Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Jan. 24, 2006, edition 1 / Page 9
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ahr Baily (Ear lirrl Scopes to enlighten state BY SHARI FELD STAFF WRITER Alumnus John Morehead 111 wanted to find a gift for the University in the 1930s that would spark curiosity about science. After discussing the possibility of building a planetarium, he met with a Harvard University astronomer who had declared North Carolinians to be “the most astronomically igno rant people in all America.” Morehead challenged the astron omer, saying that if he revised the statement to read, “Of all people in America, North Carolinians are the most ignorant of astronomical mat ters,” they would work together to build the planetarium. The astronomer obliged, and the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center opened in 1949. The planetarium continues to ful fill Morehead’s mission today, look ing to use the center’s resources to better serve people across the state. When the Panchromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and Polarimetiy Telescopes come online next year, UNC-Chapel Hill students will not be the only ones able to wield them to study the night sky. PROMPT is part of UNC-CH’s greater effort to reach out to North Carolina and promote a more com petitive student population. The telescopes will provide high school and undergraduate students at other universities access to the telescopes free of charge on a limited basis. The telescopes are in develop ment stages along the slopes of Cerro Tololo, Chile. “It just ties in so perfectly with the history of the University,” Provost Robert Shelton said. About 10 percent of PROMPT telescope user time is allocated to the Morehead Planetarium’s programs with state high school students through Project Observe, which stands for Observation- Based Student Experience in Research Via Exploration. “We have the ability to inspire young people,” said Dan Reichart, a physics and astronomy professor who initiated PROMPT in 2002 to study gamma-ray bursts. “There is a deficit of scientifi cally literate students in the coun try. Astronomy is one way to attract people to science,” Reichard said. Astronomy is the “gateway drug” to other sciences, he joked. Through an application process, 30 earth and environmental sci- EXPERIENCE REAL WORLD SUCCESS IN OUR WORLD MHa tllf! COURTESY OF DAN REICHART Chile is the site of several UNC initiatives in astronomical research. The Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research in Chile is seen here. ence teachers from the state will be selected during the 2005-06 school year to participate in Observe, with plans for future expansion. “It’s hands-on astronomy, which is hard to do in the average North Carolina science classroom,” said Jesse Richuso, educational program assistant at Morehead Planetarium, adding that it is a way to combat low science test scores and to enhance the science curriculum. Rob Greenberg, an earth and environmental sciences instructor at Chapel Hill High School, was among the first teachers to show interest in the program. Greenberg is the only teacher to have a guaranteed position in the program, Richuso said. This spring, Greenberg will help Morehead offi cials test out the program. Next year his students will be able to direct the telescopes from the classroom via Skynet —a pri oritized queue scheduling system that works through the Internet. Students send a command through Skynet for the telescopes to take pictures, and PROMPT fol lows the orders when researchers are not using the telescopes. “It’s much better than learning out of a book,” Greenberg said. Skynet’s creator, UNC-CH alumnus Adam Crain, said he feels like he missed out during his sec ondary education experience. “I’m kind of jealous I didn’t have that opportunity as a high school student,” Crain said of the pro gram. “They get to participate in something that’s live.” Another 20 percent of telescope News user time is designated for non- UNC-CH undergraduate students, mostly from elsewhere in the state. “This is a way for them to get high-quality data from a profes sional observatory, and they can gain experience with die research process by working with the astronomer at their institution,” Reichart said. Professors at each participating institution are able to design their own curricula. “It gives us access to a part of the sky we otherwise would not have any access to,” said Dan Caton, observa tory director at Appalachian State University —one of 11 PROMPT collaboration institutions. Asa professor of physics and astronomy, Caton said he will inte grate the program into his obser vational techniques astronomy course and use the telescopes for personal research. Steve Danford, head of the department of physics and astron omy at UNC-Greensboro —anot her PROMPT collaborator will use the telescopes for similar pur poses. Danford said he hopes to enlist upper-level physics majors to participate in research. For a project that aims to learn more about the night sky, Reichart said, PROMPT’S future looks bright. “This is a great opportunity to expand this robotic telescope net work. In the future, this thing’s going to grow from six telescopes to a robotical global network” Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu. Volunteers comfort community ills Centers looking for willing help BY LAURA OLENIACZ STAFF WRITER When Amy Preble went on call for her first 24-hour shift at the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, she waited 23 hours and 45 min utes before her first call came in. “I was terrified at first,” she said, recalling the rush of adrenaline that initially came over her. Preble was preparing to take a call that could involve a number of situations someone dealing with flashbacks from an assault, just needing to talk or making a call on behalf of a loved one. “(It was) something that seemed so challenging and that would make such an impact,” she said of her reasons for joining the rape cri sis center as a volunteer in 1991. At the time, Preble was a UNC sophomore. Starting as a part of the Companions program that accom panies rape victims to the hospital, she now works as director for the center’s board. THE Daily Crossword By Victor Fleming 64 Church passage 65 Colonial blackbirds 66 RBI or ERA 67 Allotted, with "out" DOWN 1 "Newsboy" painter Henry 2 Lathered up 3 Preferences 4 Afore 5 Warp-resistant wood 6 Regency hotels 7 Funny Jack of Hollywood 8 Climbing plant 9 Nittany Lions' sch. 10 Thin-shelled nut 11 Pension $$ 12 Heap 13 Slippery swimmers 18 Past tense query ACROSS 1 Dot on a map 6 Part of "M*A*S*H" 10 Bubble maker 14 Bete (pet peeve) 15 Deviates off course 16 Quaker State port 17 Jar into reality 20 Imitator 21 Couric of TV 22 Desert havens 23 Wall St. letters 25 University in Deland, FL 27 Tres y tres 29 Part of rpm 30 Audit pro 33 Appropriate 36 Nor I, informally 38 Try not to be seen 41 Waned 42 Brings in c | a |r| d^m|u|f|f| s M t| h | e Tn O L I oil GIR E E|E E R O ij.AMMI.ii H e A dß|l~ A I D N Is e i sBBe~ t a g e r e s ■BMNd r u bßs n a gNBBBB M A lIMe P E El? t r a w s ALU Miß I N N SBBe A G A N tope s[a n and a n[d m a k o T H J L Ely o g aMs pew E A S I N gBBtT E T sUe N S MBo n e sBBr a k eM OVER* W E SBBn ETHER V E R aMg REAtL/H I TE Ail T |* V. A 1 TMe R.N.E IllalcleMwlolrldWrlelaTll 43 Tippler 44 Sinbad's bird 45 Lab gel 47 O'Toole or Bening 49 Leave text in! 53 Wise saying 56 Apollo's birth place 58 Boat propel ler 59 Agree with, generally 62 Oven setting 63 Formicary residents TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2006 Now the center is looking for willing volunteers like Preble to help with outreach services such as group mentoring. The center encourages people of all walks of life, age, ethnicity and background to apply for a posi tion. The Family Violence Prevention Center in Chapel Hill also accepted new applicants this month. “Our clients really come from a wide variety of backgrounds. There’s men and women, people from a wide variety of socio-eco nomic backgrounds,” said Melissa Carmack, the volunteer coordina tor for the family violence pro gram. “Domestic violence doesn’t dis criminate,” Carmack said. “We need to be able to talk about domestic violence and (that) it’s still an issue.” The rape crisis center’s main goal is to assure victims of assault that they are not alone. “We just try to assure them it wasn’t their fault,” said Margaret Barrett, executive director of the center. “(It’s about) knowing there’s a place where they’ll always be believed.” 19 Unworkable suggestion 24 Annual sports awards 26 Witnessed 28 Xerox LAN 30 "Mask" star 31 Hammer part 32 Boats like Noah's 33 Two-stripers: abbr. 34 Bread spread 35 Tobacco kiln 36 Part of MD 37 Rulers before Lenin 39 Party to 40 Dead person 1 p p p p MKT p p p ■Ko - pi 1 2 13 17 18 ' 20 ""”’”■■■2l 23 ?6 28 I "““"“■■29 ‘““"■■■So 31 33 34 35 "“■■■■■36 38 ' 39 41' " M 44 "““’■■■4s 4^“““ “““ 48 “““‘■■49|so 51 52 53 54 55 ■■s6“ 59 160 ’ " 61 62 ■■63 K “We work with people to talk about what their options are. “We want them to have the tools to help people make decisions themselves,” she said. The violence prevention center’s main job is empowerment, work ing to give the organization’s clients information to take control of their situations and lives. Both organizations act as resource centers for victims, pro viding information about mental health organizations and legal pro cesses that could aid them in their recovery. Training to be a volunteer at the rape crisis center involves a 63- hour program— which begins in early February that acclimates volunteers to the job and its emo tional requirements. The application deadline for the family violence center passed Monday, and the 40-hour training session is set to begin Jan. 31. “A lot of our community mem bers come in and share their exper tise with volunteers-in-training,” Carmack said. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@u7ic.edu. (C)2006 Tribune Media Services, Inc. All rights reserved. 45 Finally! 46 H.S. math class 47 De Mille of the dance 48 Kernel's coat 50 Drinker's salute 51 Philly pro 52 Cornered 53 Swedish pop group 54 College VIP 55 Golfer Isao 57 Sewing line 60 Possesses 61 Chart type 9
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 24, 2006, edition 1
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