Reports: Technical Coordinators’ Updates, 2007

TECHNICAL COORDINATOR’S
WELL MONITORING UPDATE
BGwT Meeting: April 23, 2007

WELL MONITORING

The BGwT’s latest set of readings are indicated below.

Wells were read between Mar. 11 - Apr. 7, 2007. Of the 708 wells read:

• 217 wells @ elevation >7’
• 299 wells @ elevation 5’-7’
• 131 wells @ elevation 3’-5’
• 37 wells @ elevation <3’
• 24 wells @ no reading

We have read 89 wells in the East network (East Boston Area). Wells were read in East Boston on March 9 & 10, 2007. Of the 89 wells read:

• 46 wells @ elevation >7’
• 11 wells @ elevation 5’-7’
• 10 wells @ elevation 3’-5’
• 19 wells @ elevation <3’
• 3 wells @ no reading

NOTE: We are continuously reading the well network.

LEVELLOGGERS

• Group 6 dataloggers have been installed. Data is scheduled to be uploaded in June.
• As per agreement with GEI Consultants Inc., loggers (there are a total of 4) installed in and around Cazenove St. continue to be uploaded once a week and sent to GEI Consultants Inc. The purpose is to observe the water levels in the area where the recharge systems have been installed.

ISD Research

• We continue to look for any underpinned buildings. Data continues to be scarce up to this point.

Gordon-CenSSIS

I attended the National Science Foundation (NSF) Site Visit of the Gordon CenSSIS center at BU’s Photonics & Engineering Building on April 19, 2007. Below are some highlights of the meeting.

• CenSSIS is comprised of 4 academic partners. Those being Northeastern, BU, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and University of Puerto Rico at MayagŸez.
• Their main goal is sustainability
• The core of CenSSIS are their Bio-Medical applications and Environmental/Civil applications
• The life-blood of CenSSIS are the over 200 students who participate in the program
• NSF funding ends in 2010. CenSSIS is expected to be self-supporting by 2010.
• They have developed collaborations with domain experts such as Mass General Hospital and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Some applications they are working on are:
  • Development of handheld skin cancer detection unit
  • Development of Intelligent Video for finding suicide bombers
  • Development of intelligent diagnostics for aging Civil Infrastructure
  • Development of Medical Tomography algorithms for underground assessment

I also attended the Industrial Advisory Board session. The session was a meeting of the Industrial Partners of CenSSIS. Below are some highlights of that meeting and suggestions by the partners.

• The Board reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of CenSSIS
• Some board members felt that a definition of what each partner expects is needed
• The partners also felt that goals should be outlined and measured by tabbing them either successful or unsuccessful
• The Partners felt that a consensus must be reached between CenSSIS and the partners
• The partners felt that there is a large gap between CenSSIS goals and their goals
• A closed loop communication is needed between the partners and Michael Silevitch
• The partners will look into additional funding from NSF