the-clock air conditioning available to the buildings.
With the assistance of experienced contractors, the preparation work that set the stage for the chiller installation was executed flawlessly. In honor of their work, a plaque was installed in the chiller plant with the names of all of the men and women who worked on the project.
Isabel Hebert from Florida Power & Light was on hand to present the Provost with a rebate check for $7,070 as part of FPL's Chiller Rebate Program. Food for the event was generously provided by Trane, and the steel drum band was supplied by Rosenstiel Facilities Management.
During his remarks, Provost LeBlanc thanked UM Assistant Vice President of Facilities Management, Joe Folino and Rosenstiel Director of Facilities Management Ray Alfonso, who spearheaded the project, as well as the entire facilities team at the Rosenstiel School for managing this project with such precision. He also recognized the project for coming in on time and under budget, which he assured those assembled was something he definitely thought was an accomplishment.
Congratulations to all who made the installation and the event a success! People working on the project include:
Hill York Moody Electric DDC |
Chem-Aqua Scharnagl Construction On the Spot Demolition Coral Gables Plumbing United Rental Newcomb & Boyd |
Rosenstiel School Trane Florida Lemark |
PHOTO DIARY: CHILLIN' AT ROSENSTIEL
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
PROVOST AWARD TO BE PRESENTED TO PETER GLYNN
Dr. Peter Glynn, an MBF professor at the Rosenstiel School was selected to receive the 2007-2008 Provost's Award for Scholarly Activity. The award recognizes extraordinary research and scholarly pursuits, and provides the recipient with a cash award toward continued research support. This marks the second time Glynn, who received the award when it was first introduced by Provost Luis Glaser in 1996, will receive this honor. The award will be presented to Glynn by current UM Provost Thomas LeBlanc at a luncheon.
Since the early 1980's Glynn's research has focused on coral reef disturbance ecology in the equatorial eastern Pacific (Panama, Galapagos Islands, and Easter Island). He documented the causative relationship between El Niño-Southern Oscillation ocean warming events and the coral bleaching and death that result. This work laid the foundation for current studies that link coral reef degradation globally with climate change. His current research concentrates on bio-erosion (the biological erosion of dead reef formations), coral reproduction and recruitment, coral reef recovery, and the effects of these processes on reef biodiversity.
Before joining the Rosenstiel School's MBF Division, Glynn served as a biologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for more than 15 years. In 1981 and 1983 he was a visiting professor at the University of Guam and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, respectively. Prior to joining the Smithsonian he held various academic positions at the Institute of Marine Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. He began his career at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography on a NORPAC summer cruise, and then was a teaching assistant at both UCLA and his alma mater, Stanford University.
Through the years, Glynn has received many awards and accolades, including the Bureau Director's Award for Research, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (1976), the Charles Darwin Medal, International Society for Reef Studies (1992) and the Sigma Xi Scientist-of-the-Year Medal, University of Miami (1996), among others. He is a member of the University of Miami's Iron Arrow Honor Society, class of 2006.
LIBRARY LINES
Experimental library tools now on trial
Bravo! A new look for IBISWEB called ENCORE. Also try Multisearch to find the right database for your literature search.
Look for the ENCORE and Multisearch tabs at the following testbed: http://www.library.miami.edu/test/
Give these search tools a test drive and please let us know what you think. Your input will help to guide future upgrades to the system. The website for the survey is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=HVxwoUH7H45x6PTYsODBng_3d_3d
Coming soon: EndNoteWeb Training
Angela Clark will demonstrate how to use EndNoteWeb in the Library's Map & Chart Room. Watch for announcements of date and time. This web-based software is used for organizing your references, linking references to .pdf's and creating reference lists for papers.
Library Announcements
Want to be “in the know” about new library services, resources and developments? Send your email address to libcirc@rsmas.miami.edu and we will add you to our distribution list for updates and announcements.
ALUMNI IN ACTION
Coming Soon:
Corals & Cocktails. The alumni association is working on a Rosenstiel School mini-reunion at the upcoming International Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale. More details to come!
ALUMNI NEWS
The Rosenstiel School Alumni mini-reunion held March 3, 2008 at the recent ASLO-AGU-TOS Ocean Sciences Meeting in Orlando, Fla., was a resounding success. The event was co-hosted by former Rosenstiel Alumni Association President Mitch Roffer (MBF '87) and marine and atmospheric chemistry professor, Rod Zika. An estimated 15-20 alumni attended, including many faculty and alumni family members. People traveled from as far away as California (Doug Capone, MBF ‘79; Linda Dugay, MBF ‘80; Jerome Fiechter, AMP ‘07), the Virgin Islands (Tyler Smith, MBF ‘05) and Puerto Rico (Jorge Corriedor, MBF ‘78) to attend. Lisa Robbins (MGG ‘87), John Brown (MPO ‘07), Denis Frazel (MBF Post Doc '90-92, CIMAS Res Assoc, ‘90-‘93), and Charles "Chuck" Messing (MBF ‘80), and Eric Chassignet (MPO ‘88) who is currently a professor at FSU, also attended.
"It was fun getting a chance to talk to some of our former students and find out how things have worked out for them and reminisce about old times,” said Rod Zika. “We definitely want to do this again!"
The Rosenstiel Alumni Association would like to extend a huge thank you to Rod and Mitch for hosting the event. Keep looking for notices about our other alumni functions at science meetings - we love the opportunity to catch up with our fellow alumni!
LAST WORD
“It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist to discard a pet hypothesis every day before breakfast. It keeps him young.”
--- Konrad Lorenz (1903 - 1989)
This issue of Soundings brought to you by..
Contributors
Ray Alfonso
Laura Bracken
Jodi Brewster
Kathryn Cervino
Lisa Fish
Maria Josefina Olascoaga
Claire Paris-Limouzy
Nancy Voss
Copyright © University
of Miami 1994-2008
All rights Reserved.
View the Privacy
Statement