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Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes, September 2, 2021, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of 1 April 2021 Minutes
• Program Proposals
• Semester Course Approval Reviews
• Registrar's review of impact reports
• Assign new point of contact for Curriculog updates/changes
• Learning objectives will be changed to course learning outcome
• Review EPC/Curriculum website
• R401s need to be done now

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, September 2, 2021, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of 1 April 2021 Minutes
• Subcommittee Reports
• Other Business

Characterizing Inter-Sensor Calibration Radiometric Biases Between Snpp And Noaa-20 Omps Nadir Profiler (Np) Sensor Data Records By Using Hybrid Methodologies, Banghua Yan, Chunhui Pan, Ding Liang, Jingfeng Huang, Junye Chen, Trevor Beck, Steven Buckner, Xin Jin, Xiaozhen Xiong

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

The Ozone Mapping & Profiler Suite (OMPS) Nadir Profiler (NP), onboard both the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite and the Joint Polar Satellite System NOAA-20 satellite, is an ultraviolet-visible imaging spectrometer that measures Earth’s albedo by registering terrestrial events to Earth image and extraterrestrial events to Solar spectral images. The NP operates from wavelengths of 250 to 310 nm to profile ozone observations in Earth’s stratosphere. Through years of intensive post-launch calibrations and validations, the Sensor Data Record (SDR) data from both SNPP and NOAA-20 NP sensors demonstrate good performance, meeting the SDR specifications (e.g., Pan et al., 2017). …

Wild Boar In Flanders, Belgium: (Dis)Agreements Between Key Stakeholders On Wild Boar Management Objectives, Actions, And Legal Provisions, Caroline Geeraerts, Anneleen Rutten, Emma Cartuyvels, Pieter Verschelde, Sander Devisscher, Francis Turkelboom, Paul Quataert, Jim Casaer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wild boar (Sus scrofa) reappeared in Flanders, Belgium in 2006 after more than half a century of absence. Besides being a native and highly valued game species in Europe, wild boar are also known to be responsible for car collisions, crop damage, disease transmission, and ecological damage at high densities. The management of wild boar therefore seeks to balance these positive and negative impacts. Given the highly fragmented landscape in Flanders and its multifunctional use, coexistence with wild boar is only possible through integrated management involving relevant stakeholder groups. However, to be successful, this requires that the management …

Does Hunting Affect The Behavior Of Wild Pigs?, Oliver Keuling, Giovanna Massei

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wild boar and feral swine (Sus scrofa) numbers are growing worldwide. In parallel, their severe ecological and economic impacts are also increasing and include vehicle collisions, damage to crops and amenities, reduction in plant and animal abundance and richness, and transmission of diseases, the latter causing billions of U.S. dollars in losses to the livestock industry each year. Recreational hunters are the main cause of mortality for this species, and hunting has traditionally been the main method to contain populations of wild pigs. Hunting might affect the behavior of the species, which potentially can lead to these animals …

Stress Response Of Stone Martens And Red Foxes In Two Different Live Traps, Friederike Gethöffer, Wolfgang Baumgärtner, Marion Schmicke, Nicole Kemper, Charlotte Lempp, Nicole Jungwirth, Joseph G. Schnitzler, Ursula Siebert

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Trapping of terrestrial animals is an important tool for harvest, pest control and research worldwide. To catch animals alive, animal welfare has to be ensured, which is reflected in different agreements on trading and trapping of animals between sovereign nations (Council Regulation [EEC] No 3254/91). The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and stone marten (Martes foina) represent important predatory animals. Their influence on protected species as well as their increasing appearance in urban areas demand responsible handling. In our study, we evaluated 2 trap systems used for trapping red foxes and stone martens in accordance with criteria stipulated in the Agreement …

Machine Learning As A Tool For Wildlife Management And Research: The Case Of Wild Pig-Related Content On Twitter, Lauren M. Jaebker, Hailey E. Mclean, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Keith M. Carlisle, Tara L. Teel, Alan D. Bright, Aaron M. Anderson

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a non-native, invasive species that cause considerable damage and transmit a variety of diseases to livestock, people, and wildlife. We explored Twitter, the most popular social media micro-blogging platform, to demonstrate how social media data can be leveraged to investigate social identity and sentiment toward wild pigs. In doing so, we employed a sophisticated machine learning approach to investigate: (1) the overall sentiment associated with the dataset, (2) online identities via user profile descriptions, and (3) the extent to which sentiment varied by online identity. Results indicated that the largest groups of online …

Creating A Setup To Assess The Use Of Virtual Reality For Mission Control, Felix Sittner, Cedric Liman, Gino Schulze, Hans Schülein, Jan Schmieder, Jan Tischhöfer, Marlene Busch, Sergio Montenegro

Small Satellite Conference

This paper describes a work in progress. We are preparing our first cubesat mission, InnoCube, which we plan to launch in spring 2023. We are also in the process of moving the whole chair to another building, and creating a new mission control room. We take this as an opportunity to try and compare some novel approaches, that might make the work of the ground team easier.

Our mission, InnoCube, is designed to test a “skip the harness (skith)” approach, which means the system is comprised of multiple autonomous computing nodes communicating wirelessly with each other. Each of these nodes …

Toward A Cohesive Management Of Earth’S Orbital Environment: Applying Policy And Collaboration To A Design For The Present And Future, Charles Lee Mudd Jr.

Small Satellite Conference

The response to Starlink solar reflectivity by some industry leaders, scientists, and other interested actors demonstrates the ability for diverse space actors to collaborate through dialogue and innovation to solve nuanced technological problems. These efforts should be encouraged and modeled to implement a response to and prevention of future dynamics that affect Earth’s orbital environment. In a separate but related context, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) proposed and implemented new regulations regarding orbital debris. In 2021, the final regulations on orbital debris mitigation should be adopted, published, and implemented. This context suggests that the policy climate within the FCC should …

A Novel Approach To An Autonomous And Dynamic Satellite Control System Using On-Orbit Machine Learning, Maximum Wilder-Smith, Michael Pham, Matteo Gironda, Kevin Kwik, Michael Gee, Ryan Toomer, Samuel Bennett, Nicholas Shewchuk, Ashley Mcbean, Tarek Elsharhawy

Small Satellite Conference

Classical control methods require deep analytical understanding of the system to be successfully controlled. This can be particularly difficult to accomplish in space systems where it is difficult, if not impossible, to truly replicate the operational environment in a laboratory. As a result, many missions, especially in the CubeSat form factor, fly with control systems that regularly fail to meet their operational requirements. Failure of a control system might result in diminished science collection or even a total loss of mission in severe circumstances. Additionally, future SmallSat use cases (such as for orbital debris collection, repair missions, or deep space …

A Novel Satellite Architecture For The Next Generation Of Earth Observation Satellites Supporting Rapid Alerts, M. Kerr, S. Tonetti, S. Cornara, J. I. Bravo, R. Hinz, A. Latorre, F. Membibre, A. Ramos, A. Moron, C. Solimini, S. Wiehle, H. Breit, D. Günzel, S. Mandapati, B. Tings, U. Balss, O. Koudelka, F. Teschl, E. Magli, T. Bianchi, A. Migliorati, P. Motto Ros, M. Caon, M. Martina, R. Freddi, F. Milani, G. Curci, S. Fraile, C. Marcos

Small Satellite Conference

The EO-ALERT European Commission H2020 project proposes the definition, development, and verification and validation through ground hardware testing, of a next-generation Earth Observation (EO) data processing chain. The proposed data processing chain is based on a novel flight segment architecture that moves EO data processing elements traditionally executed in the ground segment to on-board the satellite, with the aim of delivering EO products to the end user with very low latency. EO-ALERT achieves, globally, latencies below five minutes for EO products delivery, and below one minute in realistic scenarios.

The proposed EO-ALERT architecture is enabled by on-board processing, recent improvements …

Chronic Wasting Disease In Utah - Development Of A Risk Based Cwd Surveillance System With Updates For The Statewide Cwd Management Plan, Erica Stuber

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Flight Operations Of Two Rapidly Assembled Cubesats With Commercial Infrared Cameras: The Rogue-Alpha,Beta Program, Dee W. Pack, Brian S. Hardy, John R. Santiago, David Pietrowski, Jon C. Mauerhan, Paul F. Zittel, Darren W. Rowen, Cameron R. Purcell, Pradeep Thiyanaratnam, Lynette J. Gelinas, Paul K. Su, Joel Gussy, Joseph M. Santiago

Small Satellite Conference

The Aerospace Corporation’s Rogue-alpha, betaprogram, co-funded by the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Development Corps, is a rapid prototyping effort that built and launched two 3-Unit CubeSats equipped with modified commercial IR camera payloads, laser communications and precision pointing capabilities in 18-months. Launched on 2 November 2019, the two spacecraft were released from the ISS Cygnus NG-12 robotic resupply spacecraft on 31 January 2020 into a circular 460-km, 52° inclined orbit. The two Rogue spacecraft are serving as testbeds for studying wide-field-of-view fast-framing imaging, on-orbit stellar calibration techniques for small IR payloads, and associated spacecraft flight operations. Precision pointing is …

Moderate Plant–Soil Feedbacks Have Small Effects On The Biodiversity–Productivity Relationship: A Field Experiment, Josephine Grenzer, Andrew Kulmatiski, Leslie Forero, Anne Ebeling, Nico Eisenhauer, Jeanette Norton

Wildland Resources Student Research

Plant–soil feedback (PSF) has gained attention as a mechanism promoting plant growth and coexistence. However, most PSF research has measured monoculture growth in greenhouse conditions. Translating PSFs into effects on plant growth in field communities remains an important frontier for PSF research. Using a 4-year, factorial field experiment in Jena, Germany, we measured the growth of nine grassland species on soils conditioned by each of the target species (i.e., 72 PSFs). Plant community models were parameterized with or without these PSF effects, and model predictions were compared to plant biomass production in diversity–productivity experiments. Plants created soils that changed subsequent …

Comparison Of Bovine Mammary Involution And Intramammary Infections Following Intramammary Treatment With Casein Hydrolysate And Other Conventional Treatments At Dry-Off, Justine E. Britten, Kerry A. Rood, David J. Wilson

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Student Research

Alternatives to routine antibiotic treatment of dairy cattle during the dry period before their next calving are of interest. This was a preliminary study of whether intramammary infusion of casein hydrolysate, administered alone or combined with standard dry treatment, accelerated the rate of mammary involution early in the dry period. Four treatments were studied in a split udder design. One udder half was assigned a treatment, and the contralateral half was administered dry cow treatment + internal teat sealant as a control. Treatments were casein hydrolysate, casein hydrolysate + dry cow treatment, casein hydrolysate + teat sealant and casein hydrolysate …

Mejore Su Salud, Celina Wille, Laura Licon, Laura Paola Johnson, Anny Galvin

All Current Publications

Create Better Health/Mejore su salud es una versión cultural adaptada de Create Better Health evaluada por expertos y escrita en español, Create Better Health es un currículo del programa Create Better Health Utah SNAP-Ed originalmente adaptado de Creates: Essentials in Creating Family Meals por Debra Christofferson, M.D.A., R.D., C.D. Los miembros del equipo de publicación de la versión en inglés son: Casey Coombs, M.S., R.D., C.D., subdirectora de Create Better Health Utah; Jaqueline Neid-Avila, M.D.A., R.D., C.D .; y editores / colaboradores Heidi LeBlanc, M.S., directora de Create Better Health Utah.

Mission Concept For Demonstrating Small-Spacecraft True Anomaly Estimation Using Millisecond X-Ray Pulsars, Anant Kandala, Aashka Oza, Bharath Saiguhan, Shreya Mishra, Priyadarshnam Hari, Samir Mandal, Harsh Simha

Small Satellite Conference

Navigation based on X-ray pulsars was first suggested in 1981 for deep space navigation as an alternative to the conventional Deep Space Network (DSN) which is inaccurate at large distances from the Earth. This idea was recently demonstrated using the NICER/SEXTANT instrument onboard the ISS. X-ray pulsar-based navigation is of of great interest as it eliminates the reliance on Earth-based systems, and is yet to be implemented as an autonomous navigation system for deep space missions. For the purpose of navigation, X-ray millisecond pulsars are the most appropriate celestial sources. They emit unique, stable and periodic radiation that exhibits high …

Design And Testing Of Autonomous Distributed Space Systems, Nicholas Cramer, Daniel Cellucci, Caleb Adams, Adam Sweet, Mohammad Hejase, Jeremy Frank, Richard Levinson, Sergei Gridnev, Lara Brown

Small Satellite Conference

Distributed Space Systems (DSS) are an emerging class of mission designs that enable new scientific and commercial opportunities. In order to enable those new opportunities, these systems will need to have significantly expanded autonomous capabilities compared to their single-spacecraft predecessors. In this paper, we present Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA) project, a payload on NASA’s Starling spacecraft experiment. We first describe a step-by-step process for characterizing what features are needed in an autonomous DSS, and show how this process applied to DSA. We then describe the Starling mission, a four-spacecraft swarm hosting multiple DSS payloads. We then describe DSA, which will …

A Sat-To-Sat Inspection Demonstration With The Aerocube-10 1.5u Cubesats, Joseph W. Gangestad, Catherine C. Venturini, David A. Hinkley, Garrett Kinum

Small Satellite Conference

In the summer of 2020, the pair of AeroCube-10 1.5U CubeSats completed a series of mutual proximity operations as close as 22 meters separation and captured several sets of satellite-to-satellite resolved imagery, inspecting all faces of a vehicle in each pass with a resolution less than 8 mm. AeroCube-10 was designed and built by The Aerospace Corporation with the primary missions of atmospheric science and the maturation of nanosatellite technologies, including a new star tracker design, warm-gas propulsion system, GPS receiver, and a low-noise focal plane. Investigating the possibility of using CubeSats for satellite inspection missions, the AeroCube-10 team designed …

New Forces Influencing Savanna Conservation: Increasing Land Prices Driven By Gentrification And Speculation At The Landscape Scale, Peter Tyrrell, Robin Naidoo, David W. Macdonald, Johan T. Du Toit

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Land transformation reduces biodiversity and regional sustainability, with land price being an indicator of the opportunity cost to a landowner of resisting land conversion. However, reliable spatially explicit databases of current land prices are generally lacking in developing countries. We used tools from data science to scrape 1,487 georeferenced land prices in southern Kenya from the internet. Prices were higher for land near cities and in areas of high agricultural productivity, but also around the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Predicted land prices ranged from US$662 to US$4,618,805 per acre. Land speculation associated with expanding urbanization increases the opportunity and acquisition …

Review Of Producing The Archival Body, Lara Michels

Journal of Western Archives

Review of Producing the Archival Body by Jamie Lee.

Considering The Wide World Of Wild Pig Management, John M. Tomeček

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is the letter from John M. Tomeček, associate editor for the special issue on wild pigs in Human–Wildlife Interactions.

Household Perceptions And Patterns Of Crop Loss By Wild Pigs In North India, Bivash Pandav, Lakshminarayanan Natarajan, Ankit Kumar, Ajay A. Desai, Banteibor Lyngkhoi

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Loss to cultivated crops by wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is widespread and can jeopardize low-income farmers. In India, although there is lot of political interest in the problem, efforts to understand the patterns, correlates, and underlying reasons for wild pig conflict continue to be minimal. We quantified loss of wheat (Triticum aestivum) to wild pigs and assessed the spatial patterns of damage in a forest settlement of Van Gujjar (Haridwar, India), which is a dairy-based pastoralist community. We chose a 4-km² cultivated area comprising 400 farmlands (each measuring 0.8 ha and belonging to a family) and …

Interactions Between Humans, Crocodiles, And Hippos At Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, Ivan Marowa, Joshua Matanzima, Tamuka Nhiwatiwa

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–wildlife conflicts (HWCs) are on the increase due to shrinking space that results in increased competition for land, water, and other natural resources between humans and wildlife. Investigating the occurrence of HWCs is important in that the results can be used to formulate better management policies and strategies. In this paper, we describe the nature of HWCs emerging between humans and the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and between humans and the African hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius; hippo) on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba is the second largest manmade lake by volume in the world. Conflicts involving humans …

Alfanet: A Database Of Alfalfa-Bacterial Stem Blight Protein–Protein Interactions Revealing The Molecular Features Of The Disease-Causing Bacteria, Raghav Kataria, Rakesh Kaundal

Plants, Soils and Climate Student Research

Alfalfa has emerged as one of the most important forage crops, owing to its wide adaptation and high biomass production worldwide. In the last decade, the emergence of bacterial stem blight (caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae ALF3) in alfalfa has caused around 50% yield losses in the United States. Studies are being conducted to decipher the roles of the key genes and pathways regulating the disease, but due to the sparse knowledge about the infection mechanisms of Pseudomonas, the development of resistant cultivars is hampered. The database alfaNET is an attempt to assist researchers by providing comprehensive Pseudomonas proteome …

The Utah Statesman, August 2, 2021, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

A Profile Of Wild Pig Hunters In Texas, Usa, Rachael L. Connally, Maureen G. Frank, Gary E. Briers, Nova J. Silvy, Keith M. Carlisle, John M. Tomeček

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a widespread exotic, invasive species that poses ecological, agricultural, and human health risks in invaded areas. Wildlife managers often manage wild pig abundance and expansion to mitigate these risks. The diversity of stakeholders involved in the issue of wild pig management complicates efforts to manage the species, and, to be successful, wildlife professionals should consider the human dimensions associated with wild pig management. The prevalence of privately owned lands in Texas, USA necessitates cooperation to enact effective management policies. In this study, we investigate the factors that affect a hunter’s likelihood to participate …

Hunter Motivations And Use Of Wild Pigs In Texas, Usa, Rachael L. Connally, Maureen G. Frank, Gary E. Briers, Nova J. Silvy, Keith M. Carlisle, John M. Tomeček

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a widespread exotic, invasive species that pose ecological, agricultural, and human health risks in their invaded range. Wildlife managers must manage wild pig abundance and range expansion to mitigate these risks. The diversity of stakeholders involved in the issue of wild pig management complicates efforts to manage the species, and, to be successful, wildlife professionals must consider the human dimensions associated with wild pig management. The prevalence of privately owned lands in Texas, USA necessitates cooperation to enact effective management policies. In this study, we investigate the impact of hunter motivations on wild …

Informational Signage Increases Awareness Of A Rattlesnake In A Canadian Urban Park System, Jonathan D. Choquette, Alexis V. Hand

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–snake conflict results in negative outcomes for people and snakes, and if left unmanaged, could undermine conservation efforts. One approach to managing conflict between people and snakes is to use signage to inform members of the public on the presence of venomous snakes and measures to prevent snakebites. To be an effective tool, however, signs must first be noticed, then read and understood by the target audience. As part of conservation efforts targeting eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus) in southwestern Ontario, Canada, we tested the effectiveness of signage at increasing awareness of its presence, status and threats, and …

Human-Bear Conflict And Community Perceptions Of Risk In The Zanskar Region, Northern India, Kirti Chavan, Sophie M. Watts, Tsewang Namgail

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) is an endangered subspecies of brown bear (U. a. spp.) and is found throughout the Himalayan region of south and central Asia. We describe the type of and the current level of human–bear conflict (HBC) with Himalayan brown bears in the Zanskar region of northern India and suggest potential mitigation methods. Between July and September 2018, we interviewed 218 households across the Zanskar region, all of whom had experienced HBC. Participants reported increasing numbers of HBC events in the last 4 years. The most common form of HBC was damage …