Gregory David Bothun - US grants

This project, by a group of outstanding young observational astronomers, aims at an understanding of the properties of extremely faint galaxies. These objects dominate the universe in terms of numbers, although their contribution to the total mass is poorly known. Indeed, most of our knowledge of star formation in external galaxies, and of galaxy properties in general has come from studies of systems which may not be typical. These workers will explore the properties of these much more numerous objects by both optical and radio means. Preliminary work by these investigators has already resulted in the discovery of the two largest, most gas-rich spiral galaxies known, both systems of very low surface brightness.

Modern equipment will substantially enhance the nature of undergraduate Astronomy observing labs at the introductory level. It is absolutely vital to update antiquated equipment so that Astronomy is not perceived as an old, drab science without innovation. The project centers on student use of modern light detectors (CCDs) and image processing techniques which closely match what the professional does. Much of the thrill, motivation and excitement of science comes from discovery. A variety of observational exercises, using this modern equipment, are oriented towards projects which emphasize the discovery aspects of Astronomy. To meet these objectives, a wide field imaging system is used so that a single CCD exposure images 1-4 square degrees of sky. With similar systems, students are able to image a wide variety of astronomical targets. These new labs represent an exciting addition to the traditional textbook curriculum. Such labs should increase the scientific and computer literacy of undergraduate and allow them to understand more effectively the coupling between instrumentation and computers, and motivate them to pursue a career in science by emphasizing the process of discovery and the relationship between data and scientific model making.

9601802 Cuny, Janice E. Humphreys, Eugene D. University of Oregon Academic Research Infrastructure: Collaborative Research Between Geological Sciences, Astrophysics, and Computer Science: Infrastructure Support for a Visualization Laboratory This Academic Research Infrastructure award supports the development of high speed computational, networking, and graphics facility. The research projects supported by the facility include: 1. Geophysical studies of mid-ocean ridges. 2. Kinematic and dynamic modeling of the deformation of the western United States lithosphere. 3. Geological and environmental fluid mechanics. 4. Characterization of fault rupture and the recurrence behavior of large earthquakes: and 5. Retrieving and processing observational astrophysical data by representing it as a virtual N-dimensional universe.

A laboratory course in semiconductor device processing and characterization is proposed which will form a key element of a new curriculum in Applied Physics being developed by the Physics Department at the University of Oregon. Funds are requested from the NSF-ILI program in order to develop this laboratory. The goal of the new curriculum is to better prepare physics majors and majors in allied fields such as chemistry for constructive participation in an industrial internship program, and ultimately for productive careers in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The laboratory course constitutes an essential component of the new program and will expose physics and chemistry majors to technologically important issues in an area not traditionally covered in undergraduate physics or chemistry curricula.

This award is made under the high performance connections portion of ANIR's "Connections to the Internet" announcement, NSF 96-64. It provides partial support for two years for a DS-3 connection to the vBNS. Meritorious research to be supported through access to the vBNS includes work in high-energy physics, astronomy, geological sciences, and the computational sciences. Collaborations are expected, through the network, with colleagues at SLAC, Yale, MIT, Washington, Columbia, Florida, Stanford, and others. Work is also expected to involve access to federal laboratories (e.g., Fermilab, Rutherford Lab) and researchers on interconnected NGI networks, including ESnet and DARPA networks.

The project, operated as a collaborative grant between the University of Oregon and the University of Arizona, is developing interactive experiments and delivering them over the Internet. Most of these experiments are executed using the JAVA programming language extension to HTML document structure. Others use the VRML extension to HTML, which allows 3D representations of complex spatial relationships. These tools will be integrated into a fully-featured World Wide Web site which will act as a virtual classroom for about 5400 students per year at the University of Oregon and the University of Arizona. The Web site will have an electronic textbook, research databases, supercomputer simulations, and animations. There is a critical need to engage introductory science students in an experimentation mode that will lead to student-driven inquiry. This project aims (1) to allow students to use active experimentation to learn abstract topics, (2) to incorporate scientifically realistic modes of inquiry into instructional technology, (3) to build a library of experiments that is adaptable to any curriculum, and (4) to construct a Web site that can be customized for use by any instructor. Instructional technology can be a very cost-effective means of achieving our main pedagogical goal: teaching science as a discovery process that relies heavily on experimental results, not memorized facts and figures. The project also has distance education dimensions, involves the cooperation of institutions for curriculum development, and uses emerging technologies to engage the students in this new learning mode. The potential audience for these tools extends to the 500,000 physics and astronomy students at two and four year colleges nationwide and more students at the high school level. The work builds on an already highly successful implementation of hypertext based course material, in which professional data, scientific animation, and links to other resources are all organized into a network textbook that beco mes the lecture and learning tool that students see in class and access out of class. Building more interactivity into this curriculum is both the next logical and most critical step.

Astronomy (11) This project expands development of data-driven interactive exercises and
simulations for use in a collaborative learning environment to cover virtually all topic
areas in introductory Astronomy. The motivation is to a) use the naturally engaging
character of Astronomy as a vehicle to promote science literacy by integrating research
into the curriculum to transform the passive lecture mode into an active learning system
that emphasizes scientific process and methodology, b) explicitly create a collaborative
learning environment where student teams solve problems and analyze data and c) offer a
more engaging interface to science learning so that it becomes an effective recruiting tool
for future K-12 science teachers. These goals can be accomplished by the development of
robust software, based on real astronomical data sets, that runs in the Web browser
environment. Previous work by the team on this project has already produced some of these learning tools.
Assessment and evaluation of that effort shows that the methodology is sound.
New objectives will be accomplished via further software development and beta-testing
in local classes. This will involve approximately 700 students
annually on four different campuses. The overall goals of this effort are for the students
to be exposed to science methodology by engaging them in the actual practice of science
and for them to develop excellent collaboration skills. These outcomes will serve the
students far better than the traditional mode of rote memorization of syllabus-driven
material that currently constitutes the pedagogy.

The availability and growing use of high-performance heterogeneous computing and storage components by scientists across university campuses has led to realization that the general-purpose campus network offers neither the capacity nor the capabilities necessary for data-intensive research project. This project designs, builds and maintains a new network at the University of Oregon (UO) campus called Bridging Open Networks for Scientific Applications and Innovation (BONSAI). BONSAI is designed as a high-performance science network providing high end-to-end throughput and unique capabilities between five interconnected UO facilities, as well as computing resources located at other institutions throughout Internet2.

This project primarily focuses on the following five major tasks:(1) Creating a Science DMZ platform among major computing facilities
across UO; (2) Adding a new 10Gbps network circuit between the UO and Internet2; (3) Implementing and operating Software-Defined Networking(SDN) technologies throughout the network; (4) Promoting the development of IPv6- and service-aware scientific applications, and (5) Socializing the use of the UO's membership to the InCommon federation.

BONSAI also serves as a testbed for experimental research on new networking technologies (e.g.,SDN) and facilitates to support data-intensive applications (e.g., visualization), including their translation for educational purposes. This project will directly impact teaching and training opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers by providing access to advanced computing infrastructure and networking capabilities. Finally, the project will significantly advance the broader access and dissemination of UO research results for advancing scientific and technological understanding.