A few Fine Fellows

This year, we welcome 26 new Fine Fellows to Pittsburgh. This will be the fourth class of fellows, who will receive a GigaPan, training on how to use the equipment and our special Gigapan Stitching software. This incredible program is supported by the Fine Foundation and brings scientists and researchers from all over the world together, requesting only that they use the GigaPan in their research and post their images at www.gigapan.org

This year we welcome, among others:

Dr. Laurel Bestock Assistant Professor of Egyptology and Ancient Western Studies, Brown University. Dr Bestock led the inaugural excavation season of the Brown University Abydos Project (BUAP). Abydos, located in southern Egypt, is central to scholars’ attempts to unravel the early history of Egypt.

Dr. Faysal Bibi Postdoctoral Fellow, Institut International de Paléoprimatologie, Université de Poitiers. Faysal Bibi recently completed a PhD in Geology and Geophysics at Yale University and is at the start of a two-year postdoc at the Université de Poitiers, France. His research interests focus on the evolution of mammals in the Neogene, particularly bovids. He has worked in Mongolia, Turkey, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Raymond S. Bradley University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences and Director of the Climate System Research Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dr Bradley's interests lie in climate variability across a wide range of time scales. He is particularly interested in how present day climate differs from climates in the past, and what may have caused climates to change and has written or edited eleven books on climatic change and paleoclimatology and authored over 120 articles on these topics.

Gigapixel advanced registration - September 13 deadline

With Labor Day just behind us, we are squarely set into fall. Which means that the FIRST Fine International Gigapixel Conference is coming soon! November 11th, to be precise. So while many of you are leaving behind fond summer memories and kicking off new semesters, don't forget to take advantage of the early registration rate of $200, with the rate rising to $250 after Monday, September 13th. You can find all of the registration details here

The conference is packed with really exciting workshops, speakers, panels and an opportunity to learn from and meet with a lot of really great people. On opening night, we have a keynote from Mark Bauman of the National Geographic Society followed by a reception at the Carnegie Museum featuring selected gigapixel images.

We hope you will join us!

New Fine Fellows

We can't wait to meet our new class of Fine Fellows to arrive on November 10th. With a no-strings-attached approach, participants in this program have the freedom to discover new and useful ways to use GigaPan technology that those outside their field might never consider. We will equip and train renowned leaders in a variety of fields to use the GigaPan system. These scientists will then be set loose to bring their own scientific, critical and creative eyes to bear, applying the technology to their field of specialization.

To see how some of our fellows have put their cameras to us, check out these profiles:

Christopher Davis, a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, worked with local archaeology students in Brazil as he tries to unlock the mysteries held in ancient archaeoastronomical rock art in Brazil's Amazonian Monte Alegre hills. Chris will return this year to present his work and lead a workshop.

Matt Lamanna, is the Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and lead dinosaur paleontologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He has used his GigaPan to capture a fossil excavation in the Changma Basin of northwestern Gansu Province, China.

Fine Fellow Lisa McKeon, USGS NOROCK

This summer, we've been noticing a lot of awesome GigaPan images of Glacier National Park, taken by Fine Fellow Lisa McKeon. McKeon, a physical scientist at the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) specializes in repeat photography, graphics, and data management. She has witnessed Glacier National Park's glaciers recede and is involved in deciphering how mountain ecosystems respond to climate change.



Recently, her work has focused on providing scientific understanding and resources to the public, directly or through the NOROCK website. Whether taking precision measurements of glacier margins or creating a useful website, it has been a pleasure to assist with efforts to increase our understanding of the effects of climate change in this beautiful corner of the world. Check out all of Lisa's GigaPan captures.

Twitter

Follow-us, tweet with us, and let us retweet your tweets! It's a win-win scenario. http://twitter.com/FOFSgigapan

Fine Fellows and Int'l GigaPixel Conference

We are getting really excited to host the new class of Fine Fellows this November in Pittsburgh. The 2010 Fine Fellows will kick off with a workshop to learn how to use a GigaPan and the stitching software. The fun does not end there. Kicking off at Carnegie Mellon University on November 11th is the FIRST Fine International Conference on Gigapixel Imaging for Science. Brought to you by CREATE Lab, Carnegie Mellon University with The Fine Foundation, the conference aims to explore innovative uses of GigaPan in the classroom, the field and the laboratory by leading scientists. Tell your colleagues and get on board, because this conference is going to be packed with arts, smarts and camera parts. The main purpose of the event is to bring together students, researchers, scientists, teachers and practitioners to present and discuss their latest techniques, ideas, applications and research findings related to various aspects of gigapixel imaging for science. Google's Alan Eustace, Senior Vice President, Engineering & Research leads Friday morning's keynote with a welcome by CMU's President Dr. Jared Cohen. Keep checking the website for additional details on the conference.

52 weeks of photos

On the University of Guelph campus in Ontario, Canada, the “Dairy Bush” is an 8.5 ha woodlot that has been part of the city and the university campus since 1830. The sign outside the Bush reads, "The Dairy Bush is a unique and delicate example of Great Lakes St. Lawrence forest in Southern Ontario, and serves as an outdoor laboratory for University of Guelph students." Between August 2009 and September 2010, 2008 Fine Fellow and Assistant Professor of Molecular Ecology Alex Smith has been visiting the Dairy Bush weekly to document a year in this urban woodlot using GigaPan panoramic images.

From a snail hanging out on a tree in September '09 to a tiny fly in May '10, Alex has captured many delicate features of this unique ecosystem. At week 51, Alex is about to wrap up an entire year of weekly GigaPan-ing. This impressive collection features many unique captures not only in Guleph, Canada, but also in Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, CA, Costa Rica and Belize.

Dr. Alex Smith is an Assistant Professor in Molecular Ecology at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario.