Spring and Summer 2005 ACS-Mellon Technology Fellows

[Spring 2005] [Summer 2005]

The proposals are in PDF format and you may need to download the free Adobe Acrobat PDF reader.

Spring 2005

Marc C. Conner, Washington and Lee University (English)
“Virtual Joyce: The Geography of Ulysses”: Proposing a web-based literary cartography of the Epic of Modernism

I propose to photograph in a detailed and copious manner the full range of sites employed in Joyce's modernist epic, Ulysses, using digital camera technology, as well as quicktime VR technology for panoramic and viewer-interactive shots.  I will then employ GPS technology to note the actual physical location of these sites and of characters’ progression from one site to another in the course of the book.  I will then prepare an annotated visual web guide to Ulysses, with images corresponding to the important events in each of the book’s 18 chapters, and clear annotations explaining the significance of the site in relation to the actions, themes, and structures of the novel.  The images will be linked to a detailed series of maps that lay out the overarching topography of the novel, as well as many of the embedded journeys that characters undergo throughout the book.  The result will be a unique resource to aid in the teaching and reading of this book, in which readers of all levels will be able to see and interact with the actual geography of Joyce’s epic, and get a sense of how the characters move through and respond to his densely realized world.

Proposal
Project Report
Project Home Page
Irish Literary Studies Web Portal

Philip Lockett, Centre College (Physics)
Imaging Processing Exercises in Astronomy Using ImageJ

Image processing has become an important tool in many disciplines. Until recently, students had little familiarity with the subject. However, the availability of inexpensive digital cameras has revolutionized the field. Students have often performed basic image processing procedures, but probably have little idea what mathematical transformations are being applied to the image. The basic ideas of image processing are not difficult to understand and students can benefit by understanding what is happening to an image when they apply a processing tool. Good image processing software is available, but it is often expensive and complicated to use. Furthermore, these programs are usually oriented toward photography and lack tools useful in the sciences. ImageJ is a program that solves many of these problems. It is powerful and can be used for most image processing tasks. It is also open source and freely available. There is a large user base and users share their extensions to the program. I intend to develop lab exercises that use ImageJ to introduce the fundamentals of image processing and then use these exercises in an introductory astronomy class for non-majors.

Proposal
Interim Report
Final Report

Summer 2005

Mario Belloni and Wolfgang Christian, Davidson College (Physics)
Open Source Physics Curricular Material and Programs for Teaching Spin in Quantum Mechanics

We propose to adapt and develop approximately 5 new programs (applications and applets) and supporting curricular material for intermediate and advanced courses in quantum mechanics. The programs and exercises will stress the conceptual understanding of spin (intrinsic) angular momentum in quantum mechanics. The programs and curricular material will be distributed under the GNU open source model.

Proposal
Final Report
About the OSP Spins Launcher Package
OSP_SPINS Pamphlet
Download the osp_spins.jar file
Project Home Page

We will design a series of General Chemistry discovery exercises which are based on Molecular Mechanics modeling. Each exercise will demonstrate a vital concept in general chemistry in a totally interactive way: students will be able to designate properties of the system they are studying such as number of molecules, temperature, volume, etc., and then see what happens when these molecules are allowed to interact according to classical mechanics. We believe this interactive approach will allow students to 'own' concepts more so than they would by simply reading about them. Our exercises will be based on the Tinker molecular modeling package and the Force Field Explorer GUI.

Proposal
Interim Report
Final Report

Tim Cutler, Austin College (Music) [NITLE Southern Region]
Internet Music Theory Database

Like other music teachers, I spend a great deal of time finding appropriate examples of harmonic and contrapuntal techniques for my courses in tonal music theory. Presently, there are few sources that offer help. The purpose of this project is to create an internet database of music theory examples to remedy this situation. Such a database could save teachers hours of preparation time, and it also would be useful to music students wanting to further their theoretical studies independently. The database will consist of score excerpts in Finale notation accompanied by sound files, organized into specific harmonic and contrapuntal subjects. There will be approximately thirty chapters, each devoted to a specific harmonic or contrapuntal technique. The title, movement, and measure numbers of each excerpt will be clearly marked, and some examples will include a brief comment about an unusual or interesting feature. Each chapter will include both typical and atypical examples of the topic. I will supply the initial excerpts, but eventually I would like others in the music theory and music education community to contribute their favorite examples. Thus, the Internet Music Theory Database will be an ever-growing resource for music teachers and students.

Proposal
Final Report
Project Home Page

Astronomy students are typically liberal arts majors with minimal background in math and science. 3-D animations created with the VPython libraries of the Python computer language will provide students with the tools needed to visualize the complex systems and interactions routinely discussed in an introductory astronomy course.  The simulations will also provide a means for students to interact with complex systems and perform simple but instructive experiments. As a result, students will develop a much deeper understanding of complex phenomena than they would when taught with traditional techniques.

Proposal
VPNBody-- solar-system symplectic integration package for VPython

A Videolit© explores the possibilities that the illuminated screen (TV, computer and projected film) may bring to the reception and dissemination of literature. In a Videolit©, the screen is valued and used for its ability to channel literary and analytical messages. Videolits© build on the stimulating pedagogical possibilities that the medium "screen" brings to the teaching and delivery of literary texts. In videolits©, animation serves as an interpretative point of departure in a time-based adaptation. Moving type is layered with electronically manipulated video to re-create and expand meaning through visual and kinetic metaphors. Leonardo Padura Fuentes (Havana, Cuba, 1955) is one of the most recognized writers in contemporary Cuban literature. He is internationally known as one of creators of the new detective novel.

Proposal
Report

The Yavanika project will create a digital library of video clips  of Asian theatre, and make them available online as video streams (not  as downloadable files, but as on-demand broadcasts).  This video  material will facilitate the diversification of theatre courses by  providing some direct encounter with otherwise inaccessible theatre  forms, and will lend itself to the study of performance in other  disciplines such as Religious Studies, Anthropology, and Music.

Proposal
Project Report

Specialized upper-level chemistry courses in emerging areas such as medicinal chemistry are becoming more commonly taught at the undergraduate level. An issue with these types of courses is obtaining adequate materials and assignments beyond those available in the textbook. To address this need, a number of interactive web pages dealing with basic medicinal chemistry concepts will be written. These web pages will emphasize mathematical relationships encountered in medicinal chemistry including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and simple QSAR models. All the pages will use the Java-based tools available from Professors Wolfgang Christian and Mario Belloni of the Department of Physics at Davidson College.

Proposal
Report
Student Feedback on Medicinal Chemistry Online Exercises
Project Home Page

The collaboration between Drs. Charles Stinemetz and Robert England will result in the development of an inexpensive computer-driven plant growth monitoring system. Student exposure to this technology will illustrate the advantages of computer driven experimental approaches and enhance student understanding of plant growth and development through real-time video digitization of both two and three dimensional plant growth patterns. The initial integration of these materials into the Rhodes biology curriculum will begin through the use of this system in student research projects and in upper level biology laboratories. The software and materials developed in this project will be distributed to other ACS plant biologist and faculty with an interest in digital imagery.

Proposal

The project is to digitalize 300-500 slides of English landscape gardens and to store them in a searchable, annotated, web-based database for use in 18th-century English literature courses and art history courses. The database will be most useful for teachers, researchers, and advanced students of 18th-century studies. In particular, it will allow one to compare the varied uses of Greek, Roman, and Gothic architecture as appropriated by landscape designers. It will also allow one to compare and contrast the different fashions and styles of the English landscape garden from its early similarities to formal French gardens to its later, more Romantic, manifestations. Because the database contains identifying text and query tags, faculty can create assignments directly from the database (to research a particular landscape architect, or the ways in which one Roman temple was used as a model for structures in several gardens, for example). Students and faculty alike will use individual images to enrich classroom presentations, lectures, and papers.

Proposal
Project Report
Project Home Page

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