2003-2004 Alternative Fuel Vehicle Laboratory, Fuels Diversification Program, and Environmental Transportation Laboratory team members.
Initiatives
Mobile Environmental Laboratory
Contact: Dr. Tom Benzing
Many of the environmental quality issues in the Shenandoah Valley are complicated by the lack of reliable monitoring data. These data are difficult to obtain because of the cost of setting up and operating fixed water and air quality monitoring equipment in particular critical study areas. In order to make limited analytical equipment serve more sampling areas, the Mobile Environmental Laboratory (MEL), created in shell mounted on a four-wheel drive pickup truck, allows us to deploy these scarce resources where they are most critically needed for the studies underway at any given time. This mobile lab includes basic air and water sampling and analysis equipment to permit teams of students and faculty to conduct more sophisticated monitoring and analysis studies than can practically be accomplished with current field sampling gear. It is also used to conduct secure continuous monitoring studies over shorter periods of time when such data are required.
Shenandoah Valley Pure Water 2000 Forum
http://www.purewaterforum.org/
Contact: Dr. Wayne Teel
Citizen groups, local industries, agricultural associations, state agencies, and concerned individuals are all part of this forum whose mission statement appears below. Water quality monitoring and information management for the Shenandoah River and its tributaries are on-going activities coordinated by the grant-funded PW2000 Watershed Coordinator. PW2000 is "a diverse Forum dedicated to promote water pollution prevention, prioritize and address water quality issues, and enhance environmental education in our schools and communities throughout the Shenandoah Valley Watershed."
Synthesis Regional Support Center
Contact: Carollyn Oglesby, Director
The National Park Service has been developing a data management system, called Synthesis, for use by various National Parks. Synthesis is an information management system for efficiently locating, organizing, integrating, and disseminating data and information. Synthesis presents the user with a simple, graphical user interface that functions as a gateway to information that may be stored on local computers, networks, intranets or the Internet. From this single gateway, a user may view and integrate many types of information including text-based documents, photographic libraries, databases, spreadsheets, presentation graphics, geographic information system (GIS) data, bibliographies, Internet-based information, decision support systems, and multimedia files.
The success of Synthesis has led to increased demand for it by parks throughout the National Park System. The NPS staff responsible for developing the tool are unable to adequately support the various potential and current Synthesis users, and have decided to establish Regional Support Centers to assist them with this task. Therefore, the NPS has funded JMU’s College of Integrated Science and Technology to establish and operate a Synthesis Regional Support Center, using facilities provided in our Environmental Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL) and the skills of both undergraduate and graduate students under the supervision of JMU faculty.
Center for Environment, Health & Safety
Contact: Dr. Steven Frysinger, Director
The Center for Environment, Health & Safety (CEH&S) was created to acknowledge and facilitate the many industrial environmental and occupational safety and health management endeavors with which JMU faculty, staff, and students have been involved. CEH&S is not an administrative unit; rather, it serves as a conduit to the faculty involved and/or interested in EH&S functions and projects. It is hoped that this presence will allow us to better serve the industrial community while providing practical experience for students and faculty.
Environmental Decision Support Systems
Contact: Dr. Steven Frysinger
Environmental Decision Support Systems (EDSS) are computer systems which help humans make environmental management decisions. Applied research in EDSS technology is active and growing in JMU's ISAT program, and has a home in the Environmental Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL).
Environmental Education Center
Contact: Carole Nash, Director
This project will convert the JMU farm, with its historic house, into the JMU Environmental Education Center (EEC). As such, this facility will provide an ideal space in which to the disseminate environmental information to school and community groups, and support on-going student projects involving air and water quality and alternative energy systems.
Center for Energy and Environmental Sustainability
Website: http://www.cisat.jmu.edu/cees/activities.html
Greenroof
Article: http://web.jmu.edu/mediarel/PR-thisRelease.asp?AutoID=856
Science on a Sphere
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/news/Science-Sphere
James Madison is the first university to acquire Science on a Sphere (SOS), a sphere-shaped, data visualization tool which was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The 6 ft diameter spherical movie screen provides observers with an astronaut’s view. To date, SOS has primarily been used in museums. This tool is available to JMU faculty and staff who would like to use SOS for research, education, and outreach.
ValleyAIR Outreach
Website: http://www.valleyairnow.com
ValleyAIRNow is a unique public education and outreach program developed by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Air Quality Improvement Task Force (AQITF or Task Force) and administered by our faculty to help reduce air pollution in the Winchester and Frederick County areas.
