Yearly report for the Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences Institute, 2011-2012
The purpose of the Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences Institute (EPSSI) is to enable its members to
offer programs and to pursue research opportunities that are beyond the scope of individual
departments. The Charter1 for the Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences Institute states that the Institute
will:
•
Contribute to startup funds to support new faculty.
•
Provide funding for postdoctoral scholars.
•
Support and oversee the graduate program in Atmospheric Sciences.
•
Recruit and support graduate students.
•
Support multi-PI proposals.
EPSSI's activities in fiscal year 2011-12 are aligned with those stated above as follows:
•
The Institute is contributing $22,000 over two years (last year and this one) to startup for a new
faculty member in Geology.
•
The Institute has spent $24,048 to support graduate students (tuition and stipend) in this fiscal
year.
•
As indicated in last year's report, the Institute committed funds (as required cost share) for
support of a postdoctoral scholar working on the Cloud Chamber MRI. EPSSI has also
contributed to support for a postdoc in GMES. Total expenditures in support of postdoctoral
scholars for this fiscal year is $41,590.
•
The Institute has provided (i.e. actually spent) $21,674 in miscellaneous cost share for various
proposals in this fiscal year.
•
EPSSI coordinates one of the longest running, most successful seminar series on campus – the
Remote Sensing Seminar. In fiscal year 2011-12, the Institute spent $14,434 on the seminar
series. See Appendix A for a list of the seminar speakers.
Facts and Figures, Specific to Fiscal Year 2011-2012
EPSSI's total expenditures were $118,450.
There were 33 awarded grants (not counting two REF grants) affiliated with EPSSI in this fiscal year
with a total expected expenditure over the lifetime of the grants of $15,934,621. See Appendix B for a
complete list.
In fiscal year 2011-12, 20 EPSSI affiliated grants were submitted. See Appendix C for a complete list.
There are 10 graduate students in the Atmospheric Sciences program, which EPSSI oversees. Two
more have been admitted to the program and will be starting in the fall of 2012. There were nine
applications to the Atmospheric Sciences program this year.
1 www.epssi.mtu.edu/EPSSI_RSI_Charter.pdf
1
Appendix A: Seminar Speakers, Fall 20112
Speaker
Affiliation
Engielle Paguican
Universite Blaise Pascal Clermont Ferrand, France
Joe Meert
University of Florida
Bob Shuchman
Michigan Tech Research Institute
Tim Garrett
University of Utah
Michael R. Hoffman
California Institute of Technology
Yan Liu
Northern Michigan University
Elissa M. Eastvedt
Langmuir Laboratory, New Mexico Institute of Mining and
Technology
Giuseppe Petrucci
University of Vermont
Qing Liang
NASA GESTAR/Universities Space Research Association
(USRA)
Jim Pankow
Portland State University
Ronald T. Eguchi
ImageCat, Inc.
Richard Aster
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Xinhua Shen
Michigan Technological University
2 See www.epssi.mtu.edu/seminar/index.html for titles and abstracts.
2
Appendix B: Awarded proposals affiliated with EPSSI, 2011-2012
Principal Investigator Funding agency Project title
MITEP: A model for improving earth science education
Baltensperger/Rose
NSF
nationwide
Cantrell
NSF
Measurement of Ice Nuclei in the Contact Mode
Carn
NASA
A-Train Volcano Observatory (ATVO)
Validation of OMI L2 sulfur dioxide retrievals over
Carn
NASA
volcanic and anthropogenic sources
CDI-type II proposal: Vhub: Collaborative research:
Carn
NSF
Cyberinfrastructure for volcano eruption hazards modeling
and simulation
A combined EOS data and GEOS chem modeling study of
Carn
U of Neb
the direct radiative forcing volcanic sulfate aerosols
Continuation of long-term sulfur dioxide EDR with the NPP
Carn
U of Md
ozone mapping and profiler suite nadir mapper
Collaborative research: synthesis of existing and new
Doskey
NSF
observations of air-snowpack exchanges to assess the arctic
tropospheric ozone budget
PIRE: Remote sensing for hazard mitigation and resource
Gierke
NSF
protection in Pacific Latin America
Volcanic hazards and remote sensing in Pacific Latin
Gierke
NSF
America: San Jose, Costa Rica: January/February, 2011
Collab Pro: Personnel support for the construction and
Huentemeyer
NSF
commissioning of thegamma-ray observatory
Determine invasion status and ecological effects of an
Kerfoot
NPS
exotic zooplakter in several Great Lakes area parks
Kostinski
NSF
Stochastic aspects of physical and radar meteorology
A study of biomass-burning and anthropogenic impacts on
arctic tropospheric chemistry using measurements at
Kramer
NASA
Summit, Greenland as part of the POLARCAT International
Polar Year project
MRI: Development of a photoacoustic light absorption and
Mazzoleni, C
Nev Sys Ed
albedospectrometer for the characterization of aerosol
radiative transfer in the solar spectrum
The radiative role free tropospheric aerosols and marine
Mazzoleni, C
USDOE
clouds
Collaborative research: hygroscopic properties of aerosol
Mazzoleni, L
NSF
organics
Collaborative research: Chemical, physical and radiative
Mazzoleni, L
NSF
properties of North Atlantic free tropospheric aerosol after
long-range transport
Nitz
CO St U
Northern hemisphere Pierre Auger Observatory in Colorado
Recovery Act:Year 13 studies of high energy particle
Nitz
USDOE
astrophysics
Recovery Act:Year 14 studies of high energy particle
Nitz
USDOE
astrophysics
3
Owen
USDOE
Rose
US Ed
Shaw
USDOE
Shaw
Battelle
Shaw
NSF
Shaw
NSF
Smirnov
NSF
Smirnov
NSF
Smirnov
NSF
Waite
NSF
Waite
NSF
Wu
USEPA
Wu
NSF
The radiative role free tropospheric aerosols and marine
clouds
International geological master in volcanology and
geotechniques
Laboratory investigations of contact freezing and the
aerosol to ice crystal transformation process
Further Development of the HOLODEC 2 (Holographic
Detector for Clouds 2) Instrument
MRI: Development of a multiphase turbulent reaction
chamber for laboratory studies os atmospheric aerosol and
cloud processes
Laboratory and field studies of cloud-turbulence
interactions via digital holography
A Paleomagnetic and Geochronological Re-investigation of
the ~1.1 Ga Coldwell Complex: Implications for the
Reversal Asymmetry in Keweenawan Rocks
Paleointensity, morphology and stability of the proterozoic
geomagnetic field as recorded by mafic dikes ins India
CAREER: Reading magnetic fingerprints from deep time:
An insight into the geodynamo and early earth system
evolution
An integrated analysis of seismicity, infrasound and highresolution SO2 measurements to determine te source of
low-frequency seismicity at Villarrica Volcano, Chile
CAREER: eruption dynamics from low-frequency
volcano_seismic signals
Impacts of changes in use and land cover on US air quality:
development and application of an integrated-vegetationchemistry model
Collaborative research: Investigation of ozone
photochemistry in lower-FT continental outflow traveling
over the North Atlantic
4
Appendix C: Proposals affiliated with EPSSI, submitted in 2011-2012
Principal
Investigator
Agency
Cantrell
NASA
Gierke
Wu
Smirnov
Mazzoleni, C.
Mazzoleni, L.
Wu
Oommen
Oommen
Carn
Oommen
Mayer
Waite
Oommen
Shaw
Doskey
Mazzoleni
Carn
Oommen
Kerfoot
Kerfoot
Title
Measurements of effects of the freezing process of ice on its vapor
pressure
Advancing natural hazard mitigation through research and education
NSF
in assessing hazard risk, human perceptions and behaviors
CAREER: effects of climate change on extreme air pollution
NSF
meteorology and implications for air quality
CAREER: reading magnetic fingerprints from deep time: An insight
NSF
into the geodynamo and early Earth system evolution
CAREER: Investigation of aerosols and clouds in a turbulent
NSF
environment using a supercontinuum LIDAR
CAREER: Aqueous phase SOA formation from isoprene in suspended
NSF
aerosols and droplets
Impacts of climate change on lightning activities and the
NASA
consequences for atmospheric composition
Collaborative research: semi-automation of damage assessment
NSF
models for extreme events that use crowdsourcing to analyze remote
sensing imagery
Regional liquefaction hazard evaluation for locations with sparse
NSF
geotechnical data
Volcano monitoring tools for East Africa and Mesoamerica
NASA
(VOMTEAM)
Application of remote sensing techniques to rapidly delineate
NASA
liquefaction for a New Madrid Earthquake
Using satellite imagery and vegetation loss indicators in a machine
NASA
learning model for landslides in Central America
NSF
Numerical and analog modeling of weak volcanic shockwaves
Environmental hazards posed by the main radioactive waste deposits
geolog.ch
of Mailuu Suu and innovative remediation measures
Investigating the effect of solar activity during a grand minimum on
NASA
clouds
Collaborative research: aerosol precursor emissions and secondary
NSF
aerosol production in the Midwestern United States
Aging of black carbon and ambient aerosol during atmospheric
RTI Int'n transport: Understanding results from the DOE 2010 DOE CARES
and 2012 CLERFLO campaigns
NASA
Multi-decadal sulfur dioxide climatology from satellite instruments
Model and evaluate the earthquake-induced lateral spreading from the
USGS
2002 Denali earthquake: Collaborative research with Michigan
Technological University and University of Alaska, Anchorage and
EPA
Lake Superior invasives: Limiting establishment and dispersal
EPA
Keweenaw stamp sands ecosystem restoration project
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