Dr. Fang-Zhen Teng, a member of the Space Center and an Assistant Professor in the department of Geosciences, has recently joined the University of Arkansas.  He received his Ph.D.  from the University of Maryland at College Park in 2005 in Geochemistry.  His dissertation was titled, “Lithium isotopic systematics of the continental crust.”

Dr. Teng joins the University and the Space Center from a Post-doctoral Research Associate position at the University of Chicago. 

His research at the University of Arkansas concerns the composition, formation and evolution of the Earth and early solar system by using stable (Li, Mg and Fe) and short-lived (26Al) isotopic systematics measured by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS).

Photo caption: Laboratory Manager Walter Graupner (left) and Fang-Zhen Teng (right) with the MC-ICPMS

The University of Arkansas’ National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission has received a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Award worth $370,000. 

Dr. Alan Mantooth, a member of the Space Center and a faculty member in the department of Electrical Engineering, is the center director of the NCREPT.  The money will be used to acquire specialized power electronic equipment for a state-of-the-art test facility.

Sonja Hausmann, an Assistant Professor of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas, and her colleagues recently traveled to Pingualuit Crater in northern Quebec to study lake sediments in order to determine environmental information beyond historical records.  Dr. Hausmann and the team of international scientists took cores from the sediments of the Canadian Arctic lake and found an interglacial record indicating two ice-free periods that could pre-date the Holocene Epoch.  The lake, which formed about 1.4 million years ago, is the result of a meteorite impact.  Today, the crater hosts a lake about 267 meters deep.  The lake has no connection to other surrounding water bodies, making it a prime candidate for the study of lake sediments.

Dr. Hausmann and her colleagues reported their preliminary findings at the American Geophysical Union in late December.

The Space Center recently gave a 30-minute planetarium presentation that was developed by volunteer graduate students in the space and planetary sciences program.  The presentation, titled “The Star of Bethlehem,” helped the students master the operation of the projector and software.  The structure of the presentation provides the basis for the development of a variety of presentations and laboratory classes for the introductory astronomy and solar system courses taught by the astronomy program in the Physics department.  Other courses in the university are expected to utilize the facility, such as the astronautics course in the Mechanical Engineering department.

The planetarium is a joint project of the Space Center and the department of Physics.  In addition to Space Center funds, additional funds to purchase the projector were provided by the Sam M. Walton College of Business, the College of Engineering, and the department of Physics.

Photo caption: The regrograde motion of Jupiter and Saturn over the year 6 B.C. is superposed on the position of the planets for April 17, 6 B.C. (Photo from "The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi" by Michael R. Molnar)

*Note:  the first 3 entries are for 2008; the remainder are 2007 dates BUT the 2008 dates are expected to be close to these.

Workshop on Martian Gullies: Theories and Tests
February 4-5, 2008
Lunar and Planetary Institute
Houston, TX
Abstract Deadline: 11/13/07

Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
March 10-14, 2008
League City, TX
Abstract Deadlines:
01/08/08 - (PDF format) or
01/03/08 (all other formats - 5:00 pm CST)