“Big Data” has the potential for big results in terms of attracting and retaining industry for the state, public and private experts in New Jersey believe. That’s why a consortium of academia, government and industry leaders have collaborated on creating a one-stop home for the massive amounts of data collected by the likes of sensor cameras, social media and a variety of other sources, said Margaret Brennan-Tonetta, associate vice president for economic development at Rutgers University. The passage of the first “Big Data Bill” by Gov. Chris Christie officially recognizes the New Jersey Big Data Alliance (NJBDA) as the State’s Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Consortium. That move is crucial as it gives the NJBDA legitimacy in the eyes of industry, Brennan-Tonetta said.
Archives for 2014
SEBS Animal Sciences Department Mourns the Loss of Student Caitlyn Kovacs
The School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the Department of Animal Sciences mourn the untimely passing of one of our students, Caitlyn Kovacs. She became an Animal Sciences major at Rutgers because of her passion for animals, especially companion animals, and her interest in animal welfare. Daniela Sharma, who served last year as Caitlyn’s […]
What is driving the increasingly weird behavior of the polar jet stream?
A big link between climate change and severe weather may be lurking 30,000 feet above your head. More and more scientists are interested in the links among the increasingly weird behavior of the polar jet stream and the disappearance of ice and snow in the Arctic and other extreme weather trends…Rutgers University atmospheric scientist Jennifer Francis thinks there is a clear climate change factor in the jet stream’s wobbliness: the warming of the Arctic. Temperatures are rising in the Arctic regions faster than anywhere else in the world, an effect called “Arctic amplification” that may be due to the fact that as sea ice melts it exposes darker water that absorbs more heat then the reflective ice.
New Jersey’s Got “Terroir,” Celebrates State Wine Week Sept. 19-28
The winemakers’ art relies on the cultivation of select varieties of well-adapted grapes that thrive under sets of conditions unique to every site. The French have a single vocabulary word, “terroir,” to describe this broad set of interacting factors that includes the soils, their orientation, grape variety, farming practices, climate, local microclimate, wine making culture […]
Rutgers student who died was animal lover, ‘creative, bubbly, positive’
Caitlyn Kovacs, a 19-year-old Rutgers University sophomore who died Sunday morning, was a great employee who loved animals, her former boss said. “It wasn’t just a job for her,” said Brenda Janner, the owner of the pet-sitting business Beg ‘n Bark in Princeton, where Kovacs worked this summer. “We’re all in shock about the whole thing.” Kovacs, an animal sciences major, was at a small gathering off campus in New Brunswick when she appeared to be in distress, the Middlesex County prosecutor said. Her friends took her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead early Sunday morning.
Rutgers Community Comes Together to Help Fight the Spread of the Ebola Virus in West Africa
In August, Jim Simon, professor of plant biology and pathology at Rutgers, “just couldn’t sit still and do nothing” when, like the rest of the world, he began to get a better sense of the growing threat of the Ebola virus in West Africa through daily news reports. In addition, he was getting frantic requests […]
Promoting Oyster Restoration Through Schools
Hundreds of pounds of spat, or baby Oysters were taken Sunday from the Haskin Shellfish Laboratory where they had been growing in mud flats and relocated to artificial reefs along the Delaware Bay shore. The spat had been growing on the surface of shel…
Sludge recycling beneficial for farms and society
Biosolids – treated sewage sludges – are safe, effective fertilizers and soil amendments, as demonstrated by 40 years of research…Cornell and Rutgers Extension present the most restrictive biosolids guidelines to be found in official documents anywhe…
Rutgers participates in nation’s largest climate march
More than 150 University students joined more than 310,000 other people from more than 1,000 organizations, universities and other institutions in New York City for the largest climate march in America’s history…Among those who attended the march wer…
Hurricane season quiet — but don’t relax yet
The Atlantic hurricane season is about as quiet as last year, with only five named storms so far – but it’s way too soon to relax. A devastating storm could still develop during a quiet season and coastal residents must be prepared, experts stress…As for this season, David A. Robinson, a geography professor at Rutgers University and New Jersey state climatologist, said superstorm Sandy was the “S storm” in 2012 and “there’s no way we’re going to get to S this year. Conversely, the Eastern Pacific has gone wild,” he said. The hurricanes have been “powerhouses and they started the season with a couple of (Category) 4s.”
