Friday, March 18, 2011

Visual Analytics Enhances Disaster Response and Homeland Security

The visual analytics program within the College of Computing & Informatics is deeply engaged in developing tools to enhance homeland secutiry and disaster response.Here's one example.It's all part of UNC Charlotte mission as North Carolina's urban research university -- solutions to problems and challeneges facing the greater Charlotte region, and beyond.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Dr. Bill Ribarsky Discusses His Work in the Visualization and Analytics ...

The fast-growing field of visual analytics is key to homeland security, urban development and a specialty of UNC Charlotte's.

Students remain safe in Japan

Ten UNC Charlotte students studying in Japan are shaken, but OK following another earthquake Tuesday morning. All of them checked in are said to be safe. The group is part of the Education Abroad Program at the university.

Another tremor shook Japan Tuesday. This recent one registered a 6.0. UNC Charlotte has 10 students studying in Japan. News 14 Carolina spoke with one of them via Skype.

"It was literally 60 seconds of the room shaking,” said UNCC student Edward Stahl. "It's pretty much the whole building shakes. It creates, an odd noise... the entire ground is moving. It's quite an odd sensation."

Stahl an international studies major, is studying in Japan, and never experienced an earthquake before moving there. Stahl was in his dorm room in Tokyo last Friday when the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck, and again Tuesday during a 6.0 magnitude aftershock.

Stahl said he's going to try and stay in Japan to finish out his semester. But right now it's difficult; Tokyo has rolling blackouts and food and water are scarce.

"The grocery store was closed, McDonald’s was closed. We were trying to find food for that and it was very scarce,” Stahl said about the situation. “We finally found some about a mile away."

UNC Charlotte's Director of Education Abroad, Brad Sekulich, said students are prepared for emergency situations while abroad.

"We talk about the potential for emergency situations,” said Sekulich. “And try to get them prepared. Obviously we didn't prepare them for an 8.9 magnitude earthquake because no one saw that coming.”

The UNC Charlotte students studying abroad have the choice to leave Japan. Right now only one student decided to go home.

Reprinted from News 14, Charlotte

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Gov. Beverly Perdue visits UNC Charlotte

Gov. Bev Perdue in a roundtable discussion with Charlotte area business and civic leaders ON March 7, praised UNC Charlotte as NC's urban research university and pledged continuing support for public education.

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