Present-day volcanism on Venus as evidenced from weathering rates of olivine.

At least some of Venus' lava flows are thought to be <2.5 million years old based on visible to near-infrared (VNIR) emissivity measured by the Venus Express spacecraft. However, the exact ages of these flows are poorly constrained because the rate at which olivine alters at Venus surface conditions, and how that alteration affects VNIR spectra, remains unknown. We obtained VNIR reflectance spectra of natural olivine that was altered and oxidized in the laboratory. We show that olivine becomes coated, within days, with alteration products, primarily hematite (Fe2O3). With increasing alteration, the VNIR 1000-nm absorption, characteristic of olivine, also weakens within days. Our results indicate that lava flows lacking VNIR features due to hematite are no more than several years old. Therefore, Venus is volcanically active now.

Development and implementation of a curricular-wide electronic portfolio system in a school of pharmacy.

The Feik School of Pharmacy collaborated with a commercial software development company to create a Web-based e-portfolio system to document student achievement of curricular outcomes and performance in pharmacy practice experiences. The multi-functional system also could be used for experiential site selection and assignment and continuing pharmacy education. The pharmacy school trained students, faculty members, and pharmacist preceptors to use the e-portfolio system. All pharmacy students uploaded the required number of documents and assessments to the program as evidence of achievement of each of the school's curricular outcomes and completion of pharmacy practice experiences.