<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml">
<head>
</head>
<body vlink="purple" link="blue" lang="EN-US">
<div class="Section1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b>Old Dominion University<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b>Department of Physics<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b>Spring Colloquium Series<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b>Tuesday February 23, 2010<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b>"Maps, Models, and Visualizations
in the Earth and Space Sciences"<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><br>
<b>Dr. Declan De Paor<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b>Old
Dominion University</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Earth
and space sciences have long shared a common methodology based on maps and
map-making. Both sciences began with mapping and both continue to rely on maps
as the databases on which novel observations are made, models are constructed,
and hypotheses are tested. In the case of astronomy, mapping the celestial
sphere allowed the ancients to plot paths of planets, leading eventually to
Heliocentrism, and to this day maps are used to discover comets, explore
planets and moons, and study the cosmos on ever-larger scales, from the Hubble
Deep Field to the WMAP. From the earliest of the geological and geophysical
surveys, combinations of maps and cross sections aided visualization and
analysis of tectonic structures. On the other hand, traditional maps have always
been at least partially works of art. They are difficult to assess or validate,
and they can anchor the viewer’s perception in a current style of
interpretation. In order to make tectonic maps more quantitative and
falsifiable, I have developed methods of displacement, strain, and kinematic
analysis and have applied these methods in a range of settings. With the recent
emergence of new mapping technologies, including digital field devices and
virtual globes, my students, colleagues, and I are building innovative 4-D
visualizations that zoom from outcrop to planetary scale while moving forward
and backward in time, and we are assessing their effectiveness both as learning
resources and research tools. In the future, we aim to coordinate spherical and
full-dome digital projections to create a cognitive link between the planetary
and celestial domains <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Presentation: Physical
Sciences Building II 1100 @ 3:00 pm<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Refreshments: 1st Floor Atrium @ 2:30 pm<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">More details at http://www.physics.odu.edu<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">All are Welcome!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>