Research Experience for Undergraduates Leads Into Semester-Long Project

Sometimes, one positive experience is all it takes to decide on a future career path. For three students, the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of Wyoming (UWY) was that experience.

The CI-WATER program, which ran through July and August, enticed Noll Roberts, a senior at UW, to contemplate a change of major. “My major is Molecular Biology, but now I’m switching to Mathematics,” he says.

This year’s REU focused on computer modeling, coding and hydrology.  For a month, Noll, Jingyu Li and Troy Axthelm collaborated on various aspects of modeling.

“Jingyu and I have been working on a project that’s been modeling the shade on a certain land plot,” says Troy, a senior at UW.

For Jingyu Li, a Laramie High School senior, the REU has given her a lot to think about.  “I’m not entirely sure what I want to do yet, but probably computer science and math,” she says.

Along with developing their coding and mathematical skills, the REU taught the importance of strong communication skills.

“I liked learning about how to interact with people in other departments," says Noll. "I think this REU was really good for that.”

While the REU has come the end, their work has not. Over the course of the next semester, Noll, Troy and Jingyu will receive upper division credit to continue their projects.

“We’re going to keep working on it so that it can work with the high performance computer and be efficient,” says Troy.

 

By Robin E. Rasmussen

A time for collaboration and discussion: The Second Annual CI-WATER Symposium

Utah science fair winners present their research at the Symposium

"How do we interact? How do we collaborate and support each other?"

These questions were among the most important asked this week at the Second Annual CI-WATER Symposium. 

With over 40 researchers working at four universities in two different states, the CI-WATER project sometimes feels disjointed. The four teams, Cyberinfrastructure, Data and Modeling Services, Watershed Modeling and Education & Outreach,  work on various parts of the project and use virtual meeting spaces for collaboration. While these virtual spaces are essential for working together from the various universities, the flow of conversation is not quite the same as in face-to-face interactions. 

The Symposium brought together the scattered partners and allowed them much-needed discussion through face time.

Dr. Miriah Meyer talks to an audience at the Symposium

The Symposium, held in Salt Lake City at the Natural History Museum of Utah’s Rio Tinto Center, focused on the idea of modeling a sustainable future. Researchers from the four CI-WATER teams presented their research and work from the last few months including projects that have been completed and where they see the next steps for their work going. Discussions about models, cyberinfrastructure and the digital divide filled the two days. Among these highly technical discussions however, presenters and team leaders returned time and again to the necessity of presenting a more unified front through a concise, clear vision statement.

Dr. Fred Ogden preps for filming

“You never know when you are going to be asked what you are studying,” said Dr. David Tarboton of Utah State University, when stressing the importance of all CI-WATER partners knowing the vision statement. 

By presenting a more unified face, collaborative efforts can be increased and our researchers can work more definitely towards the ultimate goal of the project: helping plan for the future through a better understanding of water systems and water management in the western United States. 

This year’s CI-WATER Symposium was a great success in the conversations it generated among the CI-WATER researchers, the new partnership that formed between team members, the film footage we gathered for videos that will come out later this summer, and the public event featuring Dr. Miriah Meyer. Next week we will share more from Dr. Miriah Meyer’s talk. 

By Kali S. McCrackin 

Photos by Kali S. McCrackin

Seeing the big picture on Big Data

Dr. Meyer is a computer scientist at the University of Utah

How much water will the west have in the future? This is just one of the questions CI-WATER is trying to answer, and it’s a big one. Big questions in science usually yield important answers, but first and foremost, they produce data, and lots of it. This Big Data, which is difficult to analyze and sort through, is important, but before it can be useful, it must first be understood.

This is where computer scientists, like Dr. Miriah Meyer come in.

“I create interactive visualization tools to help scientists understand their data,” says Dr. Meyer, who will be presenting “Visualizing Data: Why an Interactive Picture is Worth 1,000 Numbers” on May 29^th at the Natural History Museum of Utah at the Rio Tinto Center, in conjunction with the Second Annual  CI-WATER Symposium.

Dr. Meyer became interested in visualization systems while working at a software engineering company after earning her bachelor’s degree in astronomy.

“I love the thought process of computer science,” Dr. Meyer says. “I like to build things as opposed to study them.”

Dr. Meyer’s work isn’t all building however. In order to understand her clients’ needs for a visualization system, she must first understand them, their project and the need for the data. So, she studies them and in doing so, she determines where the visualization tool will be useful, then matches the data type with the visual technique, or creates a new technique, if necessary. These visualization tools, in the form of charts and graphs, are more useful than lengthy spreadsheets, and help researches get a stronger grasp on the outcomes of their work.

Visualization tools, however, aren’t only used by scientists.

“Every aspect of our lives now uses computer science,” Dr. Meyer explains. “The reason I like computer science is that I get to work in just about any field I’d like.”

Currently, Dr. Meyer is working on a tool for a poetry project, a finance project and several scientific projects. Because of the variability of the projects, Dr. Meyer encourages all students to explore this field.

“I think computer science is something everyone should try,” she says. “And, anyone can do it with some degree of work.”

Computer science is a growing field, and one in need of more diversity, Dr. Meyer says. The less diversity there is in the field, the less innovation, because not all technology needs are being recognized. As the STEM fields become more team driven, Dr. Meyer sees an even greater need for diversity in computer science.

“The future of STEM isn’t just about raw analytic skills anymore,” Dr. Meyer says. “Other skills, such as empathy and compassion are just as important.”

Dr. Meyer’s talk on May 29th will examine how interactive visualization systems support people working with Big Data and how these systems are an essential component in research today. While she is not working directly on the CI-WATER project, her message on visualization tools is important to the project because it offers scientists new ways of interpreting research.

“Scientific data often has a large amount of complexity, so using visual channels helps create better representations,” Dr. Meyer says. “Prototypes of these tools often lead to new questions scientists have never asked.”

More information about Dr. Meyer’s work can be found at: http://www.cs.utah.edu/~miriah/.

To register for Dr. Meyer’s talk, please visit the CI-WATER website.

By Kali S. McCrackin

Photo courtesy of Utah Education Network