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ASET News, Fall 06/07
Faculty
research highlights for December 2006 and January 2007:
USM's Office of Sponsored Programs reports the following
research awards to ASET faculty members:
Lewis Incze, research
professor in the Department of Environmental Science, for
MDMR-NEC Shrimp Final Report, Maine Department of Marine
Resources (R&D) and GMRI-NEC Shrimp Final Report,
Gulf of Maine Research Institute (R&D);
Samantha Langley-Turnbaugh, professor in the
Department of Environmental Science for AccessComputering
Alliance, University of Washington; and together with
Glenn Wilson, associate professor in the Department of
Technology for Advancing the Accessibility of GLOBE
Protocols, Maine Space Grant Consortium; Stephen
Peluse, associate professor in the Department of Applied
Medical Science for The Role of Ttc7 in SLE Pathogenesis,
Lupus Research Institute (R&D); Karen Wilson,
assistant research professor in the Department of
Environmental Science, together with T. Willis of the
Biosciences Institute of Southern Maine for Enhancement
of aquatic science educational facilities and curriculum in
the Department of Environmental Science, Dorr Foundation
(R&D); and John Wise, professor in the Department of
Applied Medical Science for NSF EPSCoR Forest Bioproducts
Research, Maine Science Foundation EPSCoR Program (R&D).
Maine Science Corps
Follow this link to find out
some of what our Applied Medical Sciences faculty and
student researchers are doing with high schoolers in Maine.
http://research.usm.maine.edu/Maine_ScienceCorps
Computer science demystified
by Charles Welty, Professor
and Chair, Department of Computer Science
The Department of Computer Science at
the University of Southern Maine offers a four-year program
leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science.
Computer science courses concern the practice and the theory
of solving problems by computer. More specifically, computer
scientists build and analyze tools that allow complex
problems to be solved. A component of computer science is
the study and use of various programming languages, but
computer science consists of much more than programming.
The focus of the Computer Science
program is software design, that is, how you design and
build software to serve a purpose. Students will also have
courses available to them in the areas of databases,
graphics, artificial intelligence, robotics, operating
systems and computer networks. The mathematical theory of
computer science aids in determining the efficiency and
correctness of algorithms and programs. In addition, a
computer scientist must understand how computers are built
and operate. The systematic application of general methods
and computing technology to actual problems is the essence
of Computer Science.
The undergraduate degree in computer
science prepares students both for careers in the computing
profession and for graduate study. Course requirements
ensure that students receive instruction in both practical
and theoretical aspects of computer science. The B.S. degree
in computer science is accredited by the Computing
Accreditation Commission (CAC) of the Accreditation Board
for Engineering and Technology.
The Computer Science Department is
completely housed in the Science Building on the Portland
Campus.
Preparing to major in Computer
Science
Students should have taken high school
courses in chemistry, physics, and mathematics through
algebra and trigonometry. Courses in English are also very
important. A computer scientist must not only be able to
communicate with computers but must also be able to
communicate with people.
Jobs in Computer Science
The present job market in for
graduates with a B.S. in Computer Science is very good. Our
graduates can choose to work in a variety of locales. Many
opt to stay in Maine. Others have gone to California,
Arizona, Tennessee and, of course, Massachusetts.
Computer Science graduates are
qualified to take a variety of jobs. Some may work in the
computer industry itself, at companies like Apple and Sun
Microsystems. Other graduates work in a variety of
businesses from the highly technical ones such as DeLorme
Mapping, Fairchild Semiconductor, National Semiconductor,
and IDEXX Labs. Still others work in a more
business-oriented environment such as Unum-Provident,
Hannaford's, and Wright Express.
Rewards of majoring in Computer
Science
Computer science graduates are among
the highest paid of any field. But, there are additional
rewards. Actually building systems that people use and that
make a person's life easier (or more fun) is a large reward.
Since Computer Science is a pretty rigorous major, graduates
also have a deserved sense of accomplishment.
You will also be working in an
industry that is key to the success of our nation's economy.
The United States remains the main provider of computer
software to the world.
What about outsourcing?
Much has been written in the press
about the outsourcing of computer jobs to other nations.
This is happening but affects only a few percent of jobs in
computing. A continued active Computer Science community in
the United States will guarantee our continued preeminence
in this field.
Dr. Welty can be reached at
207-780-4240, or
welty@usm.maine.edu.
ASET faculty research
highlights for November:
November 2006:
USM's
Office of Sponsored Programs reports the following research
awards to an ASET faculty members:
John Wise,
Department of Applied Medical
Sciences, ASET. The Aquatic Research Consortium: An
Environmental Toxicogenomic Approach to Small Aquarium fish
Models 06/07, Texas State University - San Marcos (R&D)
Scientific
Ballooning Takes Off at USM
 October
25, 2006, Department of Engineering: Suppose you wanted
a weather balloon to carry a scientific payload to an
altitude above 99 percent of the atmosphere and you wanted
to communicate with the balloon and do aerial photography
from the balloon, and then recover the payload fifty miles
away. A group of USM students, the Scientific Ballooning
Club is working to do all those things. Formed in September,
the group has established the Space Science Operations
Laboratory in the John Mitchell Center on the USM Gorham
campus. Funding from the Maine Space Grant Consortium is
being used to set up the laboratory, to purchase
communications equipment and to launch the group.
The Student
Branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers has adopted this project as one of their
activities for the year. This is not just an engineering
activity, though. A flight operations team will deal with
everything needed to get the aircraft into the air and keep
it there, and to staff the Mission Control Center during
launch, flight and recovery. The payload team will ensure
that all parts of the aircraft are designed, built and
tested. The recovery team is responsible for
telecommunications and the physical recovery of the payload
after it parachutes to the earth, possibly in a remote area.
Training the teams and managing the overall project falls to
the mission management team.
Students and faculty in all majors are
invited to participate. There is something for everyone to
do, a role for everyone to play. Teamwork, solving problems,
meeting and overcoming challenges, and having fun are all
part of this intriguing and challenging project. Scientific
payloads are sought across the campus. For more information,
contact the coach, Mark Ford (marcus@feathermark.org)
or faculty advisor Brian Hodgkin (hodgkin@usm.maine.edu),
780-5582.
Electrical
Engineering student Michael Seitz hangs a prototype payload.
ASET Student
Groups reorganize for the new academic year
September 2006: Trade organizations in nearly every professional field offer
student chapters an opportunity to be engaged in their field
while studying and earning their undergraduate and graduate
degrees. Learn about student organizations in Computer
Science, Engineering and Environmental Science at
www.usm.maine.edu/aset/studentgroups.htm. Inquiries
about starting new student chapters at USM can be directed
to any ASET department office, or by contacting the Office
of the Dean at 207-780-5585, or by e-mail at
asetdean@usm.maine.edu.
ASET faculty research
highlights:
September 2006:
USM's
Office of Sponsored Programs reports the following research
awards to ASET faculty members:
S. Monroe
Duboise, Ah-Kau Ng & Stephen Pelsue,
Department of Applied Medical
Sciences, ASET. Sustaining the Maine ScienceCorps:
Collaborative Integration of Research Experiences and Active
Learning into Bioscience Education, National Science
Foundation (R&D); W. Doug Thompson,
Department of Applied Medical
Sciences. A
Regional Multi-Institutional Academic Partnership for
Excellence in Environmental Public Health Tracking,
University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (R&D).
Karen Wilson,
Department of Environmental Science, Ecological Role of
Adult and Juvenile Anadromous Forage Fish in Downeast Maine
Estuaries: Sea-run Alewife and Groundfish Predators,
Northeast Consortium (R&D); Independent Contract for
Video Equipment Purchase, Northeast Consortium (R&D);
and Sherman Marsh Restoration & Monitoring: a
Serendipitous Opportunity, The Nature Conservancy (R&D).
August 2006: USM's
Office of Sponsored Programs reports the following research
awards to ASET faculty members:
Brian
C. Hodgkin,
Department of Engineering. Space Hardware Conference:
Bring Scientific Ballooning to Maine, Maine Space Grant
Consortium (R&D)
March 2006: USM's
Office of Sponsored Programs reports the following research
awards to ASET faculty members: a new extramural award to
Glenn Wilson, Department of Technology, Think Blue,
Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund (R&D); a continuing award to
Doug Thompson, Department of Applied Medical Sciences,
Chronic Disease and Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology
Capacity Building, Maine Department of Health & Human
Services (R&D); and new faculty senate research awards to
Ah Kau Ng, Department of Applied Medical Sciences, The Role
of Osteopontin in Cancers; and Stephen Pelsue,
Department of Applied Medical Sciences, Expression and
Localization of the Ttc7 Gene in B Cells.
Computer science professor reviews proposals to the NIH
March 1, 2006:
Bruce MacLeod, associate
professor of computer science, has been invited to review
proposals at the National Institute of Health Conference in
Washington, DC in March, 2006 under the Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The SBIR is a set-aside
program for domestic small business concerns to engage in
Research/Research and Development R/R&D) that has the
potential for commercialization.
Dr. MacLeod has been instrumental in
developing the HRS (Household Registration System) software
system that allows health researchers and demographers to
construct data monitoring systems for longitudinal studies
of populations. His research has included intensive work
with overseas organizations including the British Medical
Research Council, the Farafenni research site in Gambia, and
the Hanoi School of Public Health in Vietnam. The latest
overseas site that Dr. MacLeod has been working with is the
School of Public Health at the University of Kampala,
Uganda.
Having developed an international
reputation in the field, Dr. MacLeod's work includes
projects involving computer science research and
development, contributing to important health research
problems in the developing world. He primarily reviews
proposals that cross the boundaries between computer science
and health, and has done this for the NIH several times for
the past two years.
News from Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic
Toxicology:
In September, 2005, Dr. John Wise traveled to Patagonia
on the Atlantic coast of southern Argentina to meet
colleagues from Ocean Alliance, who are conducting a
long-term study of the Southern Right Whale. The Southern
population of Right Whales is much larger and enjoying
greater reproductive success than the Northern Right Whales,
which are considered endangered because of environmental
hazards that include entanglement in fishing gear.
Dr. Wise consulted with colleagues from several
international whale advocacy groups and carried supplies for
the field station to use in collecting tissue samples from
whales. He was able to visit the whales by boat as they
nursed their young and witness the harmless collection of
biopsies from the whales. This resulted in valuable samples
of whale skin and blubber returning to the Wise Laboratory
at USM, where they are cultured to develop a resource of
cells for testing, and where they can be evaluated for the
presence of a number of environmental pollutants.
Patagonia is a wild and remote place where a diversity of
wildlife is protected and appreciated. Large populations of
Elephant Seals, Southern Right Whales, penguins and sea
birds populate the area. Dr. Wise hopes that these
connections will continue to be useful to his program and
that he will be able to make another trip. Visit the
Wise
Laboratory on the Web.
Advanced Seminar Series in Biomedical Science
This week's Advanced
Seminar in Biomedical Science (AMS 691) is Thursday, 1/26/06 at 2:00 PM
in Rm 7 in the Science Building on the Portland
campus. The speaker will be Joseph Lynch, Doctoral
Student in Wise Laboratory. The title of her his will be
"Soluble Depleted Uranium Induced Neoplastic Transformation
of Human Lung Epithelial Cells" For more
information about this seminar, or about the series, contact
Deborah Schock in the the Department of Applied Medical
Sciences, 207-780-8250 or
dschock@usm.maine.edu.
NEWSFLASH!
Mechanical
Engineering at USM
Jan 23, 2006: The University of Maine System Board
of Trustees has approved the new USM Bachelor of Science
in Mechanical Engineering degree program. Students
currently enrolled and who are interested in the new program
may change majors to Mechanical Engineering immediately.
Applications for admission into the new program for the Fall
2006 semester are being accepted.
More information...
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