UW Faculty Field Tour

Harry and everyone who planned this tour did a marvelous job of not only managing the logistics but also, intentionally or not, creating an experience full of connections.  Not only do I feel more connected with all of you on this trip, your departments, your campuses and the state as a whole, but I’ve also been finding connections between those we visited, aside from their geographic location and relationship to the University.

Being the librarian for Atmospheric Sciences, I felt a connection with the presentation on how weather data is used by the WSU Research Center at Prosser to create and maintain a website using current weather information to help farmers know when to spray their crops to keep certain fungi at bay.  It also hit home how the weather can make or break a farmer in any given year.  (Before going on this trip, did you know it took two years of moisture to grow one year’s crop of wheat in Sprague?)

The link between weather data and farming is kind of a no brainer but I never really thought about the impact of weather on utility companies.  The idea of Itron’s advanced metering infrastructure for electricity, gas and water that tracks more than just amount of consumption but can also track time of consumption got me excited.  Particularly when they made the connection of combining it with weather data to help utility companies identify peak consumption times.

This increase in data production obviously brings with it issues of data storage.  We learned of a similar problem on a larger scale on our visit to LIGO.  They’re generating terabytes upon terabytes of information and are trying to keep it all.  These data storage problems resonate with me in my second position with the Libraries in the Office of Assessment & Planning where we deal with using Libraries statistics to aid in decision-making.  Now at the Libraries, our current issue with data has less to do with storage space and more with data collection and organization but I can foresee a time when we may need to consider how we’re going to store what we collect.

The connections that have been forming in my mind may not be the most obvious but they’re there and make me feel much more connected to the communities we’ve been visiting across the state and our own university community.  So THANK YOU Harry, Eva, Norm and everyone who made this trip possible.

What an exceptional experience this was…and I almost missed out on it. After thinking that I just had too much work to do at the end of the quarter (don’t we all), I almost decided not to go. What a mistake that would have been!

Having the opportunity to see the impact of UW across the state: from how excited incoming freshman are to come to UW; to how UW graduates are putting their skills and knowledge to good use; to how we can best prepare future graduates or partner with industry in WA to meet needs in the future was absolutely terrific. Also seeing how no matter where we come from in this world, we all work and hope for basically the same things.

 The beauty of this state from catching a sunset in a vineyard to coming around the bend in the road and seeing a mountain waterfall was simply breathtaking. Best of all was getting to know my fellow faculty members a little better and knowing that we’ll be maintaining these connections in the future, and hope that these collaborative efforts yield a stronger community for the future of UW.

I’m just so glad I decided to go, it was a fantastic, if exhausting, five days! Hilaire. 

In five days  I experienced more of Washington State’s people than I would have ever imagined possible. The diversity of people in this state reflects also the diversity of places we went to, the contacts we made and the impressions that I collected. Most of all I was impressed by the passion with which we were greeted in educating Native American and Latino students, providing care to low-income farm workers and their families, waiting for waves from outer space or teaching geology during our first dinner. Our days were intensely filled (5 30 am for our morning exercise to 10 30 pm bedtime) with impressions of the State’s natural beauty, as well as by the discussions about philosophy, changes in snow patterns, tree hugging and electrical engineering. Being asked to represent the UW to new incoming students gave each of us an opportunity to discuss with students their concerns of what is waiting for them in the big city “Seattle”. I was taken back to my first days at my university and the lost and insignificant feelings I experienced. I thought during our meeting with students, parents and alumni that it would have been wonderful if any of my potential future professors would have made me feel that special when I joined the university.

Equally exciting was the opportunity to spent time with Phillys, Gail and Norm to get a sense of the faculties and universities current  issues and concerns and to value their polticial representation within and outside the university.  

Being together with a group of strangers always evokes my curiosity to explore my fellow travellers. This exploration was my quest for the five days and I managed to have a private conversation with almost everybody about reseach, teaching and living in Seattle. The chance we have had to get together and learn about diversity and shared experiences made this trip worthwile every minute for me. Any new faculty should be happy to get accepted into this program.

Finally I have to thank Harry, Norm and Eva for making this trip an unforgetable memory of my lifetime.

Greetings,

 Joachim!

Hi everyone!

I now have a chance to “post” something and thank you all for the week we spent together. Harry & Co. did a great job keeping us on track. I was impressed that Phyllis, Gail and Norm could come along despite their administrative responsibilities. I now know much more about UW, the state, students, the univesity partners, and colleagues accross the campuses. The day after we came back I started my diet! Looking back (this is the “post-factum” part), I’m glad I had this opportunity. I look forward to continuing the dialogue we started during the Faculty Tour. Good luck to you all in your new adventures!

Amos Nascimento

Folks,

Thank to all of you for an informative, enriching, and entertaining experience. I learned a lot - about the state of WA, about its people, physical features, businesses, and agriculture. And I enjoyed conversing and interacting with my colleagues on the bus, and making friendships I will cherish. In observance of the “river principle,” which perhaps should be the “mountain principle” in this instance since we were on the other side of the Cascades for the most part, and which states, “what happens on the other side of the mountains, stays on the other side of the mountains,” I will now sign off. I hope all of you had as much fun as I did.

Here are links to two audio clips from our visit to Terra Blanca Winery on June 12, 2007. The first was recorded while we walked up a gravel road to see the vines. Toward the end of the minute long clip you can hear a bit of our guide. The second shorter clip was recorded within the first set of the wine caves we visited. Cheers!

http://faculty.washington.edu/vallier/walking_to_vines.mp3
http://faculty.washington.edu/vallier/in_cave.mp3

-John V

About three dozen UW faculty members hit the road Monday, June 11, for a five-day trip across the state. We’ve invited them to share their observations and thoughts along the way. Check back often to see what they post to the 2007 edition of the Faculty Field Tour Blog!

If you want to see photos and videos from last year’s tour, go to the Faculty Field Tour home page!

2007 Route Map: click for details