Source: TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY- KINGSVILLE submitted to NRP
RESEARCH AND EXTENSION EXPERIENCE IN ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ACROSS AGRICULTURAL DISCIPLINES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1021590
Grant No.
2020-67037-30652
Cumulative Award Amt.
$500,000.00
Proposal No.
2019-05050
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Apr 1, 2020
Project End Date
Mar 31, 2026
Grant Year
2020
Program Code
[A7401]- Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates
Recipient Organization
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY- KINGSVILLE
700 UNIVERSITY BLVD.
KINGSVILLE,TX 78363
Performing Department
Mechanical and Industrial Eng
Non Technical Summary
The importance of energy and environmental research and its impact on agriculture dominate a large segment of the scientific and political discussions. There is a significant talent gap in agricultural fields needed to drive innovation and to sustain the U.S. global technical superiority. There is also a significant under-representation of minorities in agricultural workforce, especially Hispanics and women. Employers are now seeking talents with a broader skillset including leadership, teamwork, problem solving, digital competency, communication, and critical thinking. The goal of this project is to develop and implement a model environment for multidisciplinary collaborative efforts where research and extension are tightly integrated around the different facets of energy and environment research in agricultural fields. The project focuses on three key areas: 1) Energy Efficiency in Agriculture Systems, 2) Water Quality and Management, 3) Agriculture Economics and Decision Making. Extension and professional development training will be integrated into the program.The project'sobjectives are: 1) providing research opportunities in the different aspects of energy and environment research related to agriculture disciplines to undergraduate students, especially Hispanic and women; 2) increasing the number of underrepresented undergraduate students who participate in graduate education in agriculture disciplines; 3) integrating extension experience and professional development to train undergraduate students with exceptional skills for agricultural workforce. The program is structured as collaborative research groups to teach students how to conduct research with their mentors' guidance. Students will learn to work independently and collaboratively. Ten students from various engineering and science departments will be recruited every year. The proposed project builds on a vision of grooming budding researchers from underrepresented students to embrace the challenge of sustainable agriculture and building future leaders who proactively contribute to the nation's agricultural goals.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
4027310202050%
1117310202050%
Knowledge Area
111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water; 402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
7310 - Experimental design and statistical methods;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to develop and implement a model environment for multidisciplinary collaborative efforts where research and extension are tightly integrated around the different facets of energy and environment research in agricultural fields. The project focuses on three key areas: 1) Energy Efficiency in Agriculture Systems, 2) Water Quality and Management, 3) Agriculture Economics and Decision Making. Extension and professional development training will be integrated into the program. The project'sobjectives are to: 1) provide research opportunities in the different aspects of energy and environment research related to agriculture disciplines to undergraduate students, especially Hispanic and women; 2) increase the number of underrepresented undergraduate students who participate in graduate education in agriculture disciplines; 3) integrate extension experience and professional development to train undergraduate students with exceptional skills for agricultural workforce. Faculty mentors will expose REEU students to research, and to provide training on how to create and arrive at independent research decisions.
Project Methods
This project is designed to provide students with a hands-on, multidisciplinary, and collaborative experience in research and extension. Three key research areas are identified within the multidisciplinary energy and the environment theme. Students' research activities will be comprised of: 1. Research Training: This will include a formal training on the scientific method, the development of a research question and a research plan. The training will be conducted in the first week of the program by the PI. The students will be guided by the faculty mentors to formulate the research questions and create a list of tasks for the summer project along with the research objectives. Students will also be taken on field trips to observe and study various extension activities. 2. Integrating research, extension and education: Weekly seminars will be presented by the library and the Center for Student Success at TAMUK related to library research tools, technical writing, graduate school application and GRE preparation. Different field trips will be scheduled to visit extension facilities, and seminars related to extension applications will be offered by collaborators. Professional development seminars related to effective communication and presentation skills, teamwork and leadership skills, and professional ethics will also be offered throughout the 9-week program. 3. Research Projects: Students will actively work according to the research plan developed in week-1. Students will meet with faculty mentors every week and graduate students every day. Students will provide weekly written reports to summarize their progress, planned tasks and any unexpected changes. Weekly meetings will be arranged with all REEU students and the PI to informally discuss progress and address any concerns that may arise. 4. Reporting, Dissemination and Continue Mentoring: The highlight of the first week will consist of a presentation by each REEU student on their assigned research topic as well as a discussion of their project plan. A mid-term progress presentation will be required in week-5. The final week of the program will be mostly dedicated to the reflection of the research and extension experience in an individual and collaborative manner with students reporting their findings. Reporting will be presented in a conference paper and a poster format. Two students under the same project will complete a short paper to describe the social impacts and extension applications of their research and findings. The final activity of the project will be an oral presentation competition with both faculty judge panel and stakeholder judge panel. This will also serve as part of the project dissemination and assessment plans. Faculty mentors will also continuously provide research and career mentoring to REEU students.During the 9-week summer program, this projectwill follow the detailed plan: Week 1-Training: The first week will consist of full day interactive workshops to complete the following objectives: 1) Day 1-Orientation and training regarding lab safety, campus resources. 2) Days 2-5 - Training in the research methodology for independent and collaborative investigation. Weeks 2-8-Research: Students actively participate in research projects. Students will: 1) Conduct the research according to plans developed in the first week. 2) Meet once a week with the full group to review progress with peers, meet at least twice per week within subgroups to provide peer critique at subgroup, and meet regularly with faculty and graduate students. 3) Document changes in research plans as needed. 4) Attend seminars and field trips related to graduate studies, professional development and extension experiences. 5) On the Friday of Week 5, REEU students will give mid-term progress presentations to all REEU students and mentors. Week 9-Reporting, Assessment, and Response: The students will focus on completing required reports in week-9.Evaluation for this project will involve both internal and external evaluation tasks focused on collection of quantitative and qualitative data to address the following questions:(1) How has participation in this project impacted students' understanding of the research process, their skills in conducting research and presenting research findings, and their educational and career plans? And (2) How can this project be improved for future students? The project teamconduct two follow-up surveys with the REEU students: the first one will be 2-3 months after their summer program and another one will be one year later for longitudinal tracking. These surveys will be designed to reflect evaluation on the expected outcomes unlined above. The survey data will be compiled to create an external evaluation report that will include data documenting the REEU's student impacts and WTER's suggestions for improvement. The PI will use the results of the REEU student pre-survey to make early adjustments to meet the REEU students' needs. A progress survey will be conducted around week-3 to collect feedback from REEU students, faculty and graduate students. PI will also use regular meetings with students and mentors to monitor students' progress and identify concerns which they can address during the program. These ongoing formative assessments using pre-survey data and input from student and mentor meetings will result in increased student learning and enhanced impact of REEU students.

Progress 04/01/23 to 03/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:We received 35 applications for Summer 2023program and selected 10 students nationwide to participate in the Summer 2023Program, including 1 student from University of California-San Diego, 1 student from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 1 student from Lee College, 1 student from The City College of New York, 1 student from Universidad de Monterrey, 1 student from Colgate University, 1 student from Truman StateUniversity, 1 studentfrom University of Florida, and 2 students from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. There are 5 female students and 5 male students. There are 5 Hispanic students and 1 African American student. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In addition to their research projects, we providedresearch seminars and webinars, basic research training (such as research misconduct), training on reference and citation formats, field tripto Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Centerat Corpus Christi, field trip to SpaceX, interaction with K-12 teachers, and training onpresentation and technical writing skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We organized a final presentation and ceremony event to allow all the students to present their posters and conduct oral presentation to showcase and disseminate their research results. We invited other students, faculty, and community stakeholders to attend the events and listen to their presentations.Several students published and presented their research results in national conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue with our current effort and recruit qualified students to our program in Summer 2024.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We recruited 10 undergraduate students nationwide. All 10 studentscompletedthe 9-week research and extension summer program between May 31, 2023 and August 1, 2023. We paired two students in one team and formed five teams. Each team was mentored by a faculty mentor and at least one student mentor to complete a research project. We offered additional training opportunities within the 9-week program, including research seminars and webinars, basic research training (such as research misconduct), training on reference and citation formats, field tripto Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Centerat Corpus Christi, field trip to SpaceX, interaction with K-12 teachers, and training onpresentation and technical writing skills. Each team completed a project report, a poster, and a one-page extension report. Several students published and presented their research results in national conferences. According to our project evaluation results, students were very happy with the program and showed significant increase on different skillsets.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Gonzalez, F.; Arif, M.; Murray, K.; Ramirez, D. (2024) Physical and Chemical Activation of Crop Products to Manufacture Engineered Adsorbents for Environmental Applications" 2024 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), April 8-10, Long Beach, CA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Murray, K., Mujica, M., Garcia, M., Ramirez, D. (2024) Sustainable Production of Activated Carbon from Biobased Feedstocks: Enhancing CO2 Adsorption Efficiency and Capacity through Chemical Impregnation, 30th Sigma Delta Pi Symposium, April 17, Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Joaquin Haces-Garcia, Hua Li, Jorge da Silva, Jaime Foster, Mahendra Bhandari, Well-to-Tank Life Cycle Assessment of Various Energy Canes as Biomass Crops, INFORMS 2023 Annual Conference.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jose Giuffrida, Mariee Cruz, Erick Martinez-Gomez, Sophia Ludtke, Hua Li, Economic Feasibility Analysis of Developing Large-Scale Hybrid Solar-Wind Energy Plants on Farms and Ranches in South Texas, 17th International Conference of Energy Sustainability, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Leal, J., Turner, B.L. 2023. If we know groundwater is a limited resource that must be managed, why are water tables in Texas continuing to decline? Soil and Water Conservation Society, Annual Conference, Des Moines IA, August 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Mariee Cruz, Hua Li, A Wind Condition Prediction Model based on the Long Short-Term Memory Method: A Case Study in Texas, 2023 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Annual Conference.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Erick Martinez-Gomez, Hua Li, Kai Jin, Jorge da Silva, Technical Feasibility Analysis of Agrivoltaics Systems for Energy Cane Farms in Texas, 2023 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Annual Conference.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Garcia, V., S. Moran, and J. Ren, Temporal groundwater level variations and its relation to regional climate changes in the Texas Coastal Bend, Subtropical Agriculture & Environments Society 77th Annual Meeting, South Padre Island, TX, February 9th-10th, 2023.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Alexia Martinez & Anna Hill, Analysis of Sediment Composition and Microplastics in Waters around the Nueces/Corpus Christi Bay Area, Student Poster Presentation, the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2024, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, 300 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802, April 8-10, 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Bishop, M., Bazaldua, A., Loveland, Z., Malone, D. Turner. B.L. 2023. Capturing integrity of ecological function on multiuse rangelands before and after intensive grazing management on a south Texas sandsheet ranch. Texas Section-Society for Range Management, Bastrop, TX, October 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Turner. B.L., Mier-Valderrama, L. 2023. Evaluation of watershed indicators and trade-offs in ecosystem functions pre- and post-industrial solar farm installation. Soil and Water Conservation Society, Annual Conference, Des Moines, IA, August 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Mier-Valderrama, L., Turner, B.L. 2023. Evaluating soil erosion and runoff dynamics in a humid subtropic, low stream order, southern plains watershed from cultivation and solar farm development. Soil and Water Conservation Society, Annual Conference, Des Moines IA, August 2023.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Turner, B.L., Goodman, M. 2023. Capturing the science behind the craft: a reporting framework to improve quality and confidence in non-simulated models. System Dynamics Review. doi:10.1002/sdr.1752
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Mier-Valderrama, L., $Leal, J., Perotto-Baldivieso, H.L., Hedquist, B., Menendez, H.M., Anoruo, A., Turner, B.L. 2023. Evaluating soil erosion and runoff dynamics in a humid subtropic, low stream order, southern plains watershed from cultivation and solar farm development. International Soil and Water Conservation Research. doi:10.1016/j.iswcr.2023.09.004.


Progress 04/01/22 to 03/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:We received 41 applications for Summer 2022 program and selected 10 students nationwide to participate in the Summer 2022 Program, including 1 student from Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, 1 student from Colby College, 1 student from Blinn College, 1 student from Del Mar College, 1 student from Florida State University, 1 student from Lon Star College, 1 student from Harvard University, and 3students from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. There are 3 female students and 7 male studentsincluding 6 Hispanic students. Changes/Problems:Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were not able to offer in-person field trips in Summer 2022. We will schedule in-person visit/filed trips to local/regional extension centers in Summer 2023. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We provided research trainings and different webinars on research, extension, literature review, plagiarism, reference & citation, and presentation skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated the research results through conference presentations, conference abstracts/papers, and journal papers. We also organized a final presentation and ceremony as a platform for all the REEU participants to present their research results via oral and poster presentations to faculty and students at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue our recruitment efforts to recruit qualified students for our Summer 2023 program. We will improve our research projects to fit into 9-week schedule and students' backgrounds. We will include fiedl trips and seminars in Summer 2023 program as COVID-19 restriction is eased.We will also encourage the REEU students to publish their research results and support them to attend conferences.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The summer 2022 REEU program was successfully completed as an in-person program between 06/06/2022and 08/05/2022. The REEU student participants were selected and divided into five teams. Each team consisted of two REEU participants, one faculty advisor, and at least one graduate student mentor. Each team successfully completed their research project within 9 weeks. The five research projects are: 1) The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Agriculture Product Supply Chain; 2) Feasibility Analysis of Developing Medium to Large Scale Wind or Solar Energy Facilities in Farms and Ranches; 3) Physical and Chemical Activation of Crop Products to Manufacture Engineered Adsorbents for Environmental Applications; 4) Modeling Surface-Groundwater Fluxes and Quality in a Region Dependent on Precipitation for Dryland Cropping Systems; and 5) Agricultural Management and Natural Resource Conservation: Interface between Natural, Economic, and Social Systems.During the 9-week program in Summer 2022, we also offered different webinars and professional training opportunities to the students. Each team of REEU participants completed a written research project report, a one-page extension report, and a poster. Several posters, conference papers, abstracts, presentations, and journal papers were published based on the research results of these research projects. One REEU student's poster was selected as one of the five winners in the2022 C3E WOMEN IN CLEAN ENERGY SYMPOSIUM AND AWARDS. Another graduate student's paper was selected as the honorable mention of the best student paper competition at the 2023 IISE Annual Conference. The project team has started the advertisement and recruitment process as planned for Summer 2023 program. We have sent the program information to students nationwide with a focus on Hispanic and female students in community colleges and universities in South Texas. As of 03/31/2023, we have received 35 applications to the Summer 2023 program. We also worked with our external evaluator to complete the project evaluation for the second year.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Garcia, V., S. Moran, and J. Ren, "Temporal groundwater level variations and its relation to regional climate changes in the Texas Coastal Bend," Subtropical Agriculture & Environments Society 77th Annual Meeting, South Padre Island, TX, February 9th-10th, 2023.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Mier-Valderrama, Luis and Turner, Benjamin, Evaluating Soil Erosion and Runoff Dynamics in a Humid Subtropic, Low Stream Order, Southern Plains Watershed From Cultivation and Solar Farm Development (December 30, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4316249 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4316249
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Sophia Ludtke, "Technical Feasibility and Optimization of Utility-Scale Hybrid Solar-Wind Energy Systems on Texas Farms & Ranches," 2022 annual symposium and awards of the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jose Giuffrida, Mariee Cruz, Erick Martinez-Gomez, Sophia Ludtke, Hua Li, "Economic Feasibility Analysis of Developing Large-Scale Hybrid Solar-Wind Energy Plants on Farms and Ranches in South Texas," 17th International Conference of Energy Sustainability.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Mariee Cruz, Hua Li, A Wind Condition Prediction Model based on the Long Short-Term Memory Method: A Case Study in Texas, 2023 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Annual Conference.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Erick Martinez-Gomez, Hua Li, Kai Jin, Jorge da Silva, Technical Feasibility Analysis of Agrivoltaics Systems for Energy Cane Farms in Texas, 2023 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Annual Conference.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Victor Garcia, Modeling Surface-Groundwater Fluxes in a Region Dependent on Precipitation for Dryland, Fall 2022 Honors Independent Project Symposium, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, November 19, 2022.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Michael Ramos and Sof�a N. Rivera Soto, Soil Moisture Maps Generation using Satellite Remote Sensing Data and their Geospatial Correlation with Crop Production in semi-arid South Texas, Javelina Undergraduate Research Journal, 2023.


Progress 04/01/21 to 03/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:We actively promoted our REEU program nationwide to recruit qualified students for our Summer 2021 program. Through our recruting efforts, we received 63 applications nationwide. After carefully reviewing all the applications, we selected 10 students as Summer 2021 participants, including Texas A&M University-Kingsville (5 students), Old Dominion University (1 student), Del Mar College(1 student),University of Puerto Rico (1 student),Fort Valley State University (1 student), and St. Mary's University (1 student). There are five female students, and five male students. There are 6 Hispanic students and 1 African American student. Changes/Problems:Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were not able to offer in-person field trips to local/regional extension centers. We will closely monitor the COVID-19 situation, and try our best to schedule in-person visit/filed trips to local/regional extension centers in Summer 2022. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We provided research trainings and different webinars on research, extension, literature review, plagiarism, reference & citation, and presentation skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated the research results through conference presentations, conference abstracts/papers, and journal papers. We also organized a final presentation and ceremony as a platform for all the REEU participants to present their research results via oral and poster presentations to faculty and students at Texas A&M University-Kingsville What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue our recruitment efforts to recruit qualified students for our Summer 2022 program. We will improve our research projects to fit into 9-week schedule and students' backgrounds. We will continue to offer webinars (due to COVID-19 restrictions) to provide different professional development training opportunities. We will also encourage the REEU students to publish their research results and support them to attend conferences.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The summer 2021 REEU program was successfully completed as an in-person program between 07/07/2021 and 08/06/2021. The REEU student participants were selected and divided intofive teams. Each team consisted of two REEU participants, one faculty advisor, and at least one graduate student mentor. Each team successfully completed their research project within 9 weeks. The five research projects are: 1)A Systems Approach to Improving Learning and Dynamic Decision-Making Capabilities in Agricultural and Natural Science Professions; 2)Modeling Surface-Groundwater Fluxes and Quality in a Region Dependent on Precipitation for Dryland Cropping Systems; 3)Self-Sustained Energy Supply with Renewable Energy for Farm Operation; 4)Sequential Activation of Nontraditional Crop Products for the Production of Engineered Adsorbents for Water Quality Improvement Applications; and 5)Using Engineering Economic Analysis Methods and Tools to Evaluate Farm Efficiency, Profitability, and Uncertainty. Several conference papers, abstracts, presentations, and journal papers were published based on the research results of these research projects. During the 9-week program in Summer 2021, we also offered different webinars to the students. Each team of REEU participants completed a written research project report, a one-page extension report, and a poster. project team has redesigned the research projects so that they can be completed either in-person or virtually for Summer 2021 program. The project team has started the advertisement and recruitment process as planned for Summer 2021 program. We have sent the program information to students nationwide with focus on Hispanic and female students in community colleges and universities in South Texas. As of 01/27/2021, we have received 20 applications. The project team has worked with our external evaluator to develop the survey instruments, and received IRB approval.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Lopez, A.; Azayzeh, M.; Ramirez, D. (2022) Physical and Chemical Activation of Nontraditional Crop Products for the Production of Engineered Adsorbents for Air Quality Improvement Applications, 2022 National Conference on Undergraduate Research, April 4-8, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Ramos, M., Soto, S.R., Kuypers, K., and J. Ren, Preliminary Analysis of the Relationship Between Soil Moisture and Crop Yields in Semi-Arid South Texas, National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2022@home, April 4-8, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Erick Martinez-Gomes, Hua Li, Mariee Cruz-Mendoza, Feasibility Study of Supplying Energy with Renewable Energy for Farm Operation, 2022 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Annual Conference, May 2124, 2022, Seattle, Washington.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Mariee Cruz-Mendoza, Erick Martinez-Gomez, Hua Li, Feasibility Analysis of Promoting Wind and Solar Energy in Texas Farms, Sustainability, 14(4): 2222, 2022, https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042222
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Turner, B.L. 2022. Building Models for Animal Production and Management with System Dynamics Modeling. USDA National Animal Nutrition Program (NANP) Pre-Conference Workshop Symposium, American Society of Animal Science, Oklahoma City, OK.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Turner, B.L. 2022. Can early weaning calves of first-calf heifers improve long-term herd and financial performance in a vertically-integrated beef production system? Webinar speaker for Veterinarians Advancing Systems Thinking (online meeting)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2022 Citation: Flores-Lopez, C., Turner, B.L., Hanagriff, R., Bhandari, A., Sinha, T. (in review). South Texas water resource mental models: a systems thinking, multi-stakeholder case study. Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2022 Citation: Crozier, S., Worthington, J., Wright, M., Michna, L., Turner, B.L. (with editor). Exploring wild horse population dynamics on U.S. public rangelands using a simple systems simulation model. Rangeland Ecology and Management.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Kodali, S., Flores-Lopez, C., Lobdell, I., Kim, B., Russell, J.C., Michna, L., Turner, B.L. (in submission). A case of one step forward and two steps back? Examination of weed herbicide resistance management using a simple agroecosystem dynamics model. Agricultural Systems.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Stewart, K.G., Michna, L., Turner, B.L. 2022. Are undergraduate wildlife students better equipped than their agricultural peers in managing a complex agro-ecological conflict? Initial results from a dynamic role-playing simulation. 2022 International Conference of the Society for Range Management, Albuquerque NM.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Stewart, K.G., Michna, L., Turner, B.L. 2022. Are undergraduate wildlife students better equipped than their agricultural peers in managing a complex agro-ecological conflict? Initial results from a dynamic role-playing simulation. 2022 Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Annual Meeting.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Turner, B. L. (2022). Beef Production Health Systems: Perspectives of a Trained Systems Thinker. Veterinary Clinics: Food Animal Practice, 38(2), 179-200.


Progress 04/01/20 to 03/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:The targeted audiences include community college students and 4-yr university students who are in STEM majors nationwide with preference given to Hispanic and female studens in South Texas region. Changes/Problems:The project team did not recruit students for Summer 2020 research program due to two reasons: 1) The project started on 04/01/2020.According to the proposed timeline, there was no time for us to advertise and recruit students for Summer 2020 program. 2) The COVID-19 pandemic hit our campus and local regions, which made it difficult to conduct the research projects in person. Another potential change is the design of research project. To ensure the success of Summer 2021 program, we modify the research projects so that they can be completed either in-person or virtually. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) We will keep advertising the Summer 2021 program to attract more qualifiedstudents to apply Summer 2021 program. The application deadline is April 5, 2021. 2) We will prepare for the Summer 2021 program, which is scheduled from June 7, 2021 to August 6, 2021. We will purchase necessary supplies and software for the research projects, finalize the detailed schedule of different training, seminars/webinars, and extension activities, and purchase necessary personal protection equipment for the students. Meanwhile, we will also prepare for the option to conduct Summer 2021 program virtually. 3) We will start training graduate student mentors and get them ready for Summer 2021 program.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The project team has redesigned the research projects so that they can be completed either in-person or virtually for Summer 2021 program. The project team has started the advertisement and recruitment process as planned for Summer 2021 program. We have sent the program information to students nationwide with focus on Hispanic and female students in community colleges and universities in South Texas. As of 01/27/2021, we have received 20 applications. The project team has worked with our external evaluator to develop the survey instruments, and received IRB approval.

Publications

  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Project Website: https://www.tamuk.edu/engineering/institutes-research/USDA-REEU/index.html