Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:This project has exceeded the goal of graduating 15 undergraduates and 10 graduates by 100% and 70%, respectively. BE AWARE has trained 47students (30 undergraduate and 17graduate), who have engaged in the novel BE AWARE careerready traineeship model. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?All students were involved in multidisciplinary research projects at their home institutions. Remarkably, several students presented their research in multiple national and international conferences, which provide networking opportunities. In total, five students conducted summer internships in 2016, two students did summer internships in 2017, three students (one from each institution) participated in the 2018 summer internships program at Beltsville, two students participated in 2019. In 2020, two PhD students did a remote summer research internship at a national laboratory. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Students have been very active in disseminating their research products. All citations are included in the "Products section." The grant fellowships were advertised on the UTSA/UTRGV/UPRM campus via posters/flyers as well as online. E-mails were also sent to students who met the basic requirements. The dissemination of the research and college immersion camp was advertised at Alamo Colleges via posters, in-house presentations and e-mails. The program was also advertised in many of the freshman engineering classes by special announcement of the PD and Co-PDs. The PD gave presentations anddiscussed the BE AWARE program in the introduction to engineering course (students are primarily Freshman). The students reached out are about 60. Be AWARE program was advertised inBiology classes at UTRGV and in Industrial Engineering courses at UPRM (approx. 50-60 students), as well as in the graduate seminar at UPRM. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This progress report is a summary of the grant activities and achievements that occurred during the grant period of 9/1/15 to 8/31/20 with emphasis on the last year. In this report, we detail the positive outcomes and goals reached. -Objective 1: Attract, recruit and retain fellows. Our biggest impact has been on the students themselves. BE AWARE has trained 47 students (30 undergraduate and 17 graduate), who have engaged in the novel BE AWARE career-ready traineeship model [1]. The disciplines of the student fellows include biology, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, advanced manufacturing, civil and environmental engineering. The institutions established formal mechanisms to encourage female student to pursue a USDA-related careers. Twenty two out of forty-seven students were female (that is, 46%). Three doctoral students (one female) were trained in this program. This program has reached out and trained 48 community college students during the summer and it is expected that close to 20 community college students will transition to universities. The program has been very successful on advancing the education of minority students. A total of eight students transitioned to graduate studies. Recent success stories include one undergraduate who graduated with his Bachelor's degree from UTRGV in the fall of 2018. He has since entered the Masters in Biology program at UTRGV in the spring of 2019 in the lab of Dr. Michael Persans where he continues his studies on algae and biofuels. Another undergraduate student graduated with her Bachelor's degree from UTRGV in the fall of 2018. She has since entered the Masters in Biology program at UTRGV in the summer of 2019 in the lab of Dr. Michael Persans where she will continue her studies on algae and biofuels. Another graduate student graduated with her MS degree from UTSA and it is applying to the PhD program in 2020. Student testimonials can be found at [2]. [1] K. Castillo, M. Cabrera-Rios, M. W. Persans, and H. R. DeYoe, "Engaging minority students in sustainable bioenergy and water quality through an education and research network," in ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, 2016, vol. 2016-June. [2] K. Castillo, "BE AWARE Student Testimonials," 2018. [Online]. Available: http://engineering.utsa.edu/kcastillo/wpcontent/ uploads/sites/30/2018/09/BeAWARE_Student_Testimonials_2.pdf. -Objective 2: Implement the career-oriented BE AWARE education model. Each participant student was assigned to a mentor and a project. Each faculty has helped trainees in choosing his/her research project (i.e., thesis, dissertation or undergraduate project depending on the student's level) that addresses a priority area in this program. Students have been very active in disseminating their research. All citations are included under the "Products" section. The production of journal papers was very high (4 published papers in top journals). Two conference papers were published and presented in the IISE conference (scheduled for May 2020), which was moved to online format due to COVID-19 outbreak in the fall 2020. Noteworthy, the students won the Best Paper Award in the Energy Systems division. More details on student success in this last year of the program follow. Co-PD Dr. Michael Persans, senior personnel Dr. Hudson DeYoe mentored 2 graduate students and 5 undergraduate students in academic year 2019-2020 at UTRGV in their studies with a focused application to algae and biofuels. Co-PD, Mauricio Cabrera mentored a UPRM group of 8 undergraduates and 1 master students who are working on developing new technology for recycling. A graduate student who participated in the 2018 USDA Summer Research Program at Beltsville, has managed the project and the material tests. PD, Krystel Castillo and her lab mentored four graduate students on the development of new mathematical models and solution procedures to optimize the design of biofuel logistics considering the inherent variability in biomass (switchgrass, corn stover and forest residues). -Objective 3: Establish an experiential learning program with USDA ARS/FS labs. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak the summer internships at Beltsville were cancelled and the summer camp on campus was postponed as well. Nevertheless, two PhD students conducted a remote research internship in the summer 2020. -Objective 4: Deliver at least two workshops and two seminars annually. Despite the global pandemic, the team delivered two online seminars titled: Data analytics platform to support the production of bioenergy and mathematical modeling for optimizing biomass logistics. -Objective 5: Improve the content and delivery of BE AWARE research and education in HSIs by developing decision support systems (DSS), case studies, computer models and videos. A UTSA group of two master's students and two PhD students took the lead on developing new mathematical models and solution procedures to optimize the design of biofuel logistics considering the inherent variability in biomass.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Nu, F., Aboytes-Ojeda, M.*, Castillo-Villar, K. K., & Marufuzzaman, M. (2020). A Two-stage Stochastic Programming Model for Biofuel Supply Chain Network Design with Biomass Quality Implications. IISE Transactions. https://doi.org/10.1080/24725854.2020.1751347
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M.*, Castillo-Villar, K. K., & Roni, M. S. (2020). A decomposition approach based on meta-heuristics and exact methods for solving a two-stage stochastic biofuel hub-and-spoke network problem. Journal of Cleaner Production, 247, 119176, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119176
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Chen, Y., Castillo-Villar, K. K., & Dong, B. (2019). Stochastic control of a micro-grid using battery energy storage in solar-powered buildings. Annals of Operations Research, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-019-03444-3
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M.*, Castillo-Villar, K. K., & Eksioglu, S. D. (2019). Modeling and optimization of biomass quality variability for decision support systems in biomass supply chains. Annals of Operations Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-019-03477-8
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M.*, & Castillo-Villar, K. K. (2019). Hybrid Method to Solve a Two-Stage Stochastic Biofuel Hub-and-Spoke Network Problem. In Renewable Energy and Sustainable Buildings (pp. 641-652). Springer, Cham. ISBN 978-3-030-18487-2
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Kolton K.*, Aboytes-Ojeda, M.*, Castillo-Villar, K. K., Stochastic Programming Model Integrating Pyrolysis Byproducts in Biofuel Supply Chains. In proceedings of the Virtual 2020 IISE Annual Conference & Expo. November 1-3, 2020.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M.*, Castillo-Villar, K. K., Cardona-Valdes, Y., Stochastic Risk-averse Supply Chain for the Production of Biofuel. In proceedings of the Virtual 2020 IISE Annual Conference & Expo. November 1-3, 2020.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Kucuksayacigil, F., Eksioglu, S., Roni, M., Chen, Q., Chanchad, N., Castillo-Villar, K. K. A Reliable Biomass Process Design in an Integrated Biorefinery. In proceedings of the Virtual 2020 IISE Annual Conference & Expo. November 1-3, 2020
|
Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:This project has exceeded the goal of graduating 15 undergraduates and 10 graduates by 100% and 50%, respectively. BE AWARE has trained 45 students (30 undergraduate and 15 graduate), who have engaged in the novel BE AWARE career-ready traineeship model. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two students conducted summer internships at the USDA ARS located in Beltsville supported by this program in summer 2019. All students were involved in multidisciplinary research projects at their home institutions. Remarkably, several students presented their research in multiple national and international conferences, which provide networking opportunities. Moreover, ten Alamo Community College students were hosted at UTSA for the 2019 summer camp. The 4-week program covered bioenergy, climate change and water resources modules as well as professional development and writing tutoring. After the 4-week program, we are providing a 4-week experiential learning opportunity to community college students (supported by a different program). Faculty members delivered several seminars/workshops throughout the academic year 2018-2019. Ms. Ruby De La Garza, the Hispanic Serving Institutions National Program Office and Director for the Texas Region, has held a USA Jobs workshop for all USDA interns in all the USDA programs on the UTRGV campus. She guided the students through the process of applying for USDA jobs and aided them in setting up a profile in the USA Jobs system database. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Students have been very active in disseminating their research products. All citations are included in the "Products section." The grant fellowships were advertised on the UTSA/UTRGV/UPRM campus via posters/flyers as well as online. E-mails were also sent to students who met the basic requirements. The dissemination of the research and college immersion camp was advertised at Alamo Colleges via posters, in-house presentations and e-mails. The program was also advertised in many of the freshman engineering classes by special announcement of the PD and Co-PDs. The PD gave presentations and discussed the BE AWARE program in the introduction to engineering course (students are primarily Freshman). The students reached out are about 65. Several outreach events related to BE AWARE (bioenergy and water for agriculture) were conducted through iTEC, where more than 60 students have been reached out. Be AWARE program was advertised in Biology classes at UTRGV and in Industrial Engineering courses at UPRM (approx. 50-60 students), as well as in the graduate seminar at UPRM. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Plans for the extension requested include providing stipends for in-progress students (total of 10) to finish their degree programs and purchasing chemical reagents, molecular biology kits, water analysis kits, disposable plasticware, and small equipment items such as pipettors to support the training of Biology students working on the algae project; a grinder for plastic, machining at least two injection molding molds in aluminum, and purchasing virgin material to enhance recycled material properties for the Industrial Engineering students working on the development of a technology to recycle PET and 3D printing filaments and joints to support the development of small wind energy turbines at UTSA.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This progress report is a summary of the grant activities and achievements that occurred during the grant period of 9/1/18 to 8/31/19. In this report, we detail the positive outcomes and goals reached during the fourth year of the grant. -Objective 1: Attract, recruit and retain fellows. Our biggest impact has been on the students themselves. BE AWARE has trained 45 students (30 undergraduate and 15 graduate), who have engaged in the novel BE AWARE career-ready traineeship model [1]. Twelve students conducted paid summer internships at USDA ARSs and 8 students transitioned to graduate studies. Moreover, this program has reached out and trained 48 community college students during the summer and it is expected that close to 20 community college students will transition to universities as of summer 2019. Student testimonials can be found at [2]. [1] K. Castillo, M. Cabrera-Rios, M. W. Persans, and H. R. DeYoe, "Engaging minority students in sustainable bioenergy and water quality through an education and research network," in ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, 2016, vol. 2016-June. [2] K. Castillo, "BE AWARE Student Testimonials," 2018. [Online]. Available: http://engineering.utsa.edu/kcastillo/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2018/09/BeAWARE_Student_Testimonials_2.pdf. -Objective 2: Implement the career-oriented BE AWARE education model. Each participant student was assigned to a mentor and a project. Each faculty has helped trainees in choosing his/her research project (i.e., thesis, dissertation or undergraduate project depending on the student's level) that addresses a priority area in this program. Students have been very active disseminating their research. All citations are included under the "Products" section. More details on student success follow. Co-PI Dr. Michael Persans, senior personnel Dr. Hudson DeYoe, graduate student Laura Chavez and graduate student Giovanina (Aimee) Hinojosa attended the 8th Annual International Conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels and Bioproducts meeting in Seattle Washington. Two posters were presented at this conference. They were entitled "Optimizing Algae Growth and Lipid Accumulation for Biofuel Production" and "Towards a Sustainable Energy Solution... Optimizing Neutral Lipid Production In Algae". Several graduate and undergraduate students supported by the BE AWARE program were authors on the posters. The first poster included the graduate student authors Brittany Schier (UTSA), Laura Chavez (UTRGV) and Giovanina Hinojosa (UTRGV), and the undergraduate authors from UTRGV Mauricio Pena, Andy Ly and Evelyn Garcia. The second poster included the graduate student authors Brittany Schier (UTSA), Laura Chavez (UTRGV) and Giovanina Hinojosa (UTRGV), and the undergraduate authors from UTRGV Mauricio Pena, Alyssa Rodriguez, Andy Ly and Evelyn Garcia. All these students were supported with scholarships from the BE AWARE program. The graduate student from UTRGV, Laura Chavez, graduated with her M.S. degree from UTRGV in August of 2018. She has since gotten a job as a lab instructor coordinator in the College of Health Affairs at UTRGV. She intends to apply to USDA jobs or attend doctoral school. The materials and supplies money from the grant helped support the South Texas Community College intern Cris Villarreal and the High School Student Kimberly Lopez. The both gave presentations on their work to their respective summer intern programs. The undergraduate Mauricio Pena graduated with his bachelor's degree from UTRGV in the fall of 2018. He has since entered the master's in biology program at UTRGV in the spring of 2019 in the lab of Dr. Michael Persans where he continues his studies on algae and biofuels. The undergraduate Jazmine Leija graduated with her bachelor's degree from UTRGV in the fall of 2018. She has since applied to the master's in biology program at UTRGV in the spring of 2019 and started in the lab of Dr. Michael Persans in summer 2019 where she continues her studies on algae and biofuels. The undergraduate Alyssa Rodriguez is still enrolled in the UTRGV bachelor's in biology program and should graduate with her degree in the spring 2020 semester. The graduate student Giovanina (Aimee) Hinojosa is still enrolled in the UTRGV master's program in biology and should graduate in the spring 2020 semester. A UPRM group of 8 undergraduates and 1 master students are working on developing new technology for recycling. Neshmayda Díaz, who also participated in the 2018 USDA Summer Research Program at Beltsville, has managed the project and the material tests in this machine. Gustavo Miranda has contributed his mechanical design skills to permit the development of products that could eventually be injection molded. Prototypes of self-assemblies have been developed in different phases with students like Kevin Huang, Rocío Fernández, and Verónica Díaz using 3D printing. More complex designs, such as the originally-developed hydroponic system result from the interaction of Engineering students like Jaycie Candelaria, César Román, and Carlos Figueroa with students more involved in biological systems such as Alejandro Marrero and Diamarys Salomé. Frances Santiago and Michelle Alomar have both worked in testing materials and mixtures in the injection-molding machine. They participated in the 2019 Summer Research Program at Beltsville. Verónica Díaz-Pacheco (graduate student), has been in charge of assembling the entire recycling system (shredding-injection molding) and carrying out its formal optimization as the projected outcome of her thesis. -Objective 3: Establish an experiential learning program with USDA ARS/FS labs. Two students participated in paid summer internships at the USDA Beltsville Laboratory in summer of 2019. In addition, research projects are being conducted through the academic year at the host institutions. -Objective 4: Deliver at least two workshops and two seminars annually. Students have participated in at least one workshop and one seminar per semester. Ms. Ruby De La Garza, the Hispanic Serving Institutions National Program Office and Director for the Texas Region, has held a USA Jobs workshop for all USDA interns in all the USDA programs on the UTRGV campus. -Objective 5: Improve the content and delivery of BE AWARE research and education in HSIs by developing decision support systems (DSS), case studies, computer models and videos. A UTSA group of two master's students and 2 PhD students have taken the lead on developing new mathematical models and solution procedures to optimize the design of biofuel logistics considering the inherent variability in biomass (switchgrass, corn stover and forest residues). The publications of this effort can be found under "Products".
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
K Huang, W Nieves, C Marrero, M Ortiz, JC Orengo, CE Isaza, M Cabrera-R�os, Enhancing the capability-to-affordability ratio of a manufacturing process; The didactic case of a 3D printer, Ingenier�as (2018) 21:80 36-44
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Aranguren M., Castillo-Villar K., Aboytes-Ojeda M., Giacomoni M. (2018). Simulation-Optimization Approach for the Logistics Network Design of Biomass Co-Firing with Coal at Power Plants. Sustainability, vol. 10(11), pages 1-18.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M., Castillo-Villar, K. K., Roni, M. (2019). A decomposition approach based on meta-heuristics and exact methods for solving a two-stage stochastic biofuel hub-and-spoke network problem. Journal of Cleaner Production, 119176, DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119176
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda M., Castillo-Villar K., Eksioglu S. (2019). Modeling and the Optimization of Biomass Quality Variability for Decision Support Systems in Biofuel Production. Annals of Operations Research.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Farjana, N., Aboytes-Ojeda M., Castillo-Villar K., Marufuzzaman, M. (2019). A Two-stage Stochastic Model for Biofuel Supply Chain Network Design with Biomass Quality Implications. Submitted to IISE Transactions.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
F Aponte, A L�pez, JA Candelaria, CD Figueroa, C Rom�n, CE Isaza, M Cabrera R�os, The 3D Hydroponic Printed Prototype, 2019 HSI Conference, Mayag�ez PR, November 2018.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M.*, Castillo-Villar, K. K., Metaheuristic for Solving a Two-stage Stochastic Biofuel Hub-and-Spoke Network Problem. In proceedings of the 2019 IISE Annual Conference & Expo. Orlando Florida, May 19-22, 2019.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Aranguren M.*, Castillo-Villar, K. K., Stochastic Model for Biomass Co?ring Network Design Integrating Climate Variability. In proceedings of the 2019 IISE Annual Conference & Expo. Orlando Florida, May 19-22, 2019.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Aranguren, M. F., Castillo-Villar, K. K. A Meta-heuristic Approach to Biomass Co-firing Supply Chain Optimization. Poster presented at: 2019 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Conference, Costa Mesa, CA, February 27- March 2, 2019
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M.; Castillo-Villar, K. K., Stochastic Modeling of Biomass Quality Variability in Biofuel Supply Chain Network Design. Abstract and presentation at: 2019 INFORMS ALIO International Conference, Cancun, Mexico, June 9-12, 2019
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M.*; Castillo-Villar, K. K. Tabu Search and Simplex Based Algorithm to Solve a Two-stage Stochastic Hub-and-Spoke Network Problem. Poster presented at the 2018 SACNAS Conference, San Antonio, Texas, October 11-13, 2018.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Aranguren, M. F.*, Castillo-Villar, K. K.; Aboytes-Ojeda, M.; Giacomoni, M. H. An Optimization Model for Co-Firing Biomass in Coal-Fired Power Plants Considering Climate Variability. Poster presented at the 2018 SACNAS Conference, San Antonio, Texas, October 11-13, 2018.
|
Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:We have recruited 41 students (26 undergraduate and 15 graduate students). As of Spring 2018, 15 students graduated (10 undergraduate and 5 graduate students). In summer 2018, three students are conducting paid summer internships at USDA Beltsville Laboratories. By Fall 2018, 15 undergraduate and 8 graduate students are expected to graduate. Moreover, this program reached out 15 Alamo College students in summer 2017 and is training 10 students in summer 2018. Thought UTSA iTEC (Interactive Technology Experience Center), this program reaches about 60 K-12 students. Undergraduate and graduate students at the three participating universities were reached out through seminars and workshops during the academic year. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three students are conducting summer internships at the USDA ARS located in Beltsville supported by this program in summer 2018. All students were involved in multidisciplinary research projects at their home institutions. Remarkably, ten students presented their research in multiple national and international conferences, which provide networking opportunities. Moreover, we are hosting 10 Alamo Community College students for the 2018 summer camp in the main UTSA campus. The 4-week program covered bioenergy, climate change and water resources modules as well as professional development and writing tutoring. After the 4-week program, we are providing a 4-week experiential learning opportunity to community college students (supported by a different program). Faculty members delivered several seminars/workshops throughout the academic year 2017-2018. Ms. Ruby De La Garza, the Hispanic Serving Institutions National Program Office and Director for the Texas Region, has held a USA Jobs workshop for all USDA interns in all of the USDA programs on the UTRGV campus. She guided the students through the process of applying for USDA jobs and aided them in setting up a profile in the USA Jobs system database. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Students have been very active in disseminating their research products. All citations are included in the "Products section." The grant fellowships were advertised on the UTSA/UTRGV/UPRM campus via posters/flyers as well as online. E-mails were also sent to students who met the basic requirements. The dissemination of the research and college immersion camp was advertised at Alamo Colleges via posters, in-house presentations and e-mails. The program was also advertised in many of the freshman engineering classes by special announcement of the PD and Co-PDs. The PD gave presentations and discussed the BE AWARE program in the introduction to engineering course (students are primarily Freshman). The students reached out are about 65. Several outreach events related to BE AWARE (bioenergy and water for agriculture) were conducted through iTEC, where more than 60 students have been reached out. Be AWARE program was advertised in Biology classes at UTRGV and in Industrial Engineering courses at UPRM (approx. 50-60 students), as well as in the graduate seminar at UPRM. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue with the activities outlined in the proposal document. This coming year (2018-2019), we will send supported students to the conferences recommended by USDA to participate in student tracks and/or present the results of their research. We plan to increase the number of scientific journal papers produced by graduate students since many are heading to the second year in their programs. We plan to conduct laboratory rotations and summer internships at USDA laboratories in the summer 2019. During the fourth year, we plan to make the Decision Support System for the Bioenergy community publicity available through a portal with membership capabilities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This progress report is a summary of the grant activities and achievements that occurred during the grant period of 9/1/17 to 6/1/18. In this report, we detail the positive outcomes and goals reached during the third year of the grant. -Objective 1: Attract, recruit and retain fellows. Our biggest impact has been on the students themselves. We have recruited 41 students (26 undergraduate and 15 graduate students), who have engaged in BE AWARE studies, experiential learning and applied research. As of Spring 2018, 15 students graduated (10 undergraduate and 5 graduate students). Many students are close to graduation, in total, 15 undergraduate and 8 graduate students are expected to graduate on/before Fall 2018. Moreover, by summer 2019, we project that the program will exceed the graduation goals. Remarkably, two undergraduate students transitioned to graduate school: one student will start a M.S. at UPR-Mayaguez and another will pursue a M.S. at Texas A&M Citrus Center. An undergraduate was hired by the USDA ARS Cropping Systems Research Laboratory located at Lubbock TX after doing two summer internships at ARS Lubbock and Beltsville and continuing working on related-research during his studies. Moreover, is reaching out 10 students in summer 2018. Thought UTSA iTEC, this program reaches out about 60 K-12 students. -Objective 2: Implement the career-oriented BE AWARE education model. Each participant student was assigned to a mentor and a research project. In year 3, the recruited students started working in their home institution's research labs. Each faculty has helped trainees in choosing his/her research project (i.e., thesis, dissertation or undergraduate project depending on the student's level) that addresses a priority area in this program. Students have been very active disseminating their research. All citations are included under the "Products" section. Production between September 2017 - June 2018 includes: 2 UPRM students presented at SACNAS in October 2017; 1 UPRM student presented at INFORMS in October 2017; 1 UPRM student presented a paper in Winter Simulation Conference in December 2017; 3 UTSA students presented posters at ASEE-GSW Conference in April 2018; 1 UTSA student presented and published a conference paper in the ISEE conference in May 2018; 2 students (UTRGV and UTSA) presented posters at the 8th International Conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels and Bioproducts in June 2018 and the same work was presented in February 2018 on the invited talk at Hood College Department of Biology in Frederick Maryland. -Objective 3: Establish an experiential learning program with USDA ARS/FS labs. Two students (1 from UTSA and 1 from UPR) participated in paid summer internships at the USDA Beltsville Laboratory in summer of 2017 and three students (one from each institution) are participating in the 2018 summer. The students develop a research poster at the end of the internships (see the posters at http://engineering.utsa.edu/kcastillo/internships/). In addition, research projects are being conducted through the academic year at the host institutions. -Objective 4: Deliver at least two workshops and two seminars annually. Students have participated in at least one workshop and one seminar per semester. Ms. Ruby De La Garza, the Hispanic Serving Institutions National Program Office and Director for the Texas Region, has held a USA Jobs workshop for all USDA interns in all of the USDA programs on the UTRGV campus. -Objective 5: Improve the content and delivery of BE AWARE research and education in HSIs by developing decision support systems (DSS), case studies, computer models and videos. An alpha version of a cloud-based DSS for the sustainable bioenergy community is being developed by graduate students. The students have developed software applications (apps) to facilitate the data collection, analysis and system's optimization and to offload the intensive computations to the cloud. The portal will be active by August 2018; this DSS will allow the research community, graduate students, and policy makers with a user-friendly science-as-a-service platform to design sustainable bioenergy networks and assist decision makers.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Huang, K., Nieves, W., Cabrera-R�os, M. Enhancing the Capability-to-Affordability Ratio of a Manufacturing Process: the Case of a 3D Printer. Presentation at 2017 SACNAS Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City UT, October 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Ni�o-P�rez, E., M�ndez-V�zquez, Y.M., Rivera-Collazo, C.A., Cabrera-R�os, M. Iterative Multicriteria Simulation and Prototyping Optimization in Manufacturing. Presentation at 2017 Winter Simulation Conference, Las Vegas NV, December, 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Cruz-Rivera, Y.E., Isaza, C.E., Mirsky, S., Cabrera-R�os, M. Biosystems Characterization, Modeling & Optimization. Presentation at 2017 INFORMS Annual Meeting, Houston TX, October 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Tapia-Carrillo, A., Castillo-Villar, K. K., Schomberg, H. Agricultural Sustainability Through Cover Crops. Poster presented in the 2018 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Gulf-Southwest Section, Austin, TX, April 4-6, 2018.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Aranguren, M., Tapia-Carrillo, A., Schier, B., Olazaba, D., Vazquez, R., Case, J., Castillo-Villar, K., Giacomoni, M. Poster presented in the 2018 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Gulf-Southwest Section, Austin, TX, April 4-6, 2018.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Schier, B., Chavez, L., Pena, M., Hinojosa, G., Ly, A., Garcia, E., Castillo-Villar, K.K., Persans, M., DeYoe, H., Optimizing Algae Growth and Lipid Accumulation for Biofuel Production A Statistical Analysis. Poster presented in the 2018 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Gulf-Southwest Section, Austin, TX, April 4-6, 2018.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Aranguren, M., Castillo-Villar, K. K., Aboytes-Ojeda, M., An Optimization Model for Biomass Co-firing in Coal-fired Power Plants Considering Supply Variability under Climate Change Scenarios. In proceedings of the 2018 IISE Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, May 19-22, 2018.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M., Castillo-Villar, K. K., Eksioglu, S., Roni, M. Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Quality Variability in Biofuel Production. In proceedings of the 2018 IISE Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, May 19-22, 2018.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Chavez, L., Pena, M., Hinojosa, G., Ly, A., Garcia, E., Schier, B., Persans, M., DeYoe, H., Castillo-Villar, K. Towards a Sustainable Energy Solution: Optimizing Neutral Lipid Production in Algae. Poster presented at 8th annual conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels and Bioproducts, Seattle WA, June 11-13, 2018.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Chavez, L., Pena, M., Hinojosa, G., Ly, A., Garcia, E., Schier, B., Persans, M., DeYoe, H., Castillo-Villar, K. Modelling Algae Growth and Lipid Accumulation for Biofuel Production. Poster presented at 8th annual conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels and Bioproducts, Seattle WA, June 11-13, 2018.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Yazeli E. Cruz Rivera, M.S. Program in Industrial Engineering, ININ-UPRM, Thesis: Characterization, Modeling, and Optimization of Biosystems. May 2018.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Brittany Schier, MS in Advanced Manufacturing Enterprise Engineering, UTSA. Thesis: Analyzing the Social Cost of Carbon of Co-firing Biomass in Coal-fired Power Plants through a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming Model. March 2018.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Alyssa Daniel, MS in Advanced Manufacturing Enterprise Engineering, UTSA. Special Project: Design Verification and Validation of a Nonparametric EWMA Control Chart Using the Wilcoxon Sign Rank Statistic. March 2018.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M., Castillo-Villar, K., Eksioglu, S. Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Quality Variability for Decision Support Systems in Biofuel Production. Submitted to Annals of Operations Research, May 2018.
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:We have recruited 34 students as of June 2017. Five students have successfully completed their studies (3 undergraduate and 2 graduate students). Sub-population/Indicator: 15 female students and 19 male students. 26 students identified themselves as Hispanics. 10 graduate students and 24 undergraduate. In summer 2017, two students are conducting paid summer internships at USDA Beltsville Laboratories. Besides the undergraduate and graduate students from UTSA, UPR and UTRGV; twelve students from Alamo Colleges benefited from a summer research/college immersion camp. Moreover, K-12 students are reached through UTSA iTEC (Interactive Technology Experience Center). Undergraduate and graduate students at the three participating universities were reached through seminars and workshops throughout the academic year. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two students are conducting summer internships (experiential learning activities) in 2017 supported by this program. All the students were involved in multidisciplinary research projects at their home institutions. We hosted 12 Alamo Community College students for the 2017 summer camp in the main UTSA campus. The 4-week program covered bioenergy, climate change and water resources modules as well as writing tutoring. Regarding professional development activities, we delivered several seminars/workshops throughout the academic year 2016-2017. Additionally, two undergraduate students participated in the student track of HACU held in San Antonio, TX in October, 2016 and two graduate students participated in the student track at the PD's meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico in February 2017. Ms. Ruby De La Garza, the Hispanic Serving Institutions National Program Office and Director for the Texas Region, has held a USA Jobs workshop for all USDA interns in all of the USDA programs on the UTRGV campus. She guided the students through the process of applying for USDA jobs and aided them in setting up a profile in the USA Jobs system database. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Students have been very active in disseminating their research products. All citations are included in the products section. Fourteen research poster and conference presentations took place from September 2016 to June 2017: 2 presentations at 2016 FORWARD Research & Innovation Summit, San Juan PR, September 2016; 3 presentations at 2016 SACNAS Annual Meeting, Long Beach CA, October 2016; 1 presentation at 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting, Boston MA, February 2017; 1 presentation at 2017 ASEE Zone II Annual Meeting, San Juan PR, March 2017; 1 presentation at 2017 QUEST, Ponce PR, March 2017; 1 poster presentation at USDA-HSI 2017 Principal Investigators Meeting, Albuquerque NM, February 16-18, 2017; 2 presentations at 22nd Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry Showcase, San Antonio, TX, April 20, 2017; and 3 presentations at 2017 ISERC Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, May 20-23, 2017. In addition, one conference paper and two peer-reviews journal papers were published in 2017. The grant fellowships were advertised on the UTSA/UTRGV/UPRM campus via posters/flyers as well as online. E-mails were also sent to students who met the basic requirements. The dissemination of the research and college immersion camp was advertised at Alamo Colleges via posters, in-house presentations and e-mails. The program was also advertised in many of the freshman engineering classes by special announcement of the PD and Co-PDs. The PD gave presentations and discussed the BE AWARE program in the introduction to engineering course (students are primarily Freshman). The students reached out are about 55. Several outreach events related to BE AWARE (bioenergy and water for agriculture) were conducted through iTEC, where more than 90 students have been reached out. Be AWARE program was advertised in Biology classes at UTRGV and in Industrial Engineering courses at UPRM (approx. 50 students), as well as in the graduate seminar at UPRM. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue with the activities outlined in the proposal document. This coming year (2017-2018), we will send supported students to the conferences recommended by USDA to participate in the student track or present the results of their research. We plan to conduct laboratory rotations and summer internships at USDA laboratories in the summer 2018. Finally, we intend to continue producing scientific manuscripts. During this third year, we are planning to make the software developed under this project publicity available in our website.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This progress report is a summary of the grant activities and achievements that occurred during the grant period of 9/1/16 to 7/1/17. In this report, we detail the positive outcomes and goals reached during the second year of the grant. -Objective 1: Attract, recruit and retain fellows. Our biggest impact has been on the students themselves. We have recruited 34 students as of June 2017 who have engaged in BE AWARE studies, experiential learning and research. Five students graduated (3 undergraduate and 2 graduate students). Moreover, this program is reaching out 12 Alamo College students in summer 2017. -Objective 2: Implement the career-oriented BE AWARE education model. Each student was assigned to a mentor and a project. We held team videoconferences on a monthly basis. In year 2, the recruited students started working in their home institution research labs. Each faculty has helped trainees in choosing his/her research project (i.e., thesis, dissertation or undergraduate project depending on the student's level) which addresses a priority area (i.e., bioenergy or water for agriculture). -Objective 3: Establish an experiential learning program with USDA ARS/FS labs. Two students (1 from UTSA and 1 from UPR) are participating in summer internships at the USDA Beltsville Laboratories. The students will develop a poster at the end of the internships (to be posted at http://engineering.utsa.edu/~castillo/Websites/Beaware/Internship.php). The students actively disseminated their research and presented in multiple conferences in academic year 2016-2017 (i.e., 14 presentations in total). In addition, hands-on research was conducted in the host institutions through the academic year. -Objective 4: Deliver at least two workshops and two seminars annually. Students have participated in at least one workshop and one seminar per semester. In addition, two undergraduate students participated in the student track of HACU held in San Antonio, TX in October, 2016 and two graduate students participated in the student track at the PD's meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico in February 2017. -Objective 5: Improve the content and delivery of BE AWARE research and education in HSIs by developing decision support systems (DSS), case studies, computer models and videos. These instructional materials and DSS will be developed in years 3-4 as indicated in the proposal.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
G Champa�a-Quijano, M Cabrera-R�os, The Making of Cubito: Containment Utility Bin by Insertion and Tucking Operations, 2016 FORWARD Research & Innovation Summit, San Juan PR, September 2016.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
MF Sayago-Capielo, KG Ch�vez-Rojas, M Cabrera-R�os, Reverse Engineering of a Self-Assembly Part, 2016 FORWARD Research & Innovation Summit, San Juan PR, September 2016.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
N Cuevas-Feliciano, YE Cruz-Rivera, CE Isaza, M Cabrera-R�os, Biofuel Production from Algae, 2016 SACNAS Annual Meeting, Long Beach CA, October 2016.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
G Champa�a-Quijano, M Cabrera-R�os, The Making of Cubito: Containment Utility Bin by Insertion and Tucking Operations, 2016 SACNAS Annual Meeting, Long Beach CA, October 2016.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
YE Cruz-Rivera, N Cuevas-Feliciano, K Castillo, M Persans, CE Isaza, M Cabrera-Rios, Biosystems Charaterization, Modelling and Optimization, 2016 SACNAS Annual Meeting, Long Beach CA, October 2016.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
YE Cruz-Rivera, N Cuevas-Feliciano, K Castillo, M Persans, CE Isaza, M Cabrera-Rios, Biosystems Charaterization, Modelling and Optimization, 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting, Boston MA, February 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
SM Villanueva, R L�pez, V V�zquez, NA Jorge, M Cabrera-R�os, Recycling Onto Functional Domestic Artifacts: An Educational and Technical Endeavor, 2017 ASEE Zone II Annual Meeting, San Juan PR, March 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
K Huang, W Nieves, M Cabrera-R�os, Enhancing the Capability-to-Affordability Ratio of a Manufacturing Process: The Case of a 3D Printer, 2017 QUEST, Ponce PR, March 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
SM Villanueva, R L�pez, V V�zquez-Garc�a, NA Jorge, M Cabrera-R�os, Recycling onto functional domestic artifacts: an educational and technical endeavor, 2017 IISE Annual Conference, Pittsburgh PA, May 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
K Huang, W Nieves, M Cabrera-R�os, Enhancing capability-to-affordability ratio of an additive manufacturing process, 2017 IISE Annual Conference, Pittsburgh PA, May 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
G Champa�a-Quijano, M Cabrera-R�os, Containment Utility Bin by Insertion and Tucking Operations (CUBITO): A Design Intended from Recycled Material to Support Farming Operations, 2017 IISE Annual Conference, Pittsburgh PA, May 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
A Tapia-Carrillo, KK Castillo-Villar, S Mirsky. Agricultural Sustainability through Cover Crops. 22nd Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry Showcase, San Antonio, TX, April 20, 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
D Olazaba, KK Castillo-Villar, S Mirsky. Sustainable Agricultural Systems. 22nd Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry Showcase, San Antonio, TX, April 20, 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
B Shier, YE Cruz-Rivera, E Garcia, L Chavez, A Ly, KK Castillo-Villar, M Persans, H DeYoe, M Cabrera-Rios. Optimizing Algae Growth and Lipid Accumulation for Biofuel Production. USDA-HSI 2017 Principal Investigators Meeting, Albuquerque NM, February 16-18, 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
H Chavez, KK Castillo-Villar, E Webb. Simulation-based approach for the optimization of a biofuel supply chain. Proceedings of the 2017 IISE Annual Conference, Pittsburgh PA, May 2017.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Aboytes-Ojeda, M., Castillo-Villar, K. K., Yu, T. H. E., Boyer, C. N., English, B. C., Larson, J. A., Kline, L. M. & Labb�, N. (2016). A Principal Component Analysis in Switchgrass Chemical Composition. Energies, 9(11), 913.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Castillo-Villar, K. K., Eksioglu, S., & Taherkhorsandi, M. (2017). Integrating biomass quality variability in stochastic supply chain modeling and optimization for large-scale biofuel production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 149, 904-918.
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:We aim to impact underrepresented students with our training/mentoring of the students in the areas of Bioenergy and Water for Agriculture. The grant scholarships were advertised on the participating institutions, as well as online. A website was created to showcase this program. We have recruited sixteen students as of August 2016. The recruited student statistics follow. 8 female students and 8 male students. 12 students identified themselves as Hispanics. 8 graduate students (noteworthy, two Ph.D. students) and 8 undergraduate. Besides the undergraduate and graduate students from UTSA, UPR and UTRGV; fifteen students from Alamo Colleges benefited from a summer camp. Moreover, several outreach events related to BE AWARE (bioenergy and water for agriculture) were conducted through iTEC (Interactive Technology Experience Center), where more than 100 students have been reached out. Undergraduate and graduate students at the three universities were reached through seminars and workshops. Changes/Problems:During this first year, there were some slight delays in project initiation. The transition of UTPA to UTRGV necessitated the re-submission of paperwork to change the award of UTPA to UTRGV. However, the leadership group catch the project up to meet the goals. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Five students (4 undergraduates and one graduate) conducted summer internships (experiential learning activities) in 2016 supported by this program. In addition, two more students in this program conducted summer internships in USDA labs located in Texas supported by another program. All the students were involved in multidisciplinary research projects at their home institutions. The leadership team also coordinated with Texas Lutheran University and Florida International University to work out the housing logistics in Beltsville. We hosted 15 Alamo Community College students for the summer camp in the main UTSA campus. The 4-week program covered bioenergy, climate change and water resources modules as well as writing tutoring. Ms. Ruby De La Garza, the Hispanic Serving Institutions National Program Office and Director for the Texas Region, has held a USA Jobs workshop for all USDA interns in all of the USDA programs on the UTRGV campus. She guided the students through the process of applying for USDA jobs and aided them in setting up a profile in the USA Jobs system database. The Co-PD at UTRGV hosted three high school students (from BETA Academy High School, Sharyland High School and South Texas High School for Health Profession) and mentor them in research during the summer. One of these students transitioned into UTRGV. Regarding professional development activities, we delivered six seminars (three in the Fall 2015 and three in the Spring 2016) and two workshops to increase the knowledge in BE AWARE. Most of the seminars were presented by USDA researchers who introduce the summer projects available for the student summer internships at the Forest Products Laboratory located in Madison, WI; USDA ARS Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory located in Temple, TX; and USDA ARS, Cotton Production and Processing Laboratory located in Lubbock, TX. The list of seminars/webinars is shown below and the corresponding presentations/abstracts are posted in our website (http://engineering.utsa.edu/~beaware/Seminars.php). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An educational peer-reviewed paper titled: Engaging Minority Students in Sustainable Bioenergy and Water Quality thought an Education and Research Network was published in the ASEE 2016 Annual Conference Proceedings (available at: https://peer.asee.org/engaging-minority-students-in-sustainable-bioenergy-and-water-quality-through-an-education-and-research-network). One student abstract was accepted for presentation at COINAR 2016 (Puerto Rican Congress on Agriculture and Surveying). This work was presented by UPRM student on March 7th, 2016 in San Juan, PR. In addition, research posters were presented in Puerto Rico at the 2016 PRCTRC Scientific Day (Ponce, PR) and the 2016 Sigma Xi Poster Day (Mayagüez, PR) on April, 2016. All the students conducting a summer experimental learning activity prepared a research poster and the students were encouraged and will be financially supported to present a poster in the 2016 HACU conference in San Antonio, TX, 2016 SACNAS in Long Beach, CA, among others conferences. Moreover, one journal paper was published: Castillo-Villar, K. K., Minor-Popocatl, H., & Webb, E. (2016). Quantifying the Impact of Feedstock Quality on the Design of Bioenergy Supply Chain Networks.Energies,9(3), 203. In summary, the research has been disseminated in 3 conference presentations by students, 1 peer-reviewed conference paper and 1 peer-reviewed journal publication. Additionally, 7 research posters were produced by students this summer and will be presented in conferences during the next year. The grant fellowships were advertised on the UTSA/UTRGV/UPRM campus via posters/flyers as well as online. E-mails were also sent to students who met the basic requirements. The dissemination of the research and college immersion camp was advertised at Alamo Colleges via posters, in-house presentations and e-mails. The program was also advertised in many of the freshman engineering classes by special announcement of the PD and Co-PDs. The PD gave presentations and discussed the BE AWARE program in the intro to engineering course (students are primarily Freshman). The students reached out are about 60. Several outreach events related to BE AWARE (bioenergy and water for agriculture) were conducted through iTEC, where more than 100 students have been reached out. BE AWARE program was advertised in Biology classes at UTRGV and in Industrial Engineering courses at UPRM (approx. 60 students), as well as in the graduate seminar 'Advanced Topics in Health Sciences'. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue with the activities outlined in the proposal document. This coming year (2016-2017), we will support students to attend the 2016 Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) conference, 2016 SACNAS and potentially 2016 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) and 2016 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) to participate in the student track or present the results of their research. We plan to conduct laboratory rotations and again summer internships at USDA laboratories in the summer 2017. Finally, we intend to write up scientific manuscripts co-authored with the graduate students supported by this program and submit them for publication to various peer reviewed scientific journals.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This progress report is a summary of the grant activities and achievements that occurred during the grant period of 9/1/15 to 8/31/16. In this report, we detail the positive outcomes and goals reached during the first year of the grant. Objective 1: Attract, recruit and retain fellows. Recruitment activities were leveraged with existing programs and institutional resources at the participant institutions. A fellowship program was established at each institution to select students. The program's websites were created in September/October 2015: 1) http://engineering.utsa.edu/~beaware/index.php and 2) www.utrgv.edu/step2usda. At UPRM, students already engaged in undergraduate research were approached and directed to these resources. A common scholarship application form was created in September 2015 and posted in our project dedicated website: http://engineering.utsa.edu/~beaware/Fellows.php for the use of student from UTSA, URGV and UPRM. Our biggest impact has been on the students themselves. We have recruited 8 graduate students (6 UTSA, 1 UTRGV, and 1 UPR), 8 undergraduate students (4 UTSA, 2 UTRGV, and 2 UPR) who have engaged in BE AWARE studies, experiential learning and research. Moreover, this program has reached out to 15 Alamo College students. A summer camp was conducted from June 6 to July 1. In this 2016 camp, students learned about the advantages of agriculture-related careers and how they can contribute with their knowledge to the emerging bioeconomy. UTSA recruited 15 Alamo Community College students for the 2016 summer camp in the main UTSA campus. The 4-week program covered bioenergy, climate change and water resources modules as well as writing tutoring. Moreover, 6 of these Alamo students were provided with the opportunity to conduct research with UTSA faculty and USDA mentors after the camp (supported by another program). Thirteen outreach events related to BE AWARE (bioenergy and water for agriculture) were conducted or are expected to be conducted through iTEC (http://itec.utsa.edu/), where more than 100 K-12 students have been reached out to. Objective 2: Implement the career-oriented BE AWARE education model. Each participant student was assigned to a mentor; the mentor helped the student to identify his/her research and career interests and conducted a background evaluation for each trainee. A record of mentorship was created and signed by both the mentor and the mentee. At least one monthly meeting is being held among the project directors from each institution. In year 1, we successfully completed the background knowledge and research skill training for the students. The recruited students started working in their home institution research labs. Each faculty has helped trainees in choosing his/her research project (i.e., thesis, dissertation or undergraduate project depending on the student's level) that addresses a priority area in this program (bioenergy or water for agriculture). Objective 3: Establish an experiential learning program with USDA ARS/FS labs, USDA Rural Development Office and Texas Department of Agriculture - Office of Rural Affairs. Internships at USDA ARS labs occurred during the summer. Five students (3 from UTSA, 1 from UPR and 1 from UTRGV) participated in summer internships at the USDA Beltsville Laboratories and Forest Products Laboratory. In addition, summer research was continued in the host institutions. Objective 4: Deliver at least two workshops and two seminars annually. Students have participated in one workshop and 3 seminars in the Fall 2015. In the Spring 2016, USDA research leaders from different USDA agencies gave 3 seminars to present the experiential learning opportunities in their labs. Also, a workshop in Bioenergy was conducted on April 1, 2016 at the main UTSA campus. Students at UPRM/URGV joined the seminars through the internet. The presentations, abstract and/or pictures can be found in the project's website. In addition, Ruby De La Garza Regional Director from the USDA Hispanic Serving Institutions National Program office, held a resume and USA Jobs application seminar at UTRGV in the spring 2016 semester. Objective 5: Improve the content and delivery of BE AWARE research and education in HSIs by developing decision support systems (DSS), case studies, computer models and videos. These instructional materials and DSS will be developed in years 3-4 as proposed.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Evelyn Garc�a, B.S., UTRGV, Beltsville USDA Laboratories. Research poster: Effect of temperature on methane production using field-scale anaerobic digesters treating dairy manure. USDA/UTRGV Mentor(s): Dr. Walter Mulbry and Dr. Michael Persans
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Yazeli Cruz, M.S., UPRM, Beltsville USDA Laboratories. Research poster: On hairy vetch economics: Initial ideas. USDA/UPR Mentor(s): Steven B. Mirsky and Mauricio Cabrera-Rios
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
David Olazaba, B.S., UTSA, Beltsville USDA Laboratories. Research poster: Sustainable Agricultural Systems. USDA/UTSA Mentor(s): Dr. Steven Mirsky and Dr. Krystel Castillo.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Andr�s Tapia, B.S., UTSA, Beltsville USDA Laboratories. Research poster: Agricultural Sustainability Through Cover Crops. USDA/UTSA Mentor(s): Dr. Steven Mirsky and Dr. Krystel Castillo.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Cristian S�nchez, B.S., UTSA, Forest Products Laboratory located in Madison, WI. Research Poster: Uploading USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratorys Life Cycle Inventory Datasets into the Federal LCA Commons Database. USDA/UTSA Mentor(s): Dr. Richard Bergman, Dr. Hongmei Gu and Dr. Krystel Castillo.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Kenny Hidalgo, B.S., UTSA, USDA-ARS Laboratory located in Lubbock, TX. Research Poster: Cotton Gin Stand. USDA/UTSA Mentor(s): Dr. Wanjura and Dr. Krystel Castillo.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Andrea Russie, M.S., UTSA, USDA-ARS Laboratory located in Temple, TX. Research Poster: Utilizing ALMANAC model to simulate harvest index in wetland plants to calculate duck energy days. USDA Mentor(s): Dr. James Kiniry.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Adriana Cardona, Nilvia Cuevas-Feliciano, Clara E Isaza, Mauricio Cabrera-R�os, On Effective Biofuel Production from Algae: Initial Ideas, 2016 PRCTRC Scientific Day, Ponce PR, April 2016
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Yazeli E Cruz-Rivera, Nilvia Cuevas-Feliciano, Adriana Cardona, Clara E Isaza, Mauricio Cabrera-R�os, On Effective Biofuel Production from Algae: Initial Ideas, 2016 Sigma Xi Poster Day, Mayaguez PR, April 2016
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Nilvia Cuevas-Feliciano, Yazeli E Cruz-Rivera, Adriana Cardona, Clara E Isaza, Mauricio Cabrera-R�os, On Effective Biofuel Production, and IE Point of View: Initial Idea, 2016 XVIII Congreso de Ingenier�a y Agrimensura COINAR 2016, San Juan PR, March 2016
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Castillo-Villar, K. K., Minor-Popocatl, H., & Webb, E. (2016). Quantifying the Impact of Feedstock Quality on the Design of Bioenergy Supply Chain Networks. Energies, 9(3), 203.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Castillo-Villar, K. K., Cabrera-Rios, M., Persans, M.W., De Yoe, H.R. Engaging Minority Students in Sustainable Bioenergy and Water Quality through an Education and Research Network. In proceedings of the ASEEs 123rd Annual Conference and Exposition, New Orleans, LA, June 26-29, 2016. 10.18260/p.26966. https://peer.asee.org/26966
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