This particular annular eclipse will not occur again in this part of the country in three saros periods, which is about 54 years and 34 days.

What will start in Southern China will end about three and a half hours later in an even more-than-usually spectacular West Texas sunset in Lubbock.

That is, if the weather cooperates.

For the first time since 1994, the United States will be treated to a central annular eclipse of the sun, which will start at 7:31 p.m. Sunday (May 20) for the South Plains.

Susan Holtz is a solar system astronomy instructor in the Department of Physics at Texas Tech as well as an astronomer at the university’s Gott Skyview Observatory.  At the eclipse’s peak, which will occur about 8:36 p.m., she said the sun will appear like a giant ring of fire as the moon obscures about 94 percent of its surface. By 8:44 p.m., a crescent sun will fall behind the horizon.

“These annular solar eclipses are quite rare,” Holtz said. “Once the shadow of moon hits Earth, it moves across surface at more than 1,000 miles an hour. This will start in China and Japan, and then it will have a 3 ½ hour race across the Pacific Ocean. A larger region will see a partial eclipse. But it’s kind of special that Lubbock lands in the smaller region where we see the complete annular eclipse. It ends at Lubbock. That’s why we will see the eclipse at sunset.”

Observers are hoping for good weather, though a 20 percent chance of bad weather currently is predicted. The next partial eclipse in this region will occur Oct. 23, 2017. The next total solar eclipse for Lubbock will take place in 2024.

Though eclipses are cyclical and repeat in a time period called a saros, this particular eclipse will not occur again in this part of the country in three saros periods, which is about 54 years and 34 days.

More information on the eclipse is available from NASA and Eclipse-Chasers.

People should remember never to look at an annular eclipse with the naked eye, Holtz said, even in the presence of cloud cover. Sunglasses or completely developed photographic negatives are not enough to protect against retinal burns. Telescopes and all optical instruments must have solar filters, and people should use solar viewers that have been certified.

If certified solar filters aren’t an option, people can make pinhole projectors, or craft a pinhole camera from a long 6- to 10-foot-long box, she said.

Collin Smith, an information technology unit manager in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, said the South Plains is in for a special celestial sight. Also the treasurer for the South Plains Astronomy Club, he said that though solar eclipses occur regularly, they often are found in regions such as Alaska, Australia or Antarctica, or in the middle of the oceans where no one sees them.

Venus traversing across the surface of the sun is an even rarer event, and won’t occur again until 2117.

 “It’s a truly going to be an amazing event,” Smith said. “The 48 states haven’t had a good eclipse for many, many years. This should be quite a treat. Lubbock is at the end of it, so this eclipse … it should be quite dramatic. The crescent sun setting will be spectacular.”

Smith said the South Plains Astronomy Club has teamed up with The Lubbock Lake Landmark for a viewing party with a much larger capacity. Running from 6:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., people should drive to the landmark site and park in Berl Huffman Sports Center parking lot. Attendees can take turns viewing the eclipse from about 10 different telescopes, or purchase available solar viewing sunglasses for $1 apiece.  Also, people can make their own paper-plate pinhole viewers for pennies.

Directions to the Landmark are here.

The public is welcome to attend a viewing at the Gott Skyview Observatory, Holtz said, though the parking lot is limited to 40 cars.  Directions are here.

But the fun won’t stop there, Smith said.

Hang on to the solar viewing sunglasses for another even rarer event. At 5:05 p.m. on June 5, the club will host a viewing event at The Museum of Texas Tech University at 4th and Indiana to watch Venus traverse across the surface of the sun.

“This is a very rare occurrence, and the next time this will happen will be 105 years from now in 2117,” Smith said. “I got to see the one in 2004, and it was quite spectacular. This happens twice in eight-year segments. So this is your only chance to see this event occur in your lifetime.”

For more news and events, go to www.spaceweather.com.

While in Thailand, Goh will teach graduate students about financial and operational management in the service industry.

Texas Tech Department of Nutrition, Hospitality and Retailing professor Ben Goh was recently awarded the 2012-2013 Fulbright Scholar Program grant to serve as a lecturer at Bangkok University in Thailand.

Goh’s project focuses on tourism and hospitality management education in Thailand. While overseas, he will teach financial and operational management in the service industry for graduate students, and innovation and change management in the service industry.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to teach at Bangkok University this fall,” he said. “New courses and teaching in a totally different cultural environment will definitely be an interesting experience.”

Goh said he chose Thailand because it is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, making his course material highly applicable.

Next fall, roughly 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the citizens of the U.S. and residents of other countries.

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Acaba was selected as a mission specialist by NASA in 2004 and completed Astronaut Candidate Training in 2006.

The College of Education at Texas Tech announced a NASA astronaut has been accepted to its doctoral program in education.

Joseph Acaba launched May 14 for a four-month tour of duty aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft as part of the team for Mission 31/32 to the International Space Station. He also has been accepted to Texas Tech’s new Blended Delivery Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with Specialization in Science Education for the cohort starting this fall.

Follow Acaba’s mission via Twitter and a blog both linked to www.nasa.gov/station.

Texas Tech Provost Bob Smith was delighted to learn that the College of Education has successfully recruited a second U.S. astronaut to be a Red Raider. 

“When we hired our first Red Raider astronaut, Dean Al Sacco Jr., we underestimated the benefits his appointment would bring to Texas Tech,” Smith said. “We understand that Dean Sacco did play a role in recruiting astronaut Acaba to Texas Tech. Also, we know that both astronauts Acaba and Sacco have a passion for education of youth in science, engineering and technology. Our collective hope is that our Red Raider astronauts will be reaching greater numbers of young learners as astronaut Acaba joins us and progresses in his program.”

Acaba will take classes online in his own personal time after he returns from the mission, said Walter Smith, Helen DeVitt Jones Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and advisor for the doctoral program. The nature of the online classes allows for flexibility.

“Joe has outstanding experience as a science teacher and seasoned astronaut,” Walter Smith said. “He’s joining a cohort of exceptional educators who already possess exemplary science education credentials and will make a difference in the world as a result of their Texas Tech doctorate.”

Acaba has a passion for education of youth in science, engineering and technology.

Raised in Anaheim, Calif., Acaba earned a bachelor’s in geology from the University of California-Santa Barbara in 1990 and a master’s in geology from the University of Arizona in 1992. Acaba was selected as a mission specialist by NASA in 2004 and completed Astronaut Candidate Training in 2006.

Juan Munoz, Texas Tech’s vice provost for Undergraduate Education, vice president for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Com­munity Engagement has known Acaba for more than 25 years, as a schoolmate, a U.S. Marine, a teacher, and now NASA astronaut.

“In every aspect of his life, Joe has distinguished himself,” Munoz said. “I am not surprised that he has carefully selected Texas Tech to begin this new chapter of his life, at one of the country’s great public research universities. We are proud to welcome Joe to Texas Tech, and the Red Raider family.”

Acaba’s space flight experience includes STS-119 Discovery (March 15-28, 2009), the 125th shuttle flight, the 36th flight of Discovery and the 28th shuttle flight to the International Space Station. He accumulated 12 hours and 57 minutes of extravehicular activities in two spacewalks. STS-119 landed at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, having traveled 202 orbits and 5.3 million statute miles.

Acaba is a member of the International Technology Education Association, the Florida Association of Science Teachers, and the Association of Space Explorers.

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Ask The Experts

If you have the question, our experts have the answer.

Texas Tech Today is debuting a new series showcasing the many and diverse experts we have on campus.

Each month, the designated expert(s) will be available to answer reader-submitted questions relative to their area of expertise. Only the best questions will be selected, and the expert(s) will then answer them in a video segment called “Ask The Experts.”

Questions may be submitted in several ways:

• Email
• Texas Tech’s Facebook page.
• Texas Tech’s Twitter feed.

Along with your question, include your name and current place of residence. If you are a Texas Tech student, please also include your current classification and hometown. If you are an alumnus, include the year in which you graduated.

View complete "Ask The Experts" guidelines here.

Texas Tech awarded the President’s Competitive Scholarship and the President’s Interactive Scholarship to four students.

This is the first year the scholarships are being offered. Brad Looney from Fort Worth and Jeffrey Chen from Missouri City were each awarded the President’s Competitive Scholarship in the amount of $2,500. Faith Jurek from Goldthwaite and Saba Nafees from Fort Worth were each awarded the President’s Interactive Scholarship in the amount of $2,500.

“We are excited about these new scholarships, and thrilled to have another opportunity to reward students who excel both in and outside the classroom,” Texas Tech President Guy Bailey said. “Brad, Jeffrey, Faith and Saba all embody what Texas Tech University wants in a student: commitment, excellence and a desire to be the best.”

The scholarship recipients will be honored at an award luncheon on May 11.

The requirements for the President’s Competitive Scholarship include a 3.0 GPA, and involvement in leadership and extracurricular activities. The President’s Interactive Scholarship is designed to encourage student participation in one of the following: study abroad, internships or undergraduate research.

“We encourage all of our students to participate in at least one of the following activities during their time at Texas Tech: undergraduate research, study abroad, and internships,” Bailey said. “We know that these activities broaden our students’ educational experience and success, leading to exceptional opportunities upon graduation.”

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The online-based biannual publication provides an outlet for an emerging research institution such as Texas Tech to tell the stories of its scholars.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) released the inaugural issue of Texas Tech Discoveries: Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in spring 2011. One year later, the OVPR announces the release of the third edition of the online research magazine, continuing the tradition of disseminating to the community and the world information about the outstanding scholarly activity at Texas Tech.

The online-based biannual publication provides an outlet for an emerging research institution such as Texas Tech to tell the stories of its scholars, who are engaged in disciplines ranging from the physical and social sciences to the arts and humanities. The publication includes profiles in excellence and discovery, featuring Texas Tech’s distinguished faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and alumni; the latest research stories and news briefs; book announcements; accomplishments and awards; and interactive media, from video and audio clips to image galleries and social media.

“I am very proud of the excellent research, scholarship and creative efforts of our dedicated faculty at Texas Tech,” said Taylor Eighmy, vice president for research. “In this third edition of Texas Tech Discoveries, I am excited to highlight the transdisciplinary work of our researchers with faculty from our sister institutions and other research universities and partners. The university has set a goal to join the nation’s top research universities. Texas Tech Discoveries is a showcase for the broad range of work that is the foundation of our mission.”

The spring 2012 edition begins with a look at obesity research at Texas Tech through a transdisciplinary project titled Transformacion para Salud. Other stories in the publication include a feature by Eighmy on undergraduate research, the core of discovery and experiential learning at Texas Tech, as well as features ranging from quail preservation to printmaking.

Texas Tech Discoveries is released twice a year, in the spring and fall semesters. Read the latest edition at www.texastechdiscoveries.ttu.edu or subscribe here.

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The initial study will generate brain maps of the neural pathways and regions associated with patient’s perception of the SkyCeilings™ unique imagery.

Texas Tech’s Neuroimaging Institute will partner with The Sky Factory, a fine art and technology company that creates pleasant imagery of nature, to research the effects of these natural images on patient health.

Evidence-based design research indicates illusions of nature, such as a sky scene on the ceiling of a room, support healing, reduce stress and anxiety, and reduce the use of pain medications in health care settings. These realistic illusions have been installed in health care environments around the world to alleviate stress, promote patient relaxation, provide positive distraction and improve the patient experience.

The two-part research project, conducted by College of Human Sciences professors Debajyoti Pati, Michael O’Boyle and Cherif Amor, will study the effects of Sky Factory’s virtual skylights on hospital patients.

Pati said this research is exciting for Texas Tech, as it will mark the entry of the university into the field of neuroscience and architecture.

“These studies deal with the ground-breaking application of fMRI technology in building justifications for actual commercial products in a real-life context,” Pati said.

The initial study will generate brain maps of the neural pathways and regions associated with subjects’ perception of Sky Factory SkyCeilings™ unique imagery and compare those results with the mapped responses of the subjects’ viewing imagery established as being positive, negative or neutral.

The second half of the study will gather data on hospital patients over the period of one year. One group will be assessed while staying in rooms with Sky Factory SkyCeilings installed over the beds, and a second group while staying in rooms without the SkyCeilings.

The Sky Factory, LC is a unique fine art and technology company based in Fairfield, Iowa. Founded in 2002, the company creates realistic Illusions of Nature™ ­— virtual skylights and virtual windows that transform interior spaces. Applications include all health care environments, eldercare facilities, schools, workplaces, and hospitality environments.

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Bailey

Proposals are now being accepted for Texas Tech University’s Internal Competitive Funding Opportunity to Advance Scholarship in the Creative Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. About $600,000 is available to faculty in those areas.

“This is the second year for the internal funding initiative to help our faculty enhance their scholarly and creative efforts,” said Guy Bailey, Texas Tech president. “We have outstanding faculty in every area of our university. This is one way to reward those in disciplines that have little access to external funding.”

Last year, more than $440,000 was distributed to more than 40 faculty members. Many faculty members in the creative arts, humanities and some social science areas have little external funding available, compared to colleagues in sciences and engineering. Texas Tech devised the internal competitive funding opportunity as a way to advance scholarship in these areas and to promote excellence.

“Last year’s internal competition was immensely successful,” said Taylor Eighmy, senior vice president for research. “We intend for these grants to be transformational for the faculty members, to provide free time for thinking and creating, and to provide general support for scholarly and creative efforts.”

Four types of awards will be made this year: Level 1 ($3,000 or less), Level 2 ($10,000 or less), Level 3 ($20,000 or less), and Level 4 ($40,000 or less). There are specific requirements expected of applicants based on the level of award received.

Eighmy

“These funds are intended to advance the scholarship of the applicant and to promote excellence,” said Bob Smith, Texas Tech provost. “We want our faculty to collaborate both within and outside of the humanities and social sciences. These awards are meant to encourage scholarship so that they may create new art, write books, and be able to present at the best conferences and workshops.”

The funds can be used in many ways including purchasing equipment or computers, traveling to conferences, or for collaboration, travel for presentations, to support applications for distinguished faculty award opportunities, early scholarship development, new areas of work, and supporting graduate students or undergraduate research efforts.

Applications are due by July 9. Dossiers submitted for the grants will undergo a rigorous peer review. The application and review process will be confidential. Constructive and thoughtful feedback will be provided to applicants.

Guidelines for proposal submission, requirements and expectations of the faculty member are available at: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/vpr/award-ops/CAHSScompetition.php.

The competition this year is overseen by a steering committee comprising Michael San Francisco, associate vice president for research/faculty development, chair; Brian Steel, associate dean in the College of Visual and Performing Arts; David Larmour, Horn professor in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures; Aliza Wong, associate professor of history and president of the Faculty Senate; and Laura Beard, professor and assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Murray teaches a political behavior course, which covers topics such as voter turnout, public opinion and political psychology.

A Texas Tech professor has been named an academic fellow for 2012-2013 by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), a non-partisan policy institute headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Gregg R. Murray, an assistant professor of political science, will travel to Israel at the end of May for an intensive course in terrorism studies and how democracies can defeat the worldwide terrorist threat.

“Research I’ve done with current and former colleagues here at Texas Tech shows that one way people respond to terrorism is by turning out to vote in greater numbers,” Murray said. “This is an important opportunity to see first-hand and in-depth the factors that we think are involved in driving voters to the polls in response to terrorism.”

Murray teaches courses on political behavior, which includes topics such as voter turnout, public opinion and political psychology. He also actively conducts research on the effect of terrorism on political behavior.

The FDD Academic Fellows program provides a 10-day learning experience to U.S. –based teaching and research professionals to provide them with cutting edge information about defeating terrorist groups.

The 2012 program, which will be conducted at Tel Aviv University from May 27-June 6, includes lectures by academics and military and intelligence officials as well as diplomats from Israel, Jordan, India, and the United States. It also includes hands-on experience through visits to police, customs, and immigration facilities; military bases; and border zones to learn the practical side of deterring and defeating terrorists.

“Terrorism is the greatest threat today to the world’s democracies, including the United States and our allies around the globe,” said Clifford May, president of FDD. “To win the war against terrorism, we must win the war of ideas by promoting democracy and defeating the totalitarian ideologies that drive and justify terrorism.”

Historically, the rangelands and Rolling Plains of West Texas have been home to the greatest concentrations of quail in the U.S., but numbers have declined for the past 20 years.

“Poor bob-white,” the iconic song of one of America’s most popular game birds, is fading into a golden oldie as quail disappear in massive numbers. Now thousands of Texans want to know where all the quail have gone.

To find the answers, the Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation (RPQRF) will provide $1.5 million to staff a new laboratory at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) at Texas Tech that will support the assessment of diseases, parasites and contaminants that could impact quail.

The lab will serve as central receiving of quail samples for a partnership called Operation Idiopathic Decline, through which researchers from TIEHH, RPQRF, Texas A&M University and Texas A&M-Kingsville sample quail from 19 different counties across West Texas and 10 sites in western Oklahoma. Also, it will process various specimens to share with colleagues at other institutions.

The Demise of Quail Populations

In addition to the central receiving laboratory, which is staffed for operational capability seven days a week, TIEHH has created other support facilities. Part of the funding already received helped to build a new aviary to conduct experiments on the response of quail to various environmental issues.

Part of the funding has already been used to build a new aviary to conduct experiments on the response of quail to various environmental issues.

Rick Snipes, RPQRF’s president said that the new partnership results in a major support capability for engaging many scientific investigators in a large-scale research effort involving multiple universities to evaluate the response of quail to possible pathogens.

Snipes also owns a historically strong quail ranch in Stonewall County.

“Initially, our focus is on the Rolling Plains of Texas and Oklahoma, and already we have interest from states as far away as North Carolina to be involved,” Snipes said. “We welcome a challenge, and we intend to meet it head on with solutions in terms of evaluating what has happened to our quail and how we can help them come back to the Rolling Plains of West Texas.”

Historically, the rangelands and Rolling Plains of West Texas have been home to the greatest concentrations of quail in the U.S. Numbers have declined for the past 20 years, but dropped to record lows in recent years. No one knows why.

This partnership between TIEHH and RPQRF takes aim at the problem.

Researchers expect to collect 600 to 1,500 birds annually over the three-year project. Nearly $3 million of private funding, donated by quail hunters themselves, has been earmarked for the studies, half of which has gone to TIEHH.

Ron Kendall, director of TIEHH and a principal investigator in the initiative, said that the institute is perfectly situated geographically, and staffed strategically to play a prominent role in the research effort. 

“I’d say the fall quail population declined by as much as 80 to 90 percent in 2010,” he said. “This is a huge drop. Ranchers contacted us and said they were finding dead birds, or weren’t seeing quail like they had seen them before. This happened late last summer to a large degree.”

Ongoing Research Efforts

Steve Presley, associate professor of environmental toxicology, and his team will lead this central receiving laboratory.

“The ability to operate a central receiving laboratory has opened the door for receiving hundreds of quail specimens across the Rolling Plains so we can have the numbers necessary to evaluate health and response of quail to various environmental parameters,” Presley said. “As the study expands to other states, the lab at TIEHH is positioned to play a major role in this research.”

Researchers expect to collect between 600 to 1,500 birds annually over the three-year project.

Other TIEHH researchers involved in the endeavor include Phil Smith, associate professor of environmental toxicology, and Todd Anderson, professor of environmental toxicology. Additionally, numerous graduate students will assist in the field and lab portions of this project.

Through Operation Idiopathic Decline, researchers have discovered the presence of eye worms in up to 50 percent of the quail from the Rolling Plains. Researchers said this infection rate is of great interest to the initiative. Scientists at TIEHH will evaluate the implications of eye worms in quail in terms of predator-prey relationships and foraging capability, in addition to determining the eye worm’s intermediate host, which is thought at this time to be a cockroach.

“This cutting-edge research would not have been possible without the partnership between RPQRF and TIEHH through the Operation Idiopathic Decline initiative,” Kendall said.

The demise of quail populations in the Rolling Plains is not of interest just to quail hunters. It has a significant economic-development angle as well. Hunters from across the nation travel each year to Texas to pursue the bobwhite quail.

By November, the arrival of orange-clad quail hunters and bird dogs brings vital revenue to economically strained rural communities. In the past decade, wildlife recreation has driven the real estate value of rural ranchland. Substantial quail populations on a property can bring premium value for land sale and lease contracts.

Dale Rollins, RPQRF’s executive director and a professor with Texas Agrilife Research, said the eyes of America’s quail hunters are focused on the ongoing research efforts.

“The new initiative and the emergence of the capabilities at TIEHH have given us a strategic base from which to attack this problem and, hopefully, overcome it,” Rollins said.]]> http://today.ttu.edu/2012/04/1-5-million-grant-helps-researchers-address-quail-decline/feed/ 0