Category Archives: CEAS Library

Missing Maps Mapathon held at UC Libraries

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On Nov 3rd, the Red Cross and UC libraries partnered to hold a second Missing Maps Mapathon. Missing Maps is an open, collaborative project in which you can help to map areas where humanitarian organisations are trying to meet the needs of vulnerable people.

During the mapathon, participants used the Open Street Map platform to identify buildings in satellite images and place them on a regional map (georeference).  The Red Cross uses this information to set up emergency services in areas that are impacted by natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes.  The mapping will be verified by Red Cross volunteers working in the mapped country and will help prepare response teams in the area to better assist if disaster strikes.

This year’s project covered three areas in the Lake Chad region in Niger.  This region of the world is experiencing a great humanitarian crisis due to poor infrastructure, conflict, poverty, and climate change.  It has been reported that nearly 17 million people are affected by the dire situation and 10.7 million are in need of humanitarian assistance.  The International Red Cross has been working in the area for thirty years and coordinates efforts with local relief agencies.

At this year’s event, UC Geography student Rachel Byrd led UC Cincinnatus Scholar students, UC Librarian Amy Koshoffer, UC Press Director Liz Scarpelli,  and Red Cross International Services Manager Paula McIntosh through the 4 hour mapping session.  In the span of four hours, volunteers were able to map three regions around the lake and identified 6065 buildings.  Many thanks to all who participated and contributed to the mission of the Red Cross.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UC Libraries Closed Nov. 12 for Veterans’ Day. HSL to Remain Open 9am-5pm.

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Veterans DayUC Libraries will be closed Monday, November 12 in observance of Veterans’ Day, except for the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, which will be open 9am to 5pm.

Normal hours will resume Tuesday, November 13. This closing includes the Walter C. Langsam Library 4th floor space, which will close Sunday, November 11 at 11pm and re-open Tuesday, November 13 at 8am.

How UC Researchers use the Open Science Framework – Theresa Culley, Head of Biological Sciences and Professor of Biology, Editor-in-Chief Applications in Plant Sciences

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Researcher Name: Theresa Culley, Head of Biological Sciences and Professor of Biology, Editor-in-Chief Applications in Plant Sciences

In our fourth installment of the series “How UC Researchers use the Open Science Framework”, we hear from  Theresa Culley, Head of Biological Sciences and Professor of Biology, Editor-in-Chief Applications in Plant Sciences

 

Theresa Culley - 2018 Head of Biological Sciences

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research Project Description or statement about your research interest:

My research area in Botany focuses on plant population biology and genetics and I have a deep interest in the evolution of invasive species.  I am also very interested in publication patterns regarding research involving hotspot areas of biodiversity.  My lab has been considering the question of whether researchers from developing countries, which have the most biodiversity hotspots, receive adequate credit for their work.  We are currently working on a project examining publishing bias in the scientific literature about plant conservation genetics.  This collaboration is in partnership with UC Libraries’ Digital Scholarship Center and is one of several collaborations funded by a $900,000 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded to the Center.  I am also interested in this topics in my role as Editor-in-Chief for Applications in Plant Sciences.

Why did you chose to use the OSF to organize your research/projects?

I am an advocate for data sharing and reproducible research.  In an editorial I wrote for Applications in Plant Sciences, I highlighted the many reasons to ensure access to data and major considerations behind why researchers may not want to share data.  A resource like the open science framework is an excellent tool for promoting transparency and reproducibility and advancing the field at an accelerated pace.  The OSF helps to manage the entire project and especially makes it easy to share data within our research group and with collaborators.  This is a great place to manage the active parts of a project, and link all the different tools that members of a research group use .  We also have the ability to archive data and content here and look forward to a possible integration into our Institutional Repository in the future.

What about the OSF makes this tool a good choice for your project management (i.e. specific function of the OSF)?

Some of my team members prefer to use Dropbox and some are using Box.  Using the OSF makes it possible to bring all the different tools we are using under one project umbrella.  And it helps us to track activity on the project.

Additional comment for the post that you are willing to share:

Currently our project is not public, but we hope to share components in the future.

The Center for Open Science has been a great resource for our lab and the journal Applications in Plant Sciences.  In August 2016, the journal adopted the TOP guidelines, along with its sister journal, American Journal of Botany.

Data Science Social – Wednesday OCTOBER 31 4-6 pm

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Please Join Us Wednesday OCTOBER 31 from 4-6 pm at the UC Catskeller

Bring your Scariest Data Dilemma & Swap Spooky Science Stories with colleagues!

Sign up for a 3-minute Flash Talk here: https://goo.gl/forms/5VFzvFoUGbg1DiHq2.
RSVP and Questions: ucitresearch@ucmail.uc.edu

Food will be provided

Flyer: DCSS social flyer_20181031

Science Gateways’ presentation & lunch with Dr. Sandra Gesing Oct 30th

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Please join the Data and Computational Science Series (DCSS) team for a (free!) ‘Understanding Science Gateways’ presentation & lunch with Dr. Sandra Gesing, Computational Scientist, University of Notre Dame.

Science Gateways and the Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) with Dr. Sandra Gesing

Tuesday October 30 – TUC 400B FREE REGISTRATION

 

 

 

 

 

Science Gateways – also called virtual research environments or virtual labs – allow science and engineering communities to access shared data, software, computing services, instruments and other resources specific to their disciplines and use them also in teaching environments. The U.S. Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) provides free resources, services, experts, and ideas for creating and sustaining science gateways.

11am-1pm: General Introduction to Science Gateways & the Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) – Lunch provided

1pm-3pm: Science Gateways Presentation On Usability With Hands-On Portion – please bring a laptop

These events are free and open to all.

FREE REGISTRATION

Flyer – DCS2 _Intro to Science Gateways_30oct18

Flyer – DCS2 _Science Gateways Usability presentation_30oct18

General Introduction to Science Gateways & the Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI)
In the last decade mature complete science gateway frameworks have evolved such as HUBzero, Galaxy, Agave and Apache Airavata. Successful implementations have been adapted for several science gateways, for example, the technologies behind the science gateways CIPRES, which is used by over 25.000 users to date and serves the community in the area of large phylogenetic trees. Lessons learned from the last decade include that approaches should be technology agnostic, use standard web technologies or deliver a complete solution. Independent of the technology, the major driver for science gateways are the user communities and user engagement is key for successful science gateways. The US Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI), opened in August 2016, provides free resources, services, experts, and ideas for creating and sustaining science gateways. It offers five areas of services to the science gateway developer and user communities: the Incubator, Extended Developer Support, the Scientific Software Collaborative, Community Engagement and Exchange, and Workforce Development. The talk will give an introduction to science gateways, examples for science gateways & an overview on the services offered by the SGCI to serve user communities & developers for creating successful science gateways.

Discover UCIT Research Computing Tools and Services

 

 

 

 

Mark Chalmers Joins UC Libraries as Science and Engineering Librarian

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Mark Chalmers began work in UC Libraries on Oct. 22 as the science and engineering librarian where he will develop research and instructional programs for the UC STEM populations: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. His work will include research consultations, teaching and workshops, collection development and liaison responsibility for designated science and engineering disciplines (to be announced at a future date).  Mark will also support new and emerging initiatives such as Research and Data Services, repository outreach and connecting the libraries to UC’s innovation agenda.

Mark received his MLIS in May 2018 from Kent State University, and he holds a BA in astrophysics from Ohio Wesleyan University. While at Kent State, Mark worked as a graduate assistant in Dr. Emad Khazraee’s Data Science Research Lab and completed projects in text mining and the analysis of Twitter feed data. While studying for his BA, he was active in undergraduate research, conference presentations and tutoring in physics and astronomy.

Welcome, Mark, to UC Libraries!

UC Celebration of National GIS Day

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Please mark your calendars on November 14, 2018 as UC Libraries will join the Department of Geography & GIS, GISSA and the Geography Graduate Student Association in celebrating National GIS Day.

This year’s speaker will be Dr. Daniel Sui , Vice President for Research, University of Arkansas and former Division Director for Social and Economic Sciences (SES) at the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Agenda:

Venue – 402 Braunstein Hall

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Open meet and greet

Venue – TUC 427

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Lunch

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Featured Speaker: Dr. Daniel Sui

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Question and Answer Session

This event is free and open to all

Flyer – UC_GIS_Day

Second Mapathon to be held at UC Libraries – Nov 3rd, 2018

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missing maps banner

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Nov 3rd, The Red Cross will hold their second Missing Maps Mapathon at UC Libraries in 475 Langsam from 10 am to 2 pm.  The information collected from a Mapathon helps the Red Cross identify the best locations to bring in emergency supplies, where to house emergency operations and what local resources they can collaborate with in emergency response efforts.  In order to participate, you do not need extensive mapping experience.  The maps are creating using the Open Street Map platform and you can learn quickly by watching these training videos (1. Create an Open Street Map account, 2. Learn to map buildings).

If you are interested to participate, please register here –  https://goo.gl/forms/b2sAl9zlS4ajSklg1  and watch the training videos.  A Pizza lunch will be provided for attendees.  Please bring a drink or refillable water bottle.  This is a great and fun way to get service hours if you need them.

Please contact Amy Koshoffer – ASKDATA@UC.EDU if you have questions about the event.  More information is provided in the attached flyer.

Flyer – Missing Maps Flyer rev. 10.3.18

Jetstream Hands-on Workshop October 31st

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Indiana University’s Jeremy Fischer will present a hands-on workshop on Jetstream, a free, cloud-based, on-demand high performance computing resource.
Please join IT@UC R&D and UCL on October 31 from 9:30am to 12:30pm in Langsam Library room 475 for a free workshop on Jetstream, the National Science Foundation’s first science and engineering cloud. With a focus on ease of use and broad accessibility, Jetstream is designed for those who have not previously used high performance computing and software resources.

Jetstream Core capabilities

  • Interactive virtual machines (VMs) – both a public library of preconfigured VMs and a private library with saved, personalized versions
  • Secure data movement using Globus Transfer
  • Virtual desktops for access from a tablet or laptop over a cellular network
  • Reproducible data analysis using digital object identifiers (DOIs) stored and published via IU’s digital archive

Workshops are open to anyone who interested in learning about Jetstream resources. There are no prerequisites for attending. Please bring a lap top.   REGISTER

Flyer: jetstream_oct_31

For additional information, contact Jane Combs at combsje@uc.edu.

After the workshop head to the Catskeller for the first Data Science Social from 4-6 pm.  Food provided through the Provost funded Data & Computational Science Series.  Drinks on you!

Visiting Librarian Yanli Liu Gave Her Final Presentation

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Yanli Liu gave a presentation about data services and courses at the National Science Library, China Academy of Sciences

Yanli Liu and Amy Koshoffer co-taught a session for summer research students.

Hong Cheng, Ted Baldwin, Xuemao Wang, Yanli Liu, Leslie Schick at Yanli’s final presentation.

Yanli Liu, the visiting librarian from the National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences completed her six-month period at the University of Cincinnati. Splitting time at the CEAS Library and the HSL Library, Yanli was involved in research data services, engineering librarianship, attending campus-wide workshops and webinars. On October 4th, she gave a final presentation about her two main projects: citation analysis of Mathematics and Physics researchers at UC and data management services survey and workshop.