RESEARCH, EDUCATION, LECTURES ACCESSING THE TECHNICAL EDGE EVENTS THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE CHARLOTTE RESEARCH INSTITUTE VisCenter College of Computing and Informatics Nanoscale Science Seminar Series North Carolina Research Campus Science & Technology EXPO The William States Lee College of Engineering College of Education Infrastructure, Design, Environment, and Sustainability (IDEAS) Center “Kelvin” EXPO Photos, Aaron Cress April 23, 2015 To advertise your events in RELATE, email robyne.pomroy@uncc.edu Subscription information at the bottom of the newsletter Summer Schedule: The edition schedule for RELATE will change at the end of April. From May through August the RELATE newsletter will move to a summer schedule: May 13th and May 27th June 10th and June 24th July 8th and July 22nd August 5th Regular issues will resume August 19th UNC Charlotte presents THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Sunday, April 26 12 - 4pm / UNC Charlotte Union Plaza Join faculty, staff, and students as they present exhibits, discussions, and films in the weeks leading up to the main event. April 10 - 26th in various locations. Learn more at NCSCIENCEFESTIVAL.UNCC.EDU VisCenter A Visual Analytics Approach to High-Dimensional Logistic Regression Modeling and its Application to an Environmental Health Study Speaker: Date: Location: Chong Zhang Thursday, April 23, 12:30 pm Woodward, 130 Spot-Tracking Lens: A Novel Interaction for Animated Bubble Charts Speaker: Date: Location: Jing Yang Thursday, April 23, 12:30 pm Woodward, 130 A Visual Analytics Approach to High-Dimensional Logistic Regression Modeling and its Application to an Environmental Health Study In the domain of epidemiology, logistic regression modeling is widely used to explain the relationships among explanatory variables and dichotomous outcome variables. However, logistic regression modeling faces challenges such as overfitting, confounding, and multicollinearity when there is a large number of explanatory variables. For example, in the birth defect study presented in this paper, variable selection for building high quality models to identify risk factors from hundreds of pollutant variables is difficult. To address this problem, we propose a novel visual analytics approach to logistic regression modeling for high-dimensional datasets. It leverages the traditional modeling pipeline by providing (1) intuitive visualizations for inspecting statistical indicators and the relationships among the variables and (2) a seamless, effective dimension reduction pipeline for selecting variables for inclusion in high quality logistic regression models. A fully working prototype of this approach has been developed and successfully applied to the birth defect study, which illustrates its effectiveness and efficiency. Spot-Tracking Lens: A Novel Interaction for Animated Bubble Charts Animated bubble charts are fun for visualizing temporal data, but their effectiveness in analysis has been questioned in recent studies. In this paper, we discover the power of animated bubble charts in revealing local, short-lived patterns and maximize this power using a novel spot-tracking lens technique. The basic idea is to design the animated visualization as what can be seen from a zoom camera lens over a focus object. The visualization enlarges local context of the object and automatically tracks its motion with a spotlight during the animation. This spot-tracking scheme utilizes selective visibility with moving focus to allow observers to concentrate on the tracked object and its changing context. The spot-tracking lens can effectively reduce change blindness and enable users to discover volatile local patterns around the tracked object. Those patterns are difficult to capture in static approaches such as small multiples and traces. Our new technique is useful in egocentric visual explorations where users gain insights on unfamiliar objects when observing their relationships with a familiar object. In progressive visual explorations, it can facilitate users in conducting detailed analysis on focal objects and their contexts and thus generate new hypotheses based on the observations. We explore the design space of camera movement, highlighting, labeling, and play control. Several user studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the new technique. Refreshments will be served. College of Computing and Informatics Speaker: Date: Location: Michael Dulin, Senior Scientist, Genomics & Molecular Epidemiology British Columbia Centre for Disease Control April 24, 2015 - 3:00 PM Woodward, 106 For more Computing and Informatics events, click here: http://cci.uncc.edu/calendar Nanoscale Science Seminar Series “Application of Engineering in Cancer Research and Treatment” Speaker: Dr. Andrew Wang, UNC Chapel Hill Date: Thursday, April 23, 3:30 PM Location: Burson 115 Please contact Dr. Juan Vivero-Escoto (Chemistry Department) if you would like to meet with Dr. Wang. North Carolina Research Campus DataChambers Open House April 28 from 4 to 7 pm join DataChambers as they celebrate the opening of their new regional data center on campus. Please RSVP at http://goo.gl/ZA8pu5. NCRC Catalysts Annual Symposium Progress in NCRC Date: Location: April 30, 2015 from 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM 150 Research Campus Drive, Kannapolis, NC The NCRC Catalyst Group is comprised of students, fellows, and employees from all of the universities and companies on the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) in Kannapolis. This informal group was started in 2010 to allow people from the various schools and businesses on campus to meet each other and foster personal and professional relationships. Since 2011 we have expanded the offerings of the NCRC Catalyst Group to include speaking opportunities for members and host career development events. All activities by the NCRC Catalyst Group are run voluntarily by its members. The Catalyst Group is sponsored by the NC Biotechnology Center, UNC Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute and Dole Foods. The Catalyst Group is hosting their fourth annual symposium “Progress in NCRC” on April 30 from 11:30 am to 5 pm in the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory building first floor event room located at 150 Research Campus Drive, Kannapolis, NC. The event includes lunch. The symposium is sponsored by NC Biotech. The UNC Nutrition Research Institute is the sponsor of the poster presentation prizes: an iPad and iPad mini. Postdocs are invited to present a poster and compete for the prizes. Speakers: • Zhanxiang Zhou, PhD – Professor, Department of Nutrition, Co-Director, Center for Translational Biomedical Research, UNC at Greensboro • Fuxia Jin, PhD – Research Scientist, Dole Nutrition Research Laboratory • Xu (Sirius) Li, PhD – Assistant Professor, Plants for Human Health Institute, North Carolina State University • David C. Nieman, DrPH – Professor and Director, Human Performance Lab, Appalachian State University • Mary Ann Lila, PhD – Director, Plants for Human Health Institute, David H. Murdock Distinguished Professor, Food Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences • Shengmin Sang, PhD – Associate Professor, Center for Excellence in Post-Harvest Technologies, North Carolina A&T State University • Rob Reid, PhD – Research Associate Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, UNC Charlotte Bioinformatics Services Division • Stephen Hursting, PhD, MPH – Professor, Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute • Xiaohe Yang, PhD – Associate Professor of Biology, Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University • Wenhong Cao MD – JC Med, LLC Founder and President, UNC Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute Visit the website to register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5XY39CP Jiggy with the Piggy Festival Date: May 8 – 9, 2015 Location: 125 N Research Campus Dr., Kannapolis, NC 28081 Formerly known as Cottonstock, Spring Fest, Village Fest, and Village Jiggy Jam, the Jiggy with the Piggy Festival is a 35-year tradition that hosts over 100 Arts & Craft Vendors, Concerts, 5k Walk/Run, Car Cruise-In, Friday Night outdoors Movie Campus, an All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast at Cannon Memorial YMCA, a People's Choice Wings and Pork Tasting, and National Train Day events at the train station. Partners in the weekend events include: Cabarrus Events Association, City of Kannapolis, Downtown Kannapolis Inc., Kannapolis Rotary, Kannapolis YMCA, the 600 Festival committee, and the NC Department of Transportation Railway Division. Visit their website at http://www.jiggywiththepiggy.com/ for more information. SAVE THE DATE P2EP Symposium July 29, 2015 Office of International Programs UNC Charlotte Study Abroad Photo Exhibit The 6th annual Study Abroad Student Photo Exhibit will feature photography from UNC Charlotte students taken while abroad and entered into one of five categories – Defining Moment, Landscape, Portrait, Self Portrait, and Travelling 49ers. Exhibit will be shown in Student Union through May 10, 2015. Contact the Office of Education Abroad for details regarding an opening reception. Dates: Location: Monday, April 27 through Sunday, May 10 Student Union Contact the Office of Education Abroad at edabroad@uncc.edu for questions. The William States Lee College of Engineering Senior Design Spring Expo Date: April 30, 2015 - 11:00am - 2:30pm Location: Barnhardt Student Activity Center (SAC) Open to the Public College of Education A Dream Again Deferred? Please plan to join Betty Chafin Rash, Dorothy Counts Scoggins and Friends for a special evening of commemoration and discussion moderated by Steve Crump of WBTV Tuesday, May 5 2015 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. UNC Charlotte Center City Campus Frye Gaillard, author of “The Dream Long Deferred” and Amy Hawn Nelson, co-author of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; School Desegregation and Resegregation in Charlotte will share readings and remarks with special guests. A Dream Again Deferred? In 1971, community turmoil and legal wrangling culminated in the fulfillment of a long-deferred dream to pursue equity in education through integrating public schools in Charlotte, NC. In the landmark case of Swann vs. CharlotteMecklenburg, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that students be bused to achieve racial balance and so began the story of a Southern “city that made desegregation work.” Change was not easy, but a new community spirit emerged from the turmoil of dissent as students, parents, educators, citizens and leaders reached across deep divisions and historic mistrust to choose shared progress over separated futures. School desegregation, once a source of disturbing community strife, became a point of community pride in Charlotte as the Queen City led the U.S. Southeast into a modern, New South era and the nation into a new chapter of American history. A 1999 court decision ended school desegregation in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, leading to increased isolation of public school children by race, ethnicity and socio-economics, and our schools now approach pre-1971 levels of segregation. As our city has grown and changed, so has the complexity of what it means to be desegregated. What does that dream look like in Charlotte in 2015 and beyond? Join us to share our past, understand today and help shape the dream for our future. Event Sponsors: DVA Charlotte Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation UNC Charlotte College of Education Infrastructure, Design, Environment, and Sustainability (IDEAS) Center BioEnergy Symposium The UNC Charlotte IDEAS Center is pleased to announce the fourth annual BioEnergy Symposium on May 14th, 2015. This year's symposium has a focus on Beneficial Byproducts of Bioenergy. If you have questions or need assistance please contact: Karyn Williamson-Coria at 704-687-1932 or by email at kwill235@uncc.edu For more information about the BioEnergy Symposium click here (http://ideas.uncc.edu/2015_BioEnergy_Symposium). 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