The following post was written by one of my fabulous student writers Sarah Grant, who has been working with eCorridors on its first ever consumer driven broadband mapping campaign, Accelerate Virginia. The story is mainly directed at college students, but it applies to all of us who like getting stuff done online. Check it out and please run a speed test at http://www.acceleratevirginia.org/
Reprinted from Accelerate Virginia (http://acceleratevirginia.org/news_room/articles/holiday_break.php)
Hark! Students to Accelerate Virginia by testing their Internet speed this holiday break
By Sarah Grant
BLACKSBURG - While winter break brings a welcome reprieve from the demands of schoolwork and exams, it can also bring frustrations to those of us who must leave our lightning fast college Internet connections and return home to broadband dead zones. The irony of finally having the time to stream TV shows or play online games only to be obstructed by a slow Internet connection is disheartening.
Unfortunately, many areas of our state have limited or nonexistent access to broadband. This may only be a minor inconvenience for some (e.g., missing out on catching up on 30 Rock and having to bake Christmas cookies with your Aunt Rita instead), but it has major implications for many. Inadequate broadband services hold back many Virginia communities' economic growth since jobs that require broadband are expected to increase much more quickly than others over the next ten years.
The Accelerate Virginia campaign is working to increase awareness of the power of broadband and identify areas where access to broadband is limited or not available at all. The campaign is asking college students going home for the holidays to take a speed test of their own and then encourage their friends and family to do the same. Patrick Fay communications manager for Accelerate Virginia said, "We are asking everyone in Virginia with an Internet connection to participate by taking a speed test. And by passing the word on to their friends and family, in person or by Facebook and Twitter, students in the state can really make an impact."
Whether you have a broadband connection at home or not, please visit http://acceleratevirginia.org/speedtest/ to run a brief Internet speed test. Your input will help the campaign to create an accurate map of broadband availability in Virginia that will highlight localities that are in need of broadband infrastructure investment.
Participation in the campaign will also help you to identify alternatives to your existing Internet connection. After completing the speed test, you will receive a detailed review of your broadband connection and a summary of what others in your community are reporting about their service, including provider names, connection types, speed averages, and satisfaction ratings.
Increased access to broadband throughout Virginia will benefit all of us by facilitating economic growth. This translates to increased employment for our communities and more job opportunities for us when we graduate. Please remember to run a speed test over the holidays and encourage your family members and friends to do the same.
Sara Grant, a junior from Blacksburg, Va., majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, is a writer for the Accelerate Virginia campaign.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Research identifies risks from natural hazards
Story reprinted from Virginia Tech website (see original article)
BLACKSBURG, Va., – Floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires are a few examples of the natural hazards that impact Virginia every year. These hazards pose a threat to human life, societal function, and can cause millions of dollars in property damages in a single year.
Tornadoes caused major damage in Suffolk, Va., in April 2008. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) organizes efforts to protect the public, coordinating disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. The Virginia Tech Center for Geospatial Information Technology (CGIT) has recently completed work with VDEM to produce the latest revision to the 2010 Virginia Standard and Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Mandated by the National Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, the hazard mitigation plan serves to identify and profile natural hazards throughout the commonwealth and suggests strategies to help limit their impact. The plan is required in order for states to qualify for various types of hazard mitigation grant funds.
This map, created for the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment portion of the hazard mitigation plan, identifies historic tornado touchdowns and tracks between 1950 and 2006. This data is used to ascertain future risk of tornados across Virginia. Most of CGIT’s work involves the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) portion of the hazard mitigation plan, which provides the factual basis upon which mitigation strategies are founded. The HIRA identifies natural hazards applicable to Virginia, quantifies their relative significance, and determines which parts of the state are at greater risk. In addition, the HIRA identifies state owned/operated facilities and other critical facilities that are at risk.
To provide the basis for mitigation strategies, CGIT investigated and compiled data in a variety of natural hazard subject areas. Some of this data already existed in a geospatial format that was used directly in the plan. However, some of the required data only existed in pieces, or not in a geospatial format at all. This non-geospatial data included tables of historical occurrences, which were analyzed to determine overall trends in probability and severity across the state.
Graduate assistants and interns at CGIT have a distinct advantage in particular. These individuals possess unique perspectives, fresh creativity, and often challenge preexisting ideas. “Our students provide new ways to look at these old problems. Together we move ahead, beyond what we knew before,” said Thomas Dickerson, project associate at CGIT.
Through the use of advanced geospatial information systems, CGIT researchers are able to take complex data from various sources and make sense of it. This information can then be used to correlate risks and their impact on the state. This approach delves into each subject area to ensure that the most relevant sources are being utilized.
“In working with various researchers on campus, we are continually challenging ourselves to consider totally different data sources and bring them together into a geospatial environment,” Dickerson said. “We can look at them on a map, virtual globe, and share this information broadly.
On the local scale, CGIT and the 3-D Blacksburg Collaborative are developing a virtual globe map of the Virginia Tech campus, which includes 3-D renderings of buildings and trees. Safety and converged security, emergency management, threat assessment, accessibility, and many other critical-use cases can utilize an array of geospatial tools and processes to leverage the data infrastructure and information model.
CGIT is developing geospatial tools and resources for safety, security, and community resilience. This demonstration of true 3-D GIS analytical tools developed by CGIT allows for complex viewshed scenarios and simulations. CGIT is also active on an international scale through a newly established connection with the International Charter Space and Major Disasters, a collaboration among space agencies from around the world. Sforza has recently joined the charter’s network of project managers.
To manage large disasters, the charter makes use of data collected by orbiting space satellites, promoting cooperation among space agencies to support humanitarian relief efforts around the world. “When disasters such as the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and Tropical Storm Hubert in Madagascar take place, charter member agencies supply important information about these events’ impact and scope,” Sforza said.
Project managers, including Sforza, are trained to handle the distribution and processing of images and information needed by end users assisting in response work. This group is made up of remote sensing and emergency management experts from emergency operations centers, universities, other government agencies, United Nations agencies, and volunteer organizations.
“Virginia Tech’s research community will have a greater role in disaster response efforts as a result of this involvement, thus helping emergency managers worldwide deal with a variety of natural and man-made disasters in Virginia and beyond,” Sforza said.
For more information on this topic, contact Patrick Fay at (540) 231-8490.
BLACKSBURG, Va., – Floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires are a few examples of the natural hazards that impact Virginia every year. These hazards pose a threat to human life, societal function, and can cause millions of dollars in property damages in a single year.
Tornadoes caused major damage in Suffolk, Va., in April 2008.Mandated by the National Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, the hazard mitigation plan serves to identify and profile natural hazards throughout the commonwealth and suggests strategies to help limit their impact. The plan is required in order for states to qualify for various types of hazard mitigation grant funds.
This map, created for the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment portion of the hazard mitigation plan, identifies historic tornado touchdowns and tracks between 1950 and 2006. This data is used to ascertain future risk of tornados across Virginia.To provide the basis for mitigation strategies, CGIT investigated and compiled data in a variety of natural hazard subject areas. Some of this data already existed in a geospatial format that was used directly in the plan. However, some of the required data only existed in pieces, or not in a geospatial format at all. This non-geospatial data included tables of historical occurrences, which were analyzed to determine overall trends in probability and severity across the state.
'New ways' to look at existing problems
As a center of research at Virginia Tech made up of research staff, graduate students and student interns, CGIT continues to offer broad GIS expertise and perspective to the planning process.Graduate assistants and interns at CGIT have a distinct advantage in particular. These individuals possess unique perspectives, fresh creativity, and often challenge preexisting ideas. “Our students provide new ways to look at these old problems. Together we move ahead, beyond what we knew before,” said Thomas Dickerson, project associate at CGIT.
Thomas Dickerson, project associate at CGIT, views hazard data that he and his fellow researchers have compiled for the Virginia Standard and Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan.
“In working with various researchers on campus, we are continually challenging ourselves to consider totally different data sources and bring them together into a geospatial environment,” Dickerson said. “We can look at them on a map, virtual globe, and share this information broadly.
Safety, security, and community resilience
In addition to its work with hazard mitigation, the center can also provide geospatial tools and resources for safety, security, and community resilience. Under the leadership of Brenda van Gelder, director of converged technologies for security, safety and resilience; and CGIT co-directors Peter Sforza and Kitty Hancock, a number of tools have been developed related to cyber-security, safe routing, night-time lighting, and disaster response. These efforts include local, state, and international resources.On the local scale, CGIT and the 3-D Blacksburg Collaborative are developing a virtual globe map of the Virginia Tech campus, which includes 3-D renderings of buildings and trees. Safety and converged security, emergency management, threat assessment, accessibility, and many other critical-use cases can utilize an array of geospatial tools and processes to leverage the data infrastructure and information model.
CGIT is developing geospatial tools and resources for safety, security, and community resilience. This demonstration of true 3-D GIS analytical tools developed by CGIT allows for complex viewshed scenarios and simulations.To manage large disasters, the charter makes use of data collected by orbiting space satellites, promoting cooperation among space agencies to support humanitarian relief efforts around the world. “When disasters such as the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and Tropical Storm Hubert in Madagascar take place, charter member agencies supply important information about these events’ impact and scope,” Sforza said.
Project managers, including Sforza, are trained to handle the distribution and processing of images and information needed by end users assisting in response work. This group is made up of remote sensing and emergency management experts from emergency operations centers, universities, other government agencies, United Nations agencies, and volunteer organizations.
“Virginia Tech’s research community will have a greater role in disaster response efforts as a result of this involvement, thus helping emergency managers worldwide deal with a variety of natural and man-made disasters in Virginia and beyond,” Sforza said.
For more information on this topic, contact Patrick Fay at (540) 231-8490.
Multimedia
Thursday, April 8, 2010
GIS and Remote Sensing Research Symposium this Friday
Story reprinted from Virginia Tech GIS website (see original article)
BLACKSBURG, Va., – The Office of Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing (OGIS) (http://www.ogis.org.vt.edu/) is hosting it’s annual 2010 Virginia Tech GIS and Remote Sensing Research Symposium this Friday afternoon, April 9, 2010, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm, and will be located in the Torgersen Museum, Room 1100 of Torgersen Hall. The symposium provides a venue for faculty, students, and others interested in the topic, to share information about recent advances in geographic information systems and remote sensing applications and research. Attendance is free and no preregistration is required. All active departments and centers across campus are encouraged to attend.
The symposium focuses on interaction among participants and the sharing of data, applications, and techniques. It includes presentation and poster sessions as well as keynote speaker Andrew Turner, Chief Technology Officer of FortiusOne (http://www.fortiusone.com/Company/About-Us#andrew_turner).
For additional information, abstracts, and agenda, see the OGIS website (http://www.ogis.org.vt.edu). For additional information, contact Bruce Obenhaus at obenhaus@vt.edu or 540-231-6181. This event is sponsored by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (http://www.vsgc.odu.edu)
OGIS (http://www.ogis.org.vt.edu) is an affiliation of Virginia Tech teaching and research faculty from 5 colleges, 15 departments, and the Virginia Tech Libraries who share an interest and expertise in Geospatial Information Technologies.
BLACKSBURG, Va., – The Office of Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing (OGIS) (http://www.ogis.org.vt.edu/) is hosting it’s annual 2010 Virginia Tech GIS and Remote Sensing Research Symposium this Friday afternoon, April 9, 2010, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm, and will be located in the Torgersen Museum, Room 1100 of Torgersen Hall. The symposium provides a venue for faculty, students, and others interested in the topic, to share information about recent advances in geographic information systems and remote sensing applications and research. Attendance is free and no preregistration is required. All active departments and centers across campus are encouraged to attend.
The symposium focuses on interaction among participants and the sharing of data, applications, and techniques. It includes presentation and poster sessions as well as keynote speaker Andrew Turner, Chief Technology Officer of FortiusOne (http://www.fortiusone.com/Company/About-Us#andrew_turner).
For additional information, abstracts, and agenda, see the OGIS website (http://www.ogis.org.vt.edu). For additional information, contact Bruce Obenhaus at obenhaus@vt.edu or 540-231-6181. This event is sponsored by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (http://www.vsgc.odu.edu)
OGIS (http://www.ogis.org.vt.edu) is an affiliation of Virginia Tech teaching and research faculty from 5 colleges, 15 departments, and the Virginia Tech Libraries who share an interest and expertise in Geospatial Information Technologies.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
OpenStreetMap and 3-D Blacksburg Mapping Day planned for April 10
Taken from the VT news website. (See the original post here)
Help to put Blacksburg, Virginia and the Virginia Tech campus on a map that can be shared with the world and improved by everyone! Also come and learn about the launch of a new public virtual city project - the 3D Blacksburg Collaborative.
The event will be held Saturday, April 10, 2010, from 10:00am to 4:00pm, located at 3180 Torgersen Hall, on the Virginia Tech Blacksburg Campus.
It is highly recommended that you bring a digital camera and laptop computer with you to participate. Training, GPS units, lab computers and other hardware will be provided. Additional information on this project is available at the Linux and Unix Users Group website. Contact Peter Sforza at sforza@vt.edu or (540) 231-8490.
This event is hosted by the Linux and Unix Users Group, Students for Free Culture, and the Virginia Tech Center for Geospatial Information Technology.
For more information, contact Patrick Fay at (540) 231-8490.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
FutureForward Blacksburg: New video demonstrates how Blacksburg would benefit from gigabit Internet
Story reprinted from Virginia Tech's eCorridors program page (see original article)
BLACKSBURG, Va., - Virginia Tech and the Town of Blacksburg have recently submitted a joint application named "FutureForward Blacksburg" for Google's "Think Big with a Gig" experiment to build ultra-high speed fiber to the home networks in a number of locations across the country. As part of the Town of Blacksburg's submittal, Virginia Tech Geospatial Information Sciences prepared a video that illustrates a number of applications that citizens, students, government officials, and businesses in the Town would be able to use if a gigabit Ethernet were made available to them.
Blacksburg currently has connectivity to national Tier One networks including Internet2 and National Lambda Rail; however, this high bandwidth capacity does not reach residential areas and apartment complexes. If Blacksburg is selected, Google proposes to bring gigabit fiber to the last mile, providing these users with Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.
View Video
The video demonstrates how this extremely powerful Internet access could greatly enhance the town's planning and modeling capabilities, improve emergency response communications, and enhanced long-distance medical diagnosis. Virginia Tech and the Town communities could also receive shared benefits through next generation classrooms and teaching technologies, real-time online learning atmospheres, shared virtual reality environments for research and the arts, and 3-D routing and viewshed research.
Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger is featured in the video and commented how data rich environments and just-in-time information systems will be key to the success of Virginia Tech's new college that is currently being planned. He described it as, "highly experimental and will change the paradigm for undergraduate learning... We are going to change the way in which young people go about addressing and thinking about the problems they face in the future."
In his own video response, Rick Boucher, Virginia Representative and chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's technology and Internet subcommittee, spoke in favor of Blacksburg as a location for Google's project, "Blacksburg's accomplishments are compelling proof that they will make optimal use of this extraordinary infrastructure that Google proposes to build. I urge Google to give serious, favorable consideration to Blacksburg as the location for their fiber to the home testbed project."
The "FutureForward Blacksburg" video is available for viewing on Virginia Tech's eCorridors program You Tube page. The creators of the video encourage those interested in seeing Blacksburg selected as part of this experiment to make their comments known by posting a comment on the video's page. The video can also be easily shared with other social networks by clicking the share link.
About eCorridors and Virginia Tech Geospatial Information Sciences
The mission of the eCorridors program at Virginia Tech is to facilitate and promote the ability for every person, organization, and community in Virginia and beyond to have the capability, at a reasonable cost, to produce and access high volume information and services in the networked world.
Virginia Tech Geospatial Information Sciences is a geospatial initiative of Virginia Tech, a division of Information Technology's Strategic Partnership Initiatives and applies geospatial technologies and analytical methods in the areas of research and collaboration, safety and security, community broadband, energy and sustainability, health information technology, and lowering barriers to the use of GIS tools and data.
Related stories and links:
Watch "FutureForward Blacksburg" the video at the eCorridors YouTube page (http://bit.ly/drZ6Wh)
Watch Representative Rick Boucher speak in support of Blacksburg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpFxfxiHUSI)
Virginia Tech News story - Virginia Tech, Town of Blacksburg team up to attract Google (http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2010&itemno=144)
Learn about the "Google Fiber for Communities" experiment (http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi)
Learn about the video creators at Virginia Tech GIS (http://www.gis.vt.edu/)
Test your broadband on the Virginia Tech Community Broadband Map (http://www.ecorridors.vt.edu/maps/broadbandmap.php)
BLACKSBURG, Va., - Virginia Tech and the Town of Blacksburg have recently submitted a joint application named "FutureForward Blacksburg" for Google's "Think Big with a Gig" experiment to build ultra-high speed fiber to the home networks in a number of locations across the country. As part of the Town of Blacksburg's submittal, Virginia Tech Geospatial Information Sciences prepared a video that illustrates a number of applications that citizens, students, government officials, and businesses in the Town would be able to use if a gigabit Ethernet were made available to them.
Blacksburg currently has connectivity to national Tier One networks including Internet2 and National Lambda Rail; however, this high bandwidth capacity does not reach residential areas and apartment complexes. If Blacksburg is selected, Google proposes to bring gigabit fiber to the last mile, providing these users with Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.
View Video
The video demonstrates how this extremely powerful Internet access could greatly enhance the town's planning and modeling capabilities, improve emergency response communications, and enhanced long-distance medical diagnosis. Virginia Tech and the Town communities could also receive shared benefits through next generation classrooms and teaching technologies, real-time online learning atmospheres, shared virtual reality environments for research and the arts, and 3-D routing and viewshed research.
Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger is featured in the video and commented how data rich environments and just-in-time information systems will be key to the success of Virginia Tech's new college that is currently being planned. He described it as, "highly experimental and will change the paradigm for undergraduate learning... We are going to change the way in which young people go about addressing and thinking about the problems they face in the future."
In his own video response, Rick Boucher, Virginia Representative and chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's technology and Internet subcommittee, spoke in favor of Blacksburg as a location for Google's project, "Blacksburg's accomplishments are compelling proof that they will make optimal use of this extraordinary infrastructure that Google proposes to build. I urge Google to give serious, favorable consideration to Blacksburg as the location for their fiber to the home testbed project."
The "FutureForward Blacksburg" video is available for viewing on Virginia Tech's eCorridors program You Tube page. The creators of the video encourage those interested in seeing Blacksburg selected as part of this experiment to make their comments known by posting a comment on the video's page. The video can also be easily shared with other social networks by clicking the share link.
About eCorridors and Virginia Tech Geospatial Information Sciences
The mission of the eCorridors program at Virginia Tech is to facilitate and promote the ability for every person, organization, and community in Virginia and beyond to have the capability, at a reasonable cost, to produce and access high volume information and services in the networked world.
Virginia Tech Geospatial Information Sciences is a geospatial initiative of Virginia Tech, a division of Information Technology's Strategic Partnership Initiatives and applies geospatial technologies and analytical methods in the areas of research and collaboration, safety and security, community broadband, energy and sustainability, health information technology, and lowering barriers to the use of GIS tools and data.
Related stories and links:
Watch "FutureForward Blacksburg" the video at the eCorridors YouTube page (http://bit.ly/drZ6Wh)
Watch Representative Rick Boucher speak in support of Blacksburg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpFxfxiHUSI)
Virginia Tech News story - Virginia Tech, Town of Blacksburg team up to attract Google (http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2010&itemno=144)
Learn about the "Google Fiber for Communities" experiment (http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi)
Learn about the video creators at Virginia Tech GIS (http://www.gis.vt.edu/)
Test your broadband on the Virginia Tech Community Broadband Map (http://www.ecorridors.vt.edu/maps/broadbandmap.php)
Friday, March 26, 2010
Light the Dark Fiber in Blacksburg, Virginia
There is still time to nominate Blacksburg, Virginia for Google Fiber! It only takes a few minutes to complete the nomination form.
Read more (read the original post at the Town of Blacksburg website: http://www.blacksburg.va.us/Index.aspx?page=1202)
Google Fiber for Communities
Let’s Bring Google High Speed Fiber to Blacksburg
Read more (read the original post at the Town of Blacksburg website: http://www.blacksburg.va.us/Index.aspx?page=1202)
Google Fiber for Communities
Let’s Bring Google High Speed Fiber to Blacksburg
We Need Your Help
Blacksburg and Virginia Tech have teamed up to submit a joint application for Google’s recent push to build ultra-high speed fiber networks in a number of locations across the country. If selected, Blacksburg would be the recipient of Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.
Thousands of communities will be vying for Google’s attention, so we need your help to make Blacksburg stand out among the rest.
Go to http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options today and Nominate Your Community. The application only takes a few minutes. The first step to get started is creating your own gmail account. It’s free, quick, easy, and necessary to tell Google why they should choose Blacksburg.
The following sample templates will help you fill out the application. These are just samples, please nominate Blacksburg using the online form.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
FutureForward Blacksburg
FutureForward Blacksburg, Virginia from VirginiaTechGIS on Vimeo.
Support the cause! Add comments and rate this video on the eCorridors YouTube page (Click Here)
FutureForward Blacksburg is the name of the application submitted by the Town of Blacksburg, VA to Google for their fiber to the home experiment, "Think Big with a Gig". The video was prepared by the VTGIS group at Virginia Tech during the month of March 2010 and illustrates a number of applications that citizens and businesses in the Town can use gigabit ethernet for and develop innovations around.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Are you the next Steven Spielberg? Help bring Google fiber to Blacksburg
The following story was released on Virginia Tech News March 4, 2010. Click to visit full story on
Virginia Tech News
From: Brenda van Gelder, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives
Virginia Tech News
From: Brenda van Gelder, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives
Are you the next Steven Spielberg, Coen Brother, Stanley Kubrick or Alfred Hitchcock? You can be and bring Google fiber to Blacksburg too!
Blacksburg and Virginia Tech have teamed up to submit a joint application for Google’s recent push to build ultra-high speed fiber networks in a number of locations across the country. If selected, Blacksburg would be the recipient of Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.
Thousands of communities will be vying for Google’s attention, so we need your help to make Blacksburg stand out among the rest
The Town’s application to Google needs to be creative and reflect why Blacksburg should be chosen among every other community in the country. The Town government response will include a compelling You Tube video. Whose video shall it be? Check out the submission criteria and send them your best stuff.
We also need a fun, attention grabbing title for the application. Check out the submission criteria for the naming contest as well.
Entries must be received by 8:00 am on March 15. The winning recipients will receive a $100 Downtown Blacksburg gift certificate.
For more information, contact Brenda van Gelder at (540) 231-1853.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Governor's School students experience multidisciplinary research in a whole new way
The following story was released on Virginia Tech News March 3, 2010. Click to visit full story on Virginia Tech News.
By Patrick Fay
By Patrick Fay
BLACKSBURG, Va., March 3, 2010 -- High school students from the Virginia Governor's School were recently treated to a unique experience of immersive virtual reality technology and how it is used in understanding and solving real problems facing the commonwealth and the country.
The group’s recent visit to Virginia Tech was hosted by the Center for Geospatial Information Technology and Advanced Research Computing. The students visited the VT-CAVE and attended a special presentation by Center for Geospatial Information Technology director, Peter Sforza, who demonstrated a variety of research and analysis methods applied across multiple spatial and temporal scales for a plant disease epidemic.
This complex systems example connected the scales through 3-D modeling and animation, molecular epidemiology, mathematical modeling of biotic and abiotic phenomena, remote sensing, and geospatial mapping.
“It is important that we inspire these high school students with a chance to learn first-hand about interdisciplinary research and to connect the dots between their high school education and possible future careers in research,” explains Sforza. “These encounters truly resonate with the students and builds upon their experiences in an exciting way.”
Sforza explains how immersive virtual environments afford students a glimpse into these possibilities. The VT-CAVE is a multi-person, room-sized, high-resolution, 3-D video and audio environment, which allows students, researchers and educators the opportunity to explore and learn about the relationships between properties and complex 3-D structures in many disciplines, including biology, biochemistry, architecture, veterinary medicine, fluid mechanics, interior design, art and art history, materials science and engineering.
Sforza’s example has demonstrated how this Advanced Research Computing technology can enable research and enhance the communication of complex information, and students are taking notice. “The presentation was very interesting and enlightening. The integration of two seemingly distant technologies into … a common purpose was something that I hadn't given much thought to prior to this presentation,” stated one of the visiting students. “I really enjoyed Peter Sforza talk about transformation in plants and plasmids. His map that showed the progression of temperature and seasonal changes in the U.S. and Virginia was great too,” remarked another student. “I would urge other schools should seize the opportunity to visit … It is an amazing project!”
According to Virginia’s Department of Education website, Virginia Governor’s Schools provide some of the state’s most able students academically and artistically challenging programs beyond those offered in their home schools. With the support of the Virginia Board of Education and the General Assembly, the Governor’s Schools presently include summer residential, summer regional, and academic-year programs serving more than 7,500 gifted students from all parts of the commonwealth.
The VT-CAVE project is operated by the Visual Computing Group, part of Virginia Tech’s Advanced Research Computing unit within the Office of the Vice President of Information Technology. The group provides an innovative and interdisciplinary environment to advance computational science, engineering, and technology at Virginia Tech and beyond. The Advanced Research Computing unit works closely with university research centers, with an aim towards accelerating scientific discovery. The CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) was invented at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Electronic Visualization Laboratory. CAVE is a registered trademark of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
IMAGE INFORMATION: The VT-CAVE project is operated by the Visual Computing Group, part of Virginia Tech’s Advanced Research Computing unit within the Office of the Vice President of Information Technology.
Contact Patrick Fay at pfay08@vt.edu or (540) 231-5624.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Blacksburg, VT team up to attract Google Internet speeds 100x faster than what most Americans have access to today
The following is an edited version of the announcement by Virginia Tech News and the Town of Blacksburg dated March 2, 2010. Click to visit full story on Virginia Tech News. This holds interesting prospects for High Speed internet.
Town of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech Team Up To Attract Google
Blacksburg and Virginia Tech have teamed up to submit a joint application for Google’s recent push to build ultra-high speed fiber networks in a number of locations across the country. If selected, Blacksburg would be the recipient of Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.
"Blacksburg was the first community in the world, through the Blacksburg Electronic Village, to explore how the internet could transform business, education, and community interaction," said Ron Rordam, Mayor of Blacksburg. “More than fifteen years later, we now have a population of citizens, university faculty and students who have demonstrated innovation and creativity as network producers, not just consumers, of high bandwidth applications and services. We believe this is exactly what Google is looking for with their gigabit to the home test bed project, and we are committed to working in partnership with them if Blacksburg is selected."
The local project team is calling on the community for their help. There are two steps to completing the Google Request for Information (RFI), the government response and the community response. Both are due by March 26, 2010. Residents, artists, businesses and community organizations are asked to fill out a short online form by visiting http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options and clicking on “Nominate Your Community”.
The form requires a name, city and state, and a paragraph or more explaining why you would like to have Google locate in Blacksburg. Reasons could include the need for increased broadband access for business, education, arts, entertainment, telemedicine, emergency services, etc. Aside from the current benefits a community such as Blacksburg could enjoy, Google is particularly interested in creative thinking and next generation ideas. A sample template response can be found at blacksburg.gov/google.
The community form includes optional fields that ask about broadband connections. Respondents can easily run a speed test on their connection by using the Virginia Tech Community Broadband Map found at http://www.ecorridors.vt.edu/maps/broadbandmap.php . The speed test will allow respondents to immediately obtain some of the information that can be used to fill in the Google form.
There is also an opportunity for the community to participate in a You Tube video contest and an application naming contest. The winning recipient of each will receive a $100 Downtown Blacksburg Gift Certificate. Details of the competition can be found at blacksburg.gov/google .
For additional information contact:
Brenda van Gelder
Director, Strategic Partnership Initiatives
Office of the Vice President for Information Technology
Virginia Tech
bvgelder@vt.edu
540-231-1853
Steve Jones
Director of Technology
Town of Blacksburg
sjones@blacksburg.gov
540-558-0726
Town of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech Team Up To Attract Google
Blacksburg and Virginia Tech have teamed up to submit a joint application for Google’s recent push to build ultra-high speed fiber networks in a number of locations across the country. If selected, Blacksburg would be the recipient of Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.
"Blacksburg was the first community in the world, through the Blacksburg Electronic Village, to explore how the internet could transform business, education, and community interaction," said Ron Rordam, Mayor of Blacksburg. “More than fifteen years later, we now have a population of citizens, university faculty and students who have demonstrated innovation and creativity as network producers, not just consumers, of high bandwidth applications and services. We believe this is exactly what Google is looking for with their gigabit to the home test bed project, and we are committed to working in partnership with them if Blacksburg is selected."
The local project team is calling on the community for their help. There are two steps to completing the Google Request for Information (RFI), the government response and the community response. Both are due by March 26, 2010. Residents, artists, businesses and community organizations are asked to fill out a short online form by visiting http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options
The form requires a name, city and state, and a paragraph or more explaining why you would like to have Google locate in Blacksburg. Reasons could include the need for increased broadband access for business, education, arts, entertainment, telemedicine, emergency services, etc. Aside from the current benefits a community such as Blacksburg could enjoy, Google is particularly interested in creative thinking and next generation ideas. A sample template response can be found at blacksburg.gov/google.
The community form includes optional fields that ask about broadband connections. Respondents can easily run a speed test on their connection by using the Virginia Tech Community Broadband Map found at http://www.ecorridors.vt.edu/maps/broadbandmap.php
There is also an opportunity for the community to participate in a You Tube video contest and an application naming contest. The winning recipient of each will receive a $100 Downtown Blacksburg Gift Certificate. Details of the competition can be found at blacksburg.gov/google
For additional information contact:
Brenda van Gelder
Director, Strategic Partnership Initiatives
Office of the Vice President for Information Technology
Virginia Tech
bvgelder@vt.edu
540-231-1853
Steve Jones
Director of Technology
Town of Blacksburg
sjones@blacksburg.gov
540-558-0726
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