Friday, Sept. 25, 2009
Utah Statesman The
Campus Voice since 1902
Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com
Emergency alert system prompts clarification of policy By PETER BROWN and RYAN PARKINSON staff writers
Utah State University Emergency Management conducted a test of the Emergency Alert System, contacting more than 28,300 people in the USU community Thursday at 9 a.m. Students who have updated emergency contact information on their USU Access account were notified by phone calls and text messages. All Aggiemail accounts also received an e-mail notification. “In the event of an actual crisis, we want to ensure these systems are fully functional so we can use these means effectively when it actually matters,” said Capt. Steve Milne of USU Police. “Ideally, these will just be used for avalanche warnings and such, rather than something similar to the Virginia Tech attacks.” More than 90 percent of females and 80 percent of males between the ages 18-24 are using their phones while in class, according to a recent study by USU. The study, conducted by USU doctorate student Torrey Morrill, also found that out of 704 students who participated all but six of them had cell phones. Morrill’s study also shows that even though texting in class may make it harder to
concentrate, it’s not a deterrent for students. However, most faculty members encourage students to shut off their phones or put them away during class. “I don’t know of any instructors who allow phones to be turned on in class,” said journalism professor Jane Koerner. “It’s disruptive and inconsiderate of other students in class.” As stated in the Code of Policies and Procedures, students are asked “to follow class guidelines as set forth in syllabi and as enunciated by their instructors.” Limiting distraction by asking students to turn off or put away their phones could hinder the effectiveness of the Emergency Alert System. The intent is to inform students via text message, phone message and e-mail of “threats to personal safety, fires, snow closures, evacuations, severe weather and building closures,” according to www.usu. edu/alert. Vice Provost Laurens Smith said he wants a way for students to receive alerts in class without causing texting disruptions. Smith said, “We’re looking into ways other universities deal with this issue. We don’t want anything to prevent the implementation of the alert system. We absolutely want to
TEXT ALERT ISSUED TO STUDENTs’ CELL PHONES creates the question whether cell phones are to be kept on class for safety reasons. Assistant rofessor Eric Kimball tells his students to keep phones handy in case an emergency does occur. He believes this is wise because many classrooms are nearly sound proof. PETE SMITHSUTH photo
take advantage of every part of our alert system. In order to do so, we’ll be talking about how to best accomplish this in our committee meetings.” Eric Kimball, assistant professor in the department
of history, deviates from most professors and allows students to leave their cell phones on the desk, so they will know if they receive emergency notifications. “A lot of classrooms around campus are basically
soundproof. A gunshot could almost be non-existent to students a few doors down. I remind my students to register for these alerts and keep their phones on,” Kimball said. “I want them to feel safe and
secure, and I think these alerts are a very good idea.” Kimball doesn’t have a problem with students being
- See ALERT, page 4
I2B working to reduce businesses’ environmental impact By JP RODRIGUEZ staff writer
A USU research team will develop sensors and software to track persons in a room and know what they’re doing. The goal is to utilize the sensors to help reduce lighting costs in buildings. The Institute for Intuitive Buildings (I2B) was created July 1 with $5 million in funding from the Utah Science, Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative, said Paul Israelson, research professor at the electrical and computer engineering department at USU. He is also division director of the Energy Dynamics Laboratory (EDL) and a board of director for I2B. “The goal is essentially to come up with techniques that will allow us to reduce energy consumption in buildings by adaptively turning lights on and off,” Israelson said. He said studies show energy used in commercial buildings can be cut by 50 percent if lights could automatically turn on and off. I2B must first develop sensors to know where people are in the room and what they are doing, Israelson said. The team must also develop software to help distinguish human activities and be able to direct the lights according to movements in a way that will improve their work environment without distractions, Israelson said. He said the software must run on a low-energy computer. “We looked at this for a couple of years,” Israelson said. “But the research itself is just beginning now.” Israelson said I2B will research what he calls the “human factor,” or the psychology of lighting, as part of the project. He said Lauren Fowler from the psychology department at Weber State University is part of the team and will work on how lighting affects people psychologically and will determine in which ways
Inside This Issue
the lighting may change in rooms without being distractive. He said Fowler has done similar work to determine better lighting conditions; however, the type of research needed for the team’s project has not been done in the past. “We see a real opportunity here to maybe help develop the next generation of intelligent buildings,” Israelson said. “(The light sensors) begin to understand what kind of activities are going on inside the buildings. They adapt their behavior to those activities in such a way that it reduces energy consumption.” Israelson said the most advanced sensors today are motion and acoustic, which only detect motion. He said the sensors are limited because they can only detect if people are moving in the room, but not where they are, nor what they are doing. Israelson said places using radio-frequency badges allows systems to identify who is in the room but are, again, limited because they do not know where people are, nor what activity is going on in the room – making it hard to know what is the best lighting. The I2B team is evaluating the type of equipment it will put in the lab, Israelson said. The team will work in building 1770 at the Logan Innovation Campus and plans to move to the USTAR building that is under construction to set up a permanent lab, he said. The USTAR building will eventually house the I2B team, along with other USTAR teams, and is being built on Innovation Campus, said Jacoba Mendelkow, marketing and public rela-
tions specialist for USU’s strategic ventures and economic development department, which oversees the USTAR teams at the university. She said the 3,300-square-foot building cost $20 million, half of it paid for by USTAR and the other half by USU. Mendelkow said the building will be ready for occupation on Jan. 1, 2011, and will have state-of-the-art facilities for the teams. Israelson said I2B is in contact with several Utah lighting companies that may be interested in licensing, marketing and manufacturing the technologies when they become available. He said the team is also in contact with lighting designers and the premier centers that focus on lighting in the country in order to help the research. Israelson said the technology will be ready to license out in about two years. He said the availability of the technology depends on how long it will take the companies to commercialize it. Mendelkow said the reason USTAR was created was to help develop technologies that will be commercialized and licensed to private companies. She said the university will hold the patents of the technologies and services, which will generate revenue for USU. Israelson said the team is focusing on office buildings at this time, but
- See ENERGY, page 3
www.aggietownsquare.com
9/25/09 Mr. USU receives a ring from S.E. Needham Jewelers. Page 5
the technology will be developed for use in the hotel industry, high-end retail, and it may filter down to residential buildings. He said I2B is focusing on commercial buildings because it is where the most amount of energy is used for lighting purposes. “(The USTAR funding) helps facilitate and push this past research into commercialization, and that was the point of USTAR to begin with,” Mendelkow said. She said without USTAR funding, the teams may not have been able to conduct the level of research currently being done, nor bring the high-caliber researchers. I2B is one of three teams created over the summer that received funding from USTAR, Mendelkow said. She said all three teams received approximately $9 million, which will be given in increments over a five-year period. The money will be used to outfit a laboratory to do the research in, Israelson said. He said the team will use the funds to hire primary investigators to conduct the research, along with student researchers and engineers that will help develop the technology and software needed for the intelligent lighting systems. Israelson said the funding will give his team the resources that will enable it to attract money from other places, such as grants from the Department of Energy. Israelson said the team directors include himself, Fowler, Jake Gunther of the electronic and computer engineering department and Jeff Muhs, who is working with the bio-fuel project at USU and has previously worked on energyrelated projects at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Israelson said some student researchers will work with different sensors, some will program the algorithms into low-power computers and some will develop the computer programs. USTAR was started in 2006 by then-Gov. Jon
Aggie women’s soccer pulls through in Rio Tinto. Page 9
Comics, puzzles, editorial cartoons. Even if it isn’t in The Statesman, it will be on our Web site. Check ‘em out. www.aggietownsquare.com Official Student Newspaper of Utah State University • “It’s All The News You Need!”