News & Press Releases

Financial Aid Services wants to remind all students to file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Services for FAFSA Help Labs via Zoom on Fridays from 2-3pm for help filing your FAFSA and learning more about financial aid. https://umassd.zoom.us/j/96235213250?pwd=ZE1FSWtNek05dnNEQWVqdnZyNHVDUT09 Contact Mark Yanni myanni@umassd.edu

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Financial Aid Services wants to remind all students to file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Services for FAFSA Help Labs in LARTS 203 on Tuesdays from 10am-11am for help filing your FAFSA and learning more about financial aid. Contact Mark Yanni myanni@umassd.edu

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This workshop provides a thorough exploration of the use of tables, pivot tables and pivot charts in Excel. Participants create pivot tables to summarize hundreds of rows of transactional data in just a few clicks, without complex formulas, or time-consuming grouping and reorganization. Previous Excel experience is required. This workshop will take place in the Library, room 128. Contact Rich Legault for more information at 508-999-8799, or email RLegault@umassd.edu.

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Topic: COMPARING THE ROBUSTNESS TO PARAMETER MISMATCH OF INFOTAXIS AND MAP SEARCH STRATEGIES Location: Lester W. Cory Conference Room, Science & Engineering Building (SENG), Room 213A Zoom Conference Link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/99998476640 Meeting ID: 999 9847 6640 Passcode: 688944 Abstract: Conventional target search algorithms can be categorized as either exploratory or exploitative. Exploratory methods prioritize comprehensive space exploration without incorporating acquired information. These approaches are well suited for high-clutter environments where individual detections hold low confidence. In contrast, exploitative algorithms heavily rely on existing data to refine their search. They excel in low-clutter scenarios where detections possess high fidelity. This thesis delves into a comparative robustness analysis of the performance between exploitative search strategies, specifically Maximum A Posteriori (MAP), and an advanced search strategy known as Infotaxis, which integrates both exploration and exploitation strategies. For this purpose, our focuses on assessing the robustness of MAP and Infotaxis under conditions of parametric mismatch during the Bayesian update and measurement processes. Parametric mismatch refers to the error conditions when the true probability of detection (PD) and probability of false alarm (PFA) utilized in the measurement function deviates from the model assumed estimated probability of detection (PD) and estimated probability of false alarm (PFA) in the Bayesian update function (BUF). Parametric mismatch conditions arise due to incorrectly calibrated computational models, impacting system accuracy and reliability. Numerical simulations consisting of 1000 Monte Carlo trials demonstrate that Infotaxis outperform MAP. These simulations conducted under varying search area size illustrate the superior efficacy of Infotaxis in comparison to MAP, showcasing its robustness and effectiveness in target search. Advisor: Dr. John R. Buck, Chancellor Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth Committee Members: Dr. Ana Doblas, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth; Dr. Paul J. Gendron, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth NOTE: All ECE Graduate Students are ENCOURAGED to attend. All interested parties are invited to attend. Open to the public. *For further information, please contact Dr. John R. Buck via email at jbuck@umassd.edu

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This is an intermediate Qualtrics workshop that explores different means of skipping or repeating questions in a survey. Topics covered include skip logic, display logic, blocks and block branching, as well as loop and merge. Previous survey experience equivalent to the Getting Started with Qualtrics workshop is required. This workshop will take place via Zoom teleconference. The Zoom meeting link will be sent to registered participants via email the morning of the workshop. For more information about Zoom, visit http://instructionaldev.umassd.edu/zoom . For more information about this workshop, contact Rich Legault at 508-999-8799 or email rlegault@umassd.edu.

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SMAST East 101-103 and Via Zoom Abstract: A GIS-based census of Gulf Stream (GS) cyclonic eddies was compiled using synoptic oceanographic analysis charts of the GS and its mesoscale eddies and filaments. The charts employ SST, altimetry, and field observations to map the path of the GS, location and size of warm and cold eddies and adjacent filaments. This census accounts for all cyclonic eddies from 2000-2022 in the Sargasso Sea between the GS extension and 33N. Dates of birth and demise for cyclonic eddies from 2000-2019 reported by Silver et al. 2021 was the reference to begin this census, which now details digitized location and size of cyclonic eddies and other key parameters such as annulus and inner core areas. Findings suggest different cyclonic eddy formation types: pinch-off ring, hook-type eddy, and Sargasso cyclonic eddies. Pinch-off rings form from a GS meander through amplifying, then encircling Slope Sea water and eventually detaching from the GS as a cyclonic cold-core ring in the Sargasso Sea. Hook-type eddies form from a southward extending filament of the GS's southern flank establishing as a hook-like entity cyclonically encircling a body of Sargasso Sea water at its core. Sargasso cyclonic eddies are isolated from the Gulf Stream and occur in the Sargasso Sea. Analyses of the census showed that the formation of cyclonic eddies peaks in Spring. Hook-types are observed most often, followed closely by pinch-off rings and Sargasso eddies. Hook-types form preferentially west of the New England Seamount Chain, while pinch-off rings often occur over and east of the Chain. Using this new census as well as SST and Argo float data over the last two decades, the spatial distribution, vertical structure, seasonality, interannual variability, size, and lifespan of cyclonic eddies in the Gulf Stream-Sargasso region is examined.

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