NEMAC Hosts Chocolate Friday on the Arts Scene

Chocolate Friday is a bi-weekly research and idea sharing event. Each week features presentations from NEMAC staff, University faculty, student researchers, and visiting professionals. The event is open to anyone who is interested in NEMAC and the topics.

And yes, chocolate is served!

The third Chocolate Friday is September 28 and features three presentations on the Arts Scene:

State of the arts in Asheville: arts as a local asset
Adrienne Crowther, Executive Director of Asheville Area Arts Council
An overview of the arts in our community, from grassroots to established organizations as well as individual artists...the strengths, challenges, and opportunities.

Creation of UNCA's Interdisciplinary Craft Campus
Brent Skidmore, Director of UNCA Craft Campus, and Jon Keenan, Assoc. Director of UNCA Craft Campus
The University of North Carolina at Asheville is creating an interdisciplinary ‘Craft Campus’ featuring studios in wood, metal, ceramics, and hot glass. The campus will be located at the former Buncombe county landfill, utilizing the methane fuel as an energy source to power kilns, furnaces, forges, and other critical infrastructure. The facility will include alternative energy sources and integrate studio offerings with other academic disciplines on campus while creating a model for others in sustainability, collaboration and renewal. Brent Skidmore and Jon Keenan will present on the current thinking and vision for this innovative project.

The Economic Impact of the Arts
Jenny Moore, Associate Director of Handmade in America
While it is generally accepted that the arts add to the quality of life of a community, the economic impact in real dollars is less well known. In this presentation, Jenny Moore will site statistics from research ranging from HandMade in America’s seminal study in 1996 to the 2006 surveys by Americans for the Arts—all making the case for tangible economic benefits that the arts bring to our state and the nation. Sprinkled through the statistics Moore will tell heart-warming success stories of regional artists and show examples of some of the extraordinary work that gives Western NC its nationwide reputation for fine craft.

A Dynamic Performance Center's Impact on the Regional Arts Scene
Carol A. McCollum, Active Community Volunteer
Most people know the significant role the arts play in drawing national attention to our region. Imagine a performance center, a work of art itself, attracting millions of visitors and providing an appropriate showcase for the area's magnificent indigenous talent. Imagine an education center for students of all ages, serving also as an incubator for a multiplicity of arts and arts-related activities and a performance space that attracts the best national and international entertainment to this region. This is the vision!

Future Chocolate Fridays will cover other topics:

October 26 The Day After Yesterday: A Look at Different Aspects of Weather

November 16 GIS Day: A Local Celebration

December 7 Biosphere

WHERE: The Chamber of Commerce

36 Montford Ave , Asheville 28801

WHEN: 3:00-5:00 on Fridays
(check the schedule for upcoming days)

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact Susan Weatherford (250-3890)
Here's a flyer you can download and hang in your office.

NEMAC Research Students Compete in National Google Sketchup Competition - Follow Up

The 3D Campus Models that the NEMAC Research Students submitted last spring were not selected as winners, but they will be made available to the public via Google's 3D Warehouse. A list of all entries can be seen here:

http://contest.sketchup.com/schools.php

In addition, the students have also been working on models of Biltmore Village, and some of them have been uploaded to the Google 3D Warehouse. Users can then download the models in Google Earth or Google SketchUp. However, recently Google selected a few of these models to be included in their "Best of 3D Warehouse" link that allows the models to appear when the link is active. To view these models, zoom into Google Earth and turn on the link in the table of contents.


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NEMAC Hosts Chocolate Friday on Cutting Edge Visualization

Chocolate Friday is a bi-weekly research and idea sharing event. Each week features presentations from NEMAC staff, University faculty, student researchers, and visiting professionals. The event is open to anyone who is interested in NEMAC and the topics.

And yes, chocolate is served!

The second Chocolate Friday is September 14 and features three presentations on Cutting Edge Visualization:

Interactive Visualization Techniques
Mark Phillips, Research Scientist NEMAC and NCDC

Displaying the Brain's Fiber Tracts
David C. Banks, UT/ORNL Joint Institute for Computational Sciences

Radar Data Visualization and Interoperability Tools at NOAA's NCDC
Steve Del Greco, Data Processing Branch Chief/NEXRAD Program Manager

Future Chocolate Fridays will cover other topics:

September 28 Arts Scene

October 26 The Day After Yesterday: A Look at Different Aspects of Weather

November 16 GIS Day: A Local Celebration

December 7 Biosphere

WHERE: The Chamber of Commerce

36 Montford Ave , Asheville 28801

WHEN: 3:00-5:00 on Fridays
(check the schedule for upcoming days)

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact Susan Weatherford (250-3890)
Here's a flyer you can download and hang in your office.

NEMAC's Jim Fox Presents Before Buncombe County Commissioners

NEMAC's Director of Operations and Research Associate, Jim Fox, made a presentation to the Buncombe County Commissioners on Tuesday, September 4th. For the past year, Jim has been a member of the Floodplain Damage Reduction Taskforce, a committee organized by the City Mayor to analyze ways in which Asheville could reduce the amount of damage caused by floods in the City's floodplain. The group was made up of local Businessmen, City Engineers, the French Broad Riverkeeper, and many others from Asheville and the Town of Black Mountain. For the past year, this group has met most Friday mornings to discuss the issues. NEMAC has also supported this effort by providing many maps and graphics that the group was able to use as resources to base many of their decisions. On June 12th, the group made their final recommendations to Asheville City Council. The recommendations were presented to Buncombe County Commissioners on September 4th. The presentation was made by Jim Fox and Mary Leonard White, Alderwoman, Town of Black Mountain. Click here to view the presentation:

http://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/commissioners/ArchivedAgenda/20070904/web_PDF/FloodTaskForceforCounty.pdf

NEMAC Hosts Presentation on GIS and Water Resource Protection

On Tuesday September 4th, NEMAC hosted a presentation on GIS and water resource protection. The presentation, "Practical Integration of GIS Technology to Support Statewide Water Resource Protection Efforts", was given by Dr. Barry Evans. Dr. Evans is a Senior Research Associate at the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (PSIEE) and is Director of the GIS Support Center at PSIEE. An abstract of this presentation is given here:

Over the last decade, the use of GIS technology has moved from an “experiment and demonstration” phase to a “practical application” phase that has led to the integration of this technology into statewide regulatory environments. This is evidenced by the fact that many states successfully use this technology to support EPA- mandated water quality protection initiatives. In this presentation, examples will be given on how program managers within the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection are using customized GIS applications on a daily basis to perform activities in support of the state’s obligations to address federally-mandated requirements of the Clean Water Act. Emphasis will be placed on activities related to watershed assessment (as part of the TMDL process), watershed restoration, and the protection of potable water supplies (commonly referred to as source water protection).