2021 REU Students

The NSF Engineering Research Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4Ag) undergraduate students for its Research for Undergraduate Experience (REU) Program for summer 2021 are listed below.

This program is designed to give undergraduate students the opportunity to work with scientists from Purdue University, University of Florida, and the University of Pennsylvania on cutting-edge research to address the societal grand challenge of food, energy, and water security by advancing technologies that increase crop production, while minimizing the use of energy and water resources and the impact of agricultural practices on the environment. Projects will focus on the creation of internet of things (IoT) technologies from sensors, robotics, and energy and communication devices to data-driven models constrained by plant physiology, soil, weather, management practices, and socio-economics. These technologies will be integrated into systems that capture the microclimate and spatially, temporally, and compositionally map heterogeneous stresses for early detection and intervention to better outcomes in agricultural crop production.

Students are matched to projects based on their background, interests, location preference, and the project needs and requirements. All projects will provide the opportunity to learn next-generation approaches and to develop experience working in at least one of the research facilities using state-of-the-art equipment. Students will gain experience with substantial aspects of doing science: experimental design, data collection, and communication of results. Students will also participate in activities that complement the lab research and help to develop broader scientific and career skills: seminars, paper discussions, career sessions and skills workshops.

Student participants earn a stipend and, for in-person experiences will have housing accommodations and travel allowances that depend on each university’s policy for summer research in 2021, that prioritizes student safety during the pandemic.

Rebecca Caldbeck
University of Kentucky
Host – Purdue University

Major – Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology and Natural Resources and Environmental Science

Project – (20_CORN MASS & N2) Corn Phenology, Biomass, and Nitrogen Efficiency Prediction from Integrated Sensors and (8_AGBOT) AgBot – Corn-Sampling Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV)

MaTais Caldwell
Auburn University
Host – University of Florida

Major – Computer Science

Project – (25_NUTRIENTS) AI System for Determining Crop Nutrient Recommendations

Lucia Carrero
University of South Florida
Host – University of Florida

Major – Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Project – (21_AFLATOXIN) Assessing Aflatoxin risk points in Peanuts

Brian Huang
Purdue University
Host – Purdue University

Major – Mechanical Engineering and Physics

Project – (8_AGBOT) AgBot – Corn-Sampling Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV)

John Ade Kolade
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Host – University of Pennsylvania

Major – Mechanical Engineering

Project – (2_OPTICAL SYSTEM) Optical Sensor-Detector System Design

Nicole Kozel
Purdue University
Host – Purdue University

Major – Electrical Engineering

Project – (20_CORN MASS & N2) Corn Phenology, Biomass, and Nitrogen Efficiency Prediction from Integrated Sensors

Nicole Luna
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
Host – University of Pennsylvania

Major – Mechanical Engineering and Physics

Project – (8_AGBOT) AgBot – Corn-Sampling Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV)

Zachary Neel
Purdue University
Host – Purdue University

Major – Computer Engineering

Project – (14_LORAWAN MODULES) Flexible LoRaWan Communication Modules with Sensors, (16_AG COMM) Communication to Enable Agricultural Sensing, and (7_EDGE COMP-COMM) Edge Computing, and Communication for Agricultural Sensors

Chris Rodriguez
University of California, Irvine
Host – Purdue University

Major – Computer Engineering

Project – (14_LORAWAN MODULES) Flexible LoRaWan Communication Modules with Sensors, (16_AG COMM) Communication to Enable Agricultural Sensing, and (7_EDGE COMP-COMM) Edge Computing, and Communication for Agricultural Sensors

Andie Veeder
University of Arkansas
Host – University of Pennsylvania

Major – Chemical Engineering

Project – (5_SENSE & POWER) Biodegradable Power Sources with Measurand-Dependent Output

Jiecheng Zhang
Purdue University
Host – Purdue University

Major – Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering

Project – (16_AG COMM) Communication to Enable Agricultural Sensing