home J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, Resources and Services Dr. Leary: Identifying Heat Waves in Florida: Considerations of Missing Weather Data (Open Access)

Dr. Leary: Identifying Heat Waves in Florida: Considerations of Missing Weather Data (Open Access)

Dr. Emily Leary is an Assistant Research Professor in the Biostatistics and Research Design Unit at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. She’s been nominated to a three year term on the University of Missouri School of Medicine Resarch Council and was elected the Vice President of the Mid-Missouri Chapter of the American Statistical Association. To learn more about Dr. Leary’s research, click here.

Dr. Leary recently published her latest research in Public Library of Science (PLOS), an open access journal for science and medicine.

Leary, E., Young, L. J., DuClos, C., & Jordan, M. M. (2015). Identifying Heat Waves in Florida: Considerations of Missing Weather Data. PLoS ONE, 10(11), e0143471. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0143471

We were excited to see that Dr. Leary chose to publish in an open access journal. and we asked her for some thoughts on the process:

  1. Why did you choose to publish in an Open Access journal?

“Many of my researcher friends in industry and government are frustrated when they cannot access the research that “their tax dollars pay for” and would help to inform their own work/duties.  Since I had the funds and could publish in open access, I tried to do so.”

      2. Would you publish in an Open Access journal again?  If so, why?

“Yes, although it is interesting that the process is much longer than for subscription based journals.”

Baby, It’s Hot Outside

The dog days of summer are finally upon us after a long and snowy winter.   As the mercury rises, we all begin to hear (and ask) that famous age-old, sarcastic question:  “Can it possibly get any hotter?”  Special Collections is here to forever lay that question to rest by providing the answer.

Yes.  Much hotter.

One hundred years ago today, on July 10, 1913, the hottest temperature ever was recorded, right here in the USA.  The appropriately named Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, California reported a sizzling 134 °F (56.7 °C).  According to the National Park Service, summer temperatures in Death Valley average 120 °F throughout the day, before dropping into the nineties at night.

Washington Post, Feb. 13, 1916

A century-old Washington Post headline shows off the new world record.

Swing on in to Special Collections to escape our own summer heat wave.  Access to any of our books, microfilms or comics (along with our air conditioning) is, of course, free of charge.