Canadian Astronomers Battle Funding Cuts and Perceptions

MONTREAL, Quebec ? Flashing a picture of the star HR 8799 and its four alien planets on a big screen, astronomer Andrew Cumming smiled. "This is the most amazing picture in exoplanet science!" he exclaimed.

Cumming described how astronomers tracked minute variations in the system to study these alien worlds: "Over four years, we started to see one planet moving in its orbit," he told delegates of the Canadian Science Writers' Association during a talk at McGill University here June 7.

Cumming is a theoretical astrophysicist at the university who focuses on compact objects, particularly super-dense neutron stars, as well as exoplanets. These days, though, his attention is somewhat distracted. There are changes afoot in Canadian astronomy funding.

Last year, at least one of the Canadian Space Agency's astronomy programs came close to the chopping block amid government cost-cutting, he said. Even today, many researchers are nervous. [Photo Tour: Canadian Space Agency Headquarters]

"One always wants more invested in the field you're working in," Cumming told SPACE.com, echoing concerns of several astronomers at the conference.

Research vs. business

Canadian astronomy receives funding principally from three government departments: the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the National Research Council (not to be confused with the U.S. entity of the same name.)

Money is tight these days in the Canadian government, however. Officials with the ruling Conservative party have said they are conscious of the federal budget deficit and must make cuts. Critics, however, argue that fundamental research is coming under attack.

In May, Tory officials said they would change the NRC's mandate to "invest in large-scale research projects that are directed by and for Canadian business."

In response, the Canadian Association of University Teachers called the change "short-sighted, misguided and unbalanced" because it would jeopardize the resources of universities that rely on NRC labs to perform research. Other researchers cried foul in the media.

Meanwhile, the CSA's budget for space exploration, which includes astronomy, will fall in coming years, according to the latest figures released by the agency in mid-2012.

From $148.2 million ($151 million in Canadian dollars) in 2011-12, funds will decrease 40 percent to $91.2 million ($93 million CDN) in 2014-15.

One initiative called the "space science enhancement program" (SSEP) was nearly canceled last year, Cumming said. The CSA website now has a notice saying it is suspended. (Agency officials did not respond to requests for comment.)

The top goal of SSEP was, according to the CSA website, "to maximize the scientific return to Canada by providing funding to space science projects and activities in the areas of initial instrument studies, data analysis and other space science-related academic studies."

Cumming added that with the James Webb Space Telescope taking $143.6 million ($146 million CDN) from Canadian space funds over 10 years, he worried the slices of research left would starve to death. The over-budget successor telescope to Hubble is expected to launch in 2018, costing more than $8 billion, most of which is coming from NASA.

Funding fundamental science

Ren? Doyon, a University of Montreal researcher who is principal investigator of a near-infrared spectrograph instrument on James Webb, said he sees the telescope as a worthy investment for Canada.

Among the many scientific discoveries it should enable, astronomers are hoping it reveals the atmospheres of alien planets. By contributing 5 percent of the total cost of the observatory, Canada gains an according amount of telescope time for its participating astronomers. "It will open up new capabilities," Doyon said.

"We don't have examples of commercialized technology that come out of [astronomy]," Doyon added, "but to answer these big questions ? where are we coming from, is there life outside of the solar system ? involves pushing technology to its limit."

Although astronomy may not lead to direct technological spinoffs, McGill astronomer Vicky Kaspi (who co-authored a paper concerning an "anti-glitch" magnetar star published last month in the journal Nature) said she has seen applications in her lifetime from fundamental astronomy research.

"A lot of X-ray astronomy does beautiful images of supernova remnants and pulsar nebula," Kaspi said. "One of my Ph.D. students is in medical imaging, and [is] bringing the tools that she learned in manipulating X-ray images ... to bear on imaging tumors or different parts of the body."

"When you take a challenge, as a technological challenge, there are very interesting ways that it can be used that you wouldn't expect," Kaspi added. "A hundred years ago, if you wanted to improve the lighting in your house, would you spend money developing better candles, or would you want to put money into crazy electricity research? At the time it seemed pretty wacky, but in hindsight, it would have been the better bet."

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canadian-astronomers-battle-funding-cuts-perceptions-140739462.html

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Police chief takes criminals to task on Facebook

Social media

Kantele Franko The Associated Press

2 hours ago

Tony Dejak / AP

Brimfield Police Chief David Oliver uses the reach of his department?s increasingly followed Facebook page to interact with residents and take to task criminals and other ne?er-do-wells, his preferred term is ?mopes?, for the stupid, the silly and the outright unlawful in messages that mix humor and blunt opinion.

If you're up to no good in this pocket of northeast Ohio, especially in a witless way, you're risking not only jail time or a fine but a swifter repercussion with a much larger audience: You're in for a social media scolding from police Chief David Oliver and some of his small department's 49,000 Facebook fans.

And Oliver does not mince words.

In postings interspersed with community messages and rants, the Brimfield Township chief takes to task criminals and other ne'er-do-wells ? his preferred term is "mopes," appropriated from police TV shows and an old colleague who used it ? for the stupid, the lazy and the outright unlawful. Even an ill-considered parking choice can spur a Facebook flogging.

"If you use a handicapped space and you jump out of the vehicle, all healthy-like, as if someone is dangling free cheeseburgers on a stick, expect people to stare at you and get angry," Oliver wrote last year. "You are milking the system and it aggravates those of us who play by the rules. Ignoring us does not make you invisible. We see you, loser."

His humor, sarcasm and blunt opinion fueled a tenfold increase in the Facebook page's likes in the past year, bringing the total to more than four times the 10,300 residents the department serves. It's among the most-liked local law enforcement pages in the country, trailing only New York, Boston and Philadelphia police, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police Center for Social Media.

Not bad for a guy who initially hoped maybe 500 locals would pay attention when he noticed other businesses' pages and decided to start his own three years ago.

Facebook posting, May 16, 2013: "I call criminals mopes. I do not comment on them being ugly, smelly or otherwise beauty impaired ... even though some are. I do not comment on their education, social status, color, sex, origin or who they marry. I care about crime and character. If you come to Brimfield and commit a crime we are all going to talk about it. The easiest way to not be called a criminal is to not be one. It is not calculus."

The chief loves justice, Westerns and dogs. John Wayne and Abraham Lincoln peer out from frames on the gray walls of Oliver's office, where the 45-year-old chats with anyone who stops by.

His Facebook messages extend that open-door policy online for conversations about road closures, charity events, lost pets and whatever else crosses his mind. Some are serious, such as salutes to slain officers and updates during school threat investigations. Others are light-hearted, like the attempt to find an escaped swine's owner with an unusual APB ? an "All-Pig Bulletin" ? or his promise to "ticket" child bicyclists with coupons for free ice cream if they wear helmets.

And, of course, there's crime. One posting berates a man accused of physically assaulting a woman and two children. In another, Oliver suggests that hiding near an occupied police K-9 vehicle wasn't a shoplifting suspect's smartest move.

Resident Mark Mosley, a daily reader, said he likes such "humorous arrest stories" best.

Tony Dejak / AP

Brimfield Police Chief David Oliver posing by his police car in Kent, Ohio. O

"It's one of those things, like you can't fix stupid," Mosley said.

His officers and others say the online character of the chief, a big, beefy guy, matches real life.

"He is definitely a very large personality. It kind of goes with his size," local fire Chief Robert Keller said.

Oliver's 15-person department handles more than 13,000 calls for service annually and deals largely with arrests for driving violations, thefts and drug crimes by out-of-towners. Arrests in those crime categories dropped last year but are trending upward again, and Oliver says it would take more time to determine whether the Facebook messages are having an impact.

Occasionally, his rants cover topics far outside his jurisdiction, among them the Boston Marathon bombings and the high-profile rape case from Steubenville in eastern Ohio. He rarely mentions names but doesn't shy from addressing specific suspects or brands of criminals.

July 31, 2012:

"Dear Father or Mother Meth Cooks,

"You have lost your mind. What in hell are you thinking when you make the decision to cook meth with your child in the house? You have violated the very basic principle of being a parent, which is the safety of your child. I am fed up with watching it and also with being concerned with the long-term effects of what you have exposed YOUR child to."

The word is out even among mopes, a few of whom have told Oliver they read his updates. During a March traffic stop with several drug-related arrests, one suspect overheard Oliver being called "Chief" and, after connecting the dots, requested not to be mentioned on the page, police said. Oliver didn't oblige.

His postings, also republished to the department's Twitter account, spur dozens or hundreds of comments from as far away as Australia or Germany. Some praise the department. Others say Oliver uses work time inappropriately for Facebook or criticize him for discussing suspects in a public forum. (His response: It's public record.)

Oliver welcomes the discussion and deletes comments only if they use profanity or refer to police in highly offensive language.

"He totally connects with our community, except the people that he arrests," said Mike Kostensky, one of the trustees who picked Oliver as chief in 2004.

Departments like Brimfield that engage readers and reply tend to see more activity on their police pages compared with those that don't, said Nancy Kolb, who runs the IACP Center for Social Media. The center tracks the popularity of law enforcement on Facebook and Twitter.

Oliver says his updates provide accountability and transparency about police work. He's also a believer that people can change.

He says that he had a "very thin" line between good and bad when he was younger and that he might have become a mope if not for grandparents who let him watch only "The Waltons," "Gunsmoke" and "The Andy Griffith Show" on TV.

He said the latter was the biggest influence on his career because he admires the respectful, plain-spoken sheriff played by Griffith.

"I just always thought, you know, that's a good way to handle things," Oliver says.

Jan. 28, 2013:

"It is the opinion of this chief, located in a small corner of a great big world, that we need to, as a society, become a little more intolerant of people who commit crimes for a living. When we start yelling about it being unacceptable ... people will take notice and the practice will shift; either by putting people in jail, funding drug treatment or behavioral changes by the criminals."

Oliver, a father of four who starts many days hugging and high-fiving elementary school students, turned his popularity into a sort of local brand, pitching mugs and T-shirts with "no mopes" logos and his other catchphrases ? such as "anywhere but here" or, in reference to a jail breakfast, "enjoy the oatmeal" ? to raise money for school security improvements. Purchases and donations have brought in more than $14,000, enough to install panic buttons connecting the five local schools to police. Cameras and intercoms are next.

"How could you not love that guy?" said Tammy Ralston, the graphic designer at Young's Screenprinting and Embroidery in Cuyahoga Falls, which came up with the "mopes" gear and receives orders from across the country.

Oliver's supporters include retiree Dennis Kerr of Sherwood, Ark., who bought a T-shirt for his wife while visiting family in nearby Stow.

"The guy really has a load of common sense, and I appreciated him, so we started following him," Kerr said.

Kerr hopes to meet Oliver and said he considered planning his next Ohio visit to coincide with Brimfield's parade. Oliver is turning the September event into a walk honoring military veterans and has invited all his Facebook fans.

Everyone, that is, except the mopes.

Follow Kantele Franko on Twitter.

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2d6a55c1/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cpolice0Echief0Etakes0Ecriminals0Etask0Efacebook0E6C10A353442/story01.htm

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Indonesian parliament could pave way Monday for fuel price hikes

By Kanupriya Kapoor and Jonathan Thatcher

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's parliament could pass measures on Monday paving the way for a 33 percent rise in the country's fuel prices to reduce a government subsidy bill that has cast a shadow over Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

If passed, the measures could also restore some confidence in the struggling rupiah after the central bank scrambled last week to prop up the currency as it was caught in an emerging market selloff. Jakarta shares and the rupiah were steady in early trading.

Raising fuel prices has been seen as a key test of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's commitment to economic reform in the final 1-1/2 years of his term as prospects for continued rapid economic growth have started to soften.

Student and labor union groups have promised to protest across the country against the proposed increase. But by early morning, and after torrential rain, there was little sign of protesters gathering outside parliament.

About 20,000 security officials had been placed on alert in case of mass protests, media reports quoted police officials as saying. Protests have marked previous attempts to raise fuel prices.

Maintaining the subsidy has undermined the government's reputation in financial markets for fiscal discipline and also contributed to a deepening current account deficit. Still the rate rises, and a fuel price increase, would on the other hand raise the cost of living for Indonesians, a sensitive issue ahead of presidential and general elections next year.

On Saturday, about 70 percent of members of the parliamentary budget committee backed 2013 budget revisions. If these are passed by a full session of parliament on Monday, they will pave the way for the fuel price rise.

The measures include some 9 trillion rupiah ($910 million) in compensation for the poor to protect them from the initial impact of a planned average fuel price increase of 33 percent.

Yudhoyono has insisted parliament make that money available before he cuts fuel subsidies, which last year cost the former OPEC member some $20 billion. The finance ministry has said the price rises could save the state about $4 billion if they are implemented this month.

"I believe the fuel price increase will be next week," the Kompas daily website quoted National Planning Minister Armida Alisjahbana as saying on Saturday.

Rumors late last week that Jakarta was about to raise fuel prices helped lift the rupiah off its lowest level against the dollar in almost four years as the currency came under fire from investors cutting their emerging market exposure over uncertainty in the future of U.S. monetary policy.

The pressure on the rupiah and concerns of the inflationary impact of costlier fuel, prompted surprise increases in two of the central bank's key interest rates last week.

The finance ministry has warned that growing demand for subsidized fuel, unless prices rise, could exceed 3 percent of GDP. The initial budget had put the deficit at just 1.6 percent.

Pointing to concerns over stalling reform momentum, ratings agency Standard & Poor's early last month downgraded its outlook for Indonesia's sovereign credit to stable from positive.

The move was especially galling for the Indonesian government because at the same time S&P upgraded its rating for the neighboring Philippines.

While Indonesia's technocrats have been shouting for fuel prices to rise, the issue has become largely hostage to politics ahead of next year's elections.

Of the three parties to oppose the measure in Saturday's budget committee meeting, one was ruling coalition member PKS, the country's biggest Muslim party.

Analysts say the PKS is hoping to use the issue to divert attention from allegations that senior party members were involved in a beef import scam and sexual impropriety, charges which threaten to wreck its election hopes next year. ($1=9,882 rupiah)

(Editing by Neil Fullick)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indonesian-parliament-could-pave-way-monday-fuel-price-031331963.html

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Countdown To The Eisners by Cameron Hatheway ? Best Short ...

Cameron Hatheway writes;

As many of you know, the 2013 Eisner Nominees were announced last month. Last year I wrote a weekly column on the nominees and who I thought should win, could win, and should have been nominated, and did pretty well with my overall guesstimations. As usual with the Eisners, there were surprises all around, with the main one this year being the multiple indie nominees flooding the categories. With the winners being announced July 19^th at Comic-Con International, this gives me enough time to share with you my picks of who I feel should win in each category in the weeks leading up to the ceremony. Today I?ll be focusing on the Best Short Story category.

Keep in mind I cannot vote for who wins (nor can you, probably), as per the rules. However, that?s not keeping me from being vocal regardless!

Who is not eligible to vote?

• Comics press or reviewers (unless they are nominees)
• Non-creative publisher staff members (PR, marketing, assistants, etc.)
• Fans

Before I get back to work on inking All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder #11 so I can be eligible for next year, let the games begin!

?

Best Short Story

?A Birdsong Shatters the Still,? by Jeff Wilson and Ted May, in Injury #4 (Ted May/Alternative)

Based on a true story by writer Jeff Wilson, we follow five Iron Maiden fans as they make their way to detention. They decide to get high beforehand, causing each of them to trip-out in their own special way. They manage to still make too much noise while trying to remain quiet during detention, which leads to many comical situations. The black and white art does a lot of the storytelling, which is nice. Prepubescent mustaches, concert tees, and blue jeans; I think we?ve all been there at one point or another.

?Elmview? by Jon McNaught, in Dockwood (Nobrow)

We follow the day in the life of a young man who works at a nursing home in the town of Elmview. Mark?s daily tasks include prepping the food, delivering the tea, and cleaning for? the elderly residents. The different perspectives from both nature and the residents make for some beautiful storytelling with such a limited use of colors.

?Moon 1969: The True Story of the 1969 Moon Launch,? by Michael Kupperman, in Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8 (Fantagraphics)

While the real story of what really happened during the moon launch was the main focus, the ads for Roman Pizza Garden Style Ranch Dressing stole the show, as well as my heart. I would definitely love to try a talking salad dressing that gave my partner and me syphilis. The whole story is just plain silly, with sight gags such as the press versus NASA being highly entertaining. The whole moon landing was just so a multi-millionaire could receive head from his wife (true story).

?Moving Forward,? by drewscape, in Monsters, Miracles, & Mayonnaise (Epigram Books)

Another true story, this one revolving around the author drewscape who can?t get his driver?s license in Singapore. I found it extremely relatable to me, for it took me three tries until I finally got my license back in the day. Andrew feels like he?s stuck in a rut, being single, unable to drive, and stuck in the same position at work. After two years of failing his driving tests, he changes instructors and finally passes. He ends up doing very well for himself after acquiring the license, and he even shows proof at the end of the comic. It feels like his old driving instructor Mr. Kok just wanted a friend to hang out with this whole time, and just didn?t push him hard enough.

?Rainbow Moment,? by Lilli Carr?, in Heads or Tails (Fantagraphics)

A conversation between two friends slowly starts to dive into another story, and from there into another, and another before finally coming around full circle. It was like the movie Inception, only with memories of the various characters. Very quirky cubism-like art by Carr?, and great use of colors in the flashbacks. In the end you get a very interesting description of a ?Rainbow Moment? is, which causes you to think back to a time where you may have had one yourself.

Who I think should win:
?Elmview? by Jon McNaught, in Dockwood (Nobrow)

From the opening pages I was completely in love with the beautiful use of colors, and the art style is very pleasant to look at as well. Every object was so simply illustrated, and the reflections out the various residents? windows were very unique. McNaught?s style reminds me of a blend of Mazzuchelli?s Asterios Polyp and Chris Ware.

I could definitely feel the early morning setting, and the way McNaught went about conveying the birds to the television commercials felt like something really special.

Who I think could win:
?Rainbow Moment,? by Lilli Carr?, in Heads or Tails (Fantagraphics)

The style of storytelling was very intriguing, and I enjoyed the constant journey further down the rabbit hole. Every character?s memory had a different color, in the end made for a very nice rainbow of sorts.

?

Who I think should have been nominated:
?Ghost for Hire,? by Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire, in Ghosts (DC/Vertigo)

Two brothers, one living and one a ghost, scare people out of houses for cash. A very sweet and endearing story by Johns and Lemire, it?s nice to see these two working together outside of the superhero stuff.

Who do you think should win / been nominated?

Cameron Hatheway is the host of Cammy?s Comic Corner and Arts & Entertainment Editor of the Sonoma State STAR. You can illustrate your own short story starring him on Twitter @CamComicCorner.

Source: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/05/17/countdown-to-the-eisners-by-cameron-hatheway-best-short-story/

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Saudi Arabia 'warned the United States IN WRITING about Boston ...

DAVID MARTOSKO and?THE AMERICAN MEDIA INSTITUTE
UK Daily Mail
May 1, 2013

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sent a written warning about accused Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2012, long before pressure-cooker blasts killed three and injured hundreds, according to a senior Saudi government official with direct knowledge of the document.

The Saudi warning, the official told MailOnline, was separate from the multiple red flags raised by Russian intelligence in 2011, and was based on human intelligence developed independently in Yemen.

Citing security concerns, the Saudi government also denied an entry visa to the elder Tsarnaev brother in December 2011, when he hoped to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the source said. Tsarnaev?s plans to visit Saudi Arabia have not been previously disclosed.

Full article here

This article was posted: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 5:14 am

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Source: http://www.prisonplanet.com/saudi-arabia-warned-the-united-states-in-writing-about-boston-bomber-tamerlan-tsarnaev-in-2012.html

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NASA rover prototype set to explore Greenland ice sheet

Public release date: 1-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Maria-Jose Vinas
mj.vinas@nasa.gov
301-614-5883
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA's newest scientific rover is set for testing May 3 through June 8 in the highest part of Greenland.

The robot known as GROVER, which stands for both Greenland Rover and Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research, will roam the frigid landscape collecting measurements to help scientists better understand changes in the massive ice sheet.

This autonomous, solar-powered robot carries a ground-penetrating radar to study how snow accumulates, adding layer upon layer to the ice sheet over time.

Greenland's surface layer vaulted into the news in summer 2012 when higher than normal temperatures caused surface melting across about 97 percent of the ice sheet. Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., expect GROVER to detect the layer of the ice sheet that formed in the aftermath of that extreme melt event.

Research with polar rovers costs less than aircraft or satellites, the usual platforms.

"Robots like GROVER will give us a new tool for glaciology studies," said Lora Koenig, a glaciologist at Goddard and science advisor on the project.

GROVER will be joined on the ice sheet in June by another robot, named Cool Robot, developed at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., with funding from the National Science Foundation. This rover can tow a variety of instrument packages to conduct glaciological and atmospheric sampling studies.

GROVER was developed in 2010 and 2011 by teams of students participating in summer engineering boot camps at Goddard. The students were interested in building a rover and approached Koenig about whether a rover could aid her studies of snow accumulation on ice sheets. This information typically is gathered by radars carried on snowmobiles and airplanes. Koenig suggested putting a radar on a rover for this work.

Koenig, now a science adviser on the GROVER Project, asked Hans-Peter Marshall, a glaciologist at Boise State University to bring in his expertise in small, low-power, autonomous radars that could be mounted on GROVER. Since its inception at the boot camp, GROVER has been fine-tuned, with NASA funding, at Boise State.

The tank-like GROVER prototype stands six feet tall, including its solar panels. It weighs about 800 pounds and traverses the ice on two repurposed snowmobile tracks. The robot is powered entirely by solar energy, so it can operate in pristine polar environments without adding to air pollution. The panels are mounted in an inverted V, allowing them to collect energy from the sun and sunlight reflected off the ice sheet.

A ground-penetrating radar powered by two rechargeable batteries rests on the back of the rover. The radar sends radio wave pulses into the ice sheet, and the waves bounce off buried features, informing researchers about the characteristics of the snow and ice layers.

From a research station operated by the National Science Foundation called Summit Camp, a spot where the ice sheet is about 2 miles thick, GROVER will crawl at an average speed of 1.2 mph (2 kilometers per hour). Because the sun never dips below the horizon during the Arctic summer, GROVER can work at any time during the day and should be able to work longer and gather more data than a human on a snowmobile.

At the beginning of the summit tests, Koenig's team will keep GROVER close to camp and communicate with it via Wi-Fi within a three-mile (4.8-kilometer) range. GROVER will transmit snippets of data during the trial to ensure it is working properly but the majority of data will be recovered at the end of the season. The researchers eventually will switch to satellite communications, which will allow the robot to roam farther and transmit data in real time. Ideally, researchers will be able to drive the rover from their desks.

"We think it's really powerful," said Gabriel Trisca, a Boise State master's degree student who developed GROVER's software. "The fact is the robot could be anywhere in the world and we'll be able to control it from anywhere."

Michael Comberiate, a retired NASA engineer and manager of Goddard's Engineering Boot Camp said the Earth-bound Greenland Rover is similar to NASA missions off the planet.

"GROVER is just like a spacecraft but it has to operate on the ground," Comberiate said. "It has to survive unattended for months in a hostile environment, with just a few commands to interrogate it and find out its status and give it some directions for how to accommodate situations it finds itself in."

Koenig hopes more radar data will help shed light on Greenland's snow accumulation. Scientists compare annual accumulation to the volume of ice lost to sea each year to calculate the ice sheet's overall mass balance and its contribution to sea level rise.

###

For images and a video about GROVER, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/grover.html

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[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 1-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Maria-Jose Vinas
mj.vinas@nasa.gov
301-614-5883
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA's newest scientific rover is set for testing May 3 through June 8 in the highest part of Greenland.

The robot known as GROVER, which stands for both Greenland Rover and Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research, will roam the frigid landscape collecting measurements to help scientists better understand changes in the massive ice sheet.

This autonomous, solar-powered robot carries a ground-penetrating radar to study how snow accumulates, adding layer upon layer to the ice sheet over time.

Greenland's surface layer vaulted into the news in summer 2012 when higher than normal temperatures caused surface melting across about 97 percent of the ice sheet. Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., expect GROVER to detect the layer of the ice sheet that formed in the aftermath of that extreme melt event.

Research with polar rovers costs less than aircraft or satellites, the usual platforms.

"Robots like GROVER will give us a new tool for glaciology studies," said Lora Koenig, a glaciologist at Goddard and science advisor on the project.

GROVER will be joined on the ice sheet in June by another robot, named Cool Robot, developed at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., with funding from the National Science Foundation. This rover can tow a variety of instrument packages to conduct glaciological and atmospheric sampling studies.

GROVER was developed in 2010 and 2011 by teams of students participating in summer engineering boot camps at Goddard. The students were interested in building a rover and approached Koenig about whether a rover could aid her studies of snow accumulation on ice sheets. This information typically is gathered by radars carried on snowmobiles and airplanes. Koenig suggested putting a radar on a rover for this work.

Koenig, now a science adviser on the GROVER Project, asked Hans-Peter Marshall, a glaciologist at Boise State University to bring in his expertise in small, low-power, autonomous radars that could be mounted on GROVER. Since its inception at the boot camp, GROVER has been fine-tuned, with NASA funding, at Boise State.

The tank-like GROVER prototype stands six feet tall, including its solar panels. It weighs about 800 pounds and traverses the ice on two repurposed snowmobile tracks. The robot is powered entirely by solar energy, so it can operate in pristine polar environments without adding to air pollution. The panels are mounted in an inverted V, allowing them to collect energy from the sun and sunlight reflected off the ice sheet.

A ground-penetrating radar powered by two rechargeable batteries rests on the back of the rover. The radar sends radio wave pulses into the ice sheet, and the waves bounce off buried features, informing researchers about the characteristics of the snow and ice layers.

From a research station operated by the National Science Foundation called Summit Camp, a spot where the ice sheet is about 2 miles thick, GROVER will crawl at an average speed of 1.2 mph (2 kilometers per hour). Because the sun never dips below the horizon during the Arctic summer, GROVER can work at any time during the day and should be able to work longer and gather more data than a human on a snowmobile.

At the beginning of the summit tests, Koenig's team will keep GROVER close to camp and communicate with it via Wi-Fi within a three-mile (4.8-kilometer) range. GROVER will transmit snippets of data during the trial to ensure it is working properly but the majority of data will be recovered at the end of the season. The researchers eventually will switch to satellite communications, which will allow the robot to roam farther and transmit data in real time. Ideally, researchers will be able to drive the rover from their desks.

"We think it's really powerful," said Gabriel Trisca, a Boise State master's degree student who developed GROVER's software. "The fact is the robot could be anywhere in the world and we'll be able to control it from anywhere."

Michael Comberiate, a retired NASA engineer and manager of Goddard's Engineering Boot Camp said the Earth-bound Greenland Rover is similar to NASA missions off the planet.

"GROVER is just like a spacecraft but it has to operate on the ground," Comberiate said. "It has to survive unattended for months in a hostile environment, with just a few commands to interrogate it and find out its status and give it some directions for how to accommodate situations it finds itself in."

Koenig hopes more radar data will help shed light on Greenland's snow accumulation. Scientists compare annual accumulation to the volume of ice lost to sea each year to calculate the ice sheet's overall mass balance and its contribution to sea level rise.

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For images and a video about GROVER, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/grover.html

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/nsfc-nrp050113.php

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'Kinky Boots' gets a leading 13 Tony Award nods

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Cyndi Lauper-scored "Kinky Boots" has earned a leading 13 Tony Award nominations, with the British import "Matilda: The Musical" close behind with 12. Tom Hanks, making his Broadway debut, earned a nod as leading man in a play.

"Kinky Boots" is based on the 2005 British movie about a real-life shoe factory that struggles until it finds new life in fetish footwear. Lauper's songs and a story by Harvey Fierstein have made it a crowd-pleaser.

"I walked my dog early this morning so I'd be back in time to listen to the announcement. It's so great. It's so great. I'm done crying a little bit. But I'm still thrilled and a little stunned," said Lauper, who is making her Broadway debut as a musical writer.

The "Kinky Boots" haul did not match the record number of nominations for a musical, which is 15, set by "The Producers" in 2001 and "Billy Elliot" in 2009. "The Book of Mormon" nabbed 14 Tony nods in 2011.

"Lucky Guy," Nora Ephron's portrait of Mike McAlary, a gutsy New York City newspaper columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing that a Haitian immigrant had been sodomized by police officers in 1997, got six nominations, including one for Hanks as McAlary.

"This makes me both giddy and nervous, and it could not be more special," Hanks said. "Before this began, I thought I knew what it would be like. "But you can't imagine what it is. There's the muscle and the brain, but also the spirit and the heart. And it's fun, if fun also incorporates a huge amount of fear."

Courtney B. Vance earned a best featured actor nomination playing an editor in "Lucky Guy." He and Hanks were among the few actors in the production to work with Ephron on it before her death last year. "She'd be ecstatic. She'd be grinning ear to ear. And she is, right now."

In addition to Hanks, the leading actor in a play nominees are Nathan Lane for "The Nance," Tracy Letts from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", David Hyde Pierce from "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" and Tom Sturridge from "Orphans."

"Matilda: The Musical" is a witty musical adaptation of the novel by Roald Dahl and is true to his bleak vision of childhood as a savage battleground.

Both "Kinky Boots" and "Matilda" will compete for the best musical prize with the acrobatic "Bring It On: The Musical" and "A Christmas Story, The Musical," adapted from the beloved holiday movie.

Among the flurry of nominations, "Kinky Boots" also earned Fierstein a nod for best book, David Rockwell got one for sets, Jerry Mitchell for both directing and for choreography, and nominations for its two leading men, Billy Porter and Stark Sands. Annaleigh Ashford earned a featured role nomination.

"Matilda" earned nominations for choreography, Matthew Warchus' directing, Chris Nightingale's orchestrations, best book by Dennis Kelly, Tim Minchin for lyrics and songs, and Bertie Carvel for best leading role in a musical.

Carvel, who played the same evil headmistress role in London, said he is enjoying his time in New York, although he did admit to being nervous about how Americans would react. "I feel like I've landed on happy shores," he said. "The show is in great shape. People are loving it."

For his part, Minchin wasn't going to get crazy following the nomination: "I'm going to have a coffee with my agent today. That's about as crazy as I'm going to get. We're a low-key bunch of people. We all just get on with it," he said.

Some big names snubbed this year were Jessica Chastain, Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Katie Holmes, Bette Midler, Sigourney Weaver, Paul Rudd and Scarlett Johansson. Emilia Clarke of HBO's "Game of Thrones" didn't get a nomination for "Breakfast at Tiffany's," but the show came up empty Tuesday.

The best musical revival candidates are "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella," ''Annie," ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood" and "Pippin," which nabbed 10 nominations.

Patina Miller, last on Broadway as the heroine of "Sister Act," stepped into the Ben Vereen role of Leading Player in "Pippin" and earned her second straight nomination.

The first time, she said, "I was so nervous about saying and doing the right things. This time, I've enjoyed it, I've been given a great opportunity and I want to keep enjoying it. Not a lot of people get to experience something like this."

The producers of "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella" saw both their Cinderella ? Laura Osnes ? and her prince ? Santino Fontana ? nominated for leading roles in a musical.

"I'm floating on air! I think I am over the tears now," said Osnes. "I started crying when Santino's name was called. So I was already crying when they called mine. I am just so thrilled, so excited."

Kenneth Posner had a great morning. The lighting designer got three nominations ? for "Kinky Boots," ''Pippin" and "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella." He will face off against Hugh Vanstone, the lighting designer for "Matilda: The Musical."

The best play nominees are Richard Greenberg's "The Assembled Parties," Ephron's "Lucky Guy," Colm Toibin's "The Testament of Mary" and Christopher Durang's "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike."

Durang's play earned Billy Magnussen a best featured actor nomination. He plays a somewhat dim boy toy in the play about a pair of depressive middle-aged siblings whose movie-star sister threatens to upend their quiet life.

Asked how he felt, Magnussen purred: "Like warm buttah." It's his second Broadway part and Magnussen soon had to get off the phone. When he returned, he said: "That was my mom. She was saying, 'What am I going to wear?'"

The best actress in a leading role in a play includes Laurie Metcalf of "The Other Place," Amy Morton in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Kristine Nielsen of "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," Holland Taylor in her one-woman show, "Ann," and Cicely Tyson in "The Trip to Bountiful." With such talent on show, notably squeezed out were Fiona Shaw of "The Testament of Mary" and Jessica Hecht in "The Assembled Parties."

Durang, the playwright of "Vanya and Sonia," wrote parts in it for both Nielsen and Weaver. "We're both really lucky to have someone of his caliber that would even think of putting words in our mouth," Nielsen said. "I wish he were here to put words in my mouth today!"

The revival of Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy," a play about a young man torn between his natural talent as a violinist and the fast money and fame of being a boxer, earned eight nominations, the most for any play.

Richard Greenberg's "The Assembled Parties," a New York City drama concerning the power of familial bonds, earned three nominations, including ones for Judith Light, scenic design and best play.

"It's been so luxuriously treated by this production," the playwright said. "It was given such care and attention. I think you only get something that unblemished once. And so I'm relishing it."

Playwright Douglas Carter Beane earned a best book nomination for the lush, big musical "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella," but not for his more intimate play "The Nance," although it earned five nods. A veteran, he rolled with it Tuesday morning.

"You just have to really enjoy it when you get nominated and you have to just not care when you're not," he said. "It's great to show I'm not just this one thing. Just as actors like to show off their versatility, writers like to do it, too."

The hit-stuffed "Motown: The Musical," about Motown Records under founder Berry Gordy, earned four nominations, including Valisia LeKae as Diana Ross and Charl Brown as Smokey Robinson.

LeKae, who was an understudy or swing in four other Broadway shows, is making her Broadway debut as a leading lady and said everything in her life has prepared her for the role. She grew up listening to Ross and performing her songs.

"It's very interesting the way life works out. I left 'The Book of Mormon' last year in March and I was a swing for the show," she said. "It's amazing how life can change in a matter of a year's time. You can be swinging one year and be nominated the next."

Although the revival of Rupert Holmes' musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" has closed, it earned five nominations, including one for Stephanie J. Block, who played a pompous actress. "It felt really great to do that and have nobody complain," Block joked. "I'm so pleased that all the committees are remembering 'Drood' because it really was such a special show."

Her former "Drood" co-star Will Chase got a nomination as best featured actor. "It's easily the most fun I've ever, ever had onstage," he said. "I love the love that we've gotten today."

The nominations were co-hosted by Tony winner Sutton Foster and "Modern Family" star Jesse Tyler Ferguson. The awards will be broadcast on CBS from Radio City Music Hall on June 9.

Scott Ellis, who directed "Drood," watched the announcement live on his couch with his 3?-year old twins, Parker and Charlotte.

"I said, 'You may hear daddy's name, you may not.' And they said, 'Daddy, that's your name!' And then they got up and started playing. They were done. And that's all the perspective I needed."

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AP Entertainment Writer Frazier Moore and AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck contributed to this report.

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Follow Mark Kennedy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kinky-boots-gets-leading-13-tony-award-nods-125429001.html

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