Fall 2006/07

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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