Sergei Winogradsky illuminated revolutionary concepts and produced a tool to visualize complex microbial communities and their metabolisms over time:columns displaying aquatic consortia with variety of niches.We worke...Sergei Winogradsky illuminated revolutionary concepts and produced a tool to visualize complex microbial communities and their metabolisms over time:columns displaying aquatic consortia with variety of niches.We worked with museums in Utah to create Winogradsky columns that would highlight aesthetic properties of the Great Salt Lake(GSL)ecosystem,which has a salinity gradient from the freshwater wetlands to salt saturation.One column,constructed using haloarchaea-rich hypersaline brine and oolitic sand of the lake’s north arm,was enriched with nutrients,and resulted in the desired pink hue over time.After a seven-year maturation period,we examined the microbial taxa present in the water through 16 S/18 S rRNA and Internal Transcribed Spacer(ITS)gene sequencing.A pigment analysis revealed an abundance of bacteriochlorophyll a.The presence of this pigment coupled with the DNA sequencing results,suggest that the haloarchaea that dominate the GSL brine,were not responsible for the pink coloration,but instead Gammaproteobacteria,especially Halorhodospira species.Among the eukaryotes,the lack of phytoplankton and the abundance of fungi were noteworthy observations.These data likely relate to the reduction of oxygen in a non-aerated sealed system over time.Our second exhibit had the goal of educating museum goers about the varying salinities of Great Salt Lake.Here we employed three distinct columns of water and sediment from this salinity gradient.Observations of these columns overtime gave us information about invertebrate communities in addition to the microbial consortia.Both installations taught us about comparing an artificial environment in a museum setting to the natural ecosystem.Taken together,we present the data collected and lessons learned from using Winogradsky columns in public spaces for teaching about an important saline lake.展开更多
In this paper, design and fabrication of a commemorative plaque are described and presented. The plaque was fabricated to honour the memory of the 14 women massacred at L＇Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. This plaque ...In this paper, design and fabrication of a commemorative plaque are described and presented. The plaque was fabricated to honour the memory of the 14 women massacred at L＇Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. This plaque is the result of a project partnership between the Faculties of Engineering and Fine Arts, and was sponsored by the Office of the Vice-President Academic and Provost. An art design was selected through a contest coordinated by the Visual Arts Departmment. The selected art design was then turned over to the Mechanical Engineering Department to be converted to a 3-dimensional （3D） solid model and then eventually fabricated on a computer numerical control （CNC） milling machine. The fabricated plaque was unveiled during the December 2010 Memorial event at UVic.展开更多
基金Supported by the NASA Utah Space Grant Consortium and Preston Chiaro。
文摘Sergei Winogradsky illuminated revolutionary concepts and produced a tool to visualize complex microbial communities and their metabolisms over time:columns displaying aquatic consortia with variety of niches.We worked with museums in Utah to create Winogradsky columns that would highlight aesthetic properties of the Great Salt Lake(GSL)ecosystem,which has a salinity gradient from the freshwater wetlands to salt saturation.One column,constructed using haloarchaea-rich hypersaline brine and oolitic sand of the lake’s north arm,was enriched with nutrients,and resulted in the desired pink hue over time.After a seven-year maturation period,we examined the microbial taxa present in the water through 16 S/18 S rRNA and Internal Transcribed Spacer(ITS)gene sequencing.A pigment analysis revealed an abundance of bacteriochlorophyll a.The presence of this pigment coupled with the DNA sequencing results,suggest that the haloarchaea that dominate the GSL brine,were not responsible for the pink coloration,but instead Gammaproteobacteria,especially Halorhodospira species.Among the eukaryotes,the lack of phytoplankton and the abundance of fungi were noteworthy observations.These data likely relate to the reduction of oxygen in a non-aerated sealed system over time.Our second exhibit had the goal of educating museum goers about the varying salinities of Great Salt Lake.Here we employed three distinct columns of water and sediment from this salinity gradient.Observations of these columns overtime gave us information about invertebrate communities in addition to the microbial consortia.Both installations taught us about comparing an artificial environment in a museum setting to the natural ecosystem.Taken together,we present the data collected and lessons learned from using Winogradsky columns in public spaces for teaching about an important saline lake.
文摘In this paper, design and fabrication of a commemorative plaque are described and presented. The plaque was fabricated to honour the memory of the 14 women massacred at L＇Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. This plaque is the result of a project partnership between the Faculties of Engineering and Fine Arts, and was sponsored by the Office of the Vice-President Academic and Provost. An art design was selected through a contest coordinated by the Visual Arts Departmment. The selected art design was then turned over to the Mechanical Engineering Department to be converted to a 3-dimensional （3D） solid model and then eventually fabricated on a computer numerical control （CNC） milling machine. The fabricated plaque was unveiled during the December 2010 Memorial event at UVic.
