Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience: Undergraduate students in Biological Engineering and Environmental Studies programs including socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged minority. Undergraduate research assistant Graduate student in Natural Resources and Environmental Design or Environmental Engineering. North Carolina A & T State University faculty in the area of Environmental Engineering and Science. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A graduate student worked during the reporting period on the project. The PI met weekly with the graduate student to discuss ecological engineering projects for the course. The graduate student contributed to a review article in ecological engineering. The graduate student is also pursuing a research project on evaluating the effects of conservation practices in the field and watershed scales. The graduate student will attend ASABE annual international meeting in summer of 2024. An undergraduate student and the graduate student worked in fall 2023. The undergraduate student worked on the nanomaterials for removal of phosphosrus from wastewater and won the first place in a university level poster competition. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been shared in AEES and/or ASABE conferences. Additionally, we continue to discuss ways to utilize the materials in Landscape Architecture program. A university of Tennessee faculty showed interest in utilizing the materials and will be provided with the materials. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue to refine course materials and implement in the fall 2024 Train a graduate student Reach out to relevant stakeholders in the university and outside the university Present the peer-reviewed conference paper in the ASEE annual conference.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The major accomplishment include implementation of a data science module, semester-long projects, and lab exercises. Many environmental and water quality sensors and dataloggers (water quality sonde, pH sensor, temperature sensors, datalogger, raingage, etc.) have been acquired for this project through internal funding. More dataloggers and sensors acquisition to support student learning activities are in progress. Additionally, supplies to create ecological systems have been either purchased or being purchased for student use. The course will be offered to undergraduate (4xx) level as well as graduate (6xx) level in 2024. A graduate student was trained on the project. The graduate student worked on the agroecosystems. More specifically, how best management practices in the agricultural field influenced the water quality and quantity at the edge-of-the field. While we are still refining the course project and the labs, we have made a significant progress in all three specific objectives by 1) developing semester long-project; 2) developing hands-on laboratory exercises; and 3) enhancing student knowledge of data science. We continue to add more labs and refine all the course materials.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
1. Aryal, N.; Blersch, D.; Osborn, S.; and Thapa, A. (2023). Developing an undergraduate level hand-on Ecological Engineering course. 23rd Annual Meeting of American Ecological Engineering Society, June 5-9. Tampa, FL. (poster)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
2. Moore, T.; Thompson T; Aryal, N; Austin, D.; Dale, G.; Franti, T.; and McMillan, S. (2023). Ecological Engineering ABET accreditation Update. 23rd Annual Meeting of American Ecological Engineering Society, June 5-9. Tampa, FL. (oral)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
3. Thompson T; Moore T; Aryal, N; Austin, D.; Dale, G.; and McMillan, S. (2023). Status of the Ecological Engineering Body of Knowledge. 23rd Annual Meeting of American Ecological Engineering Society, June 5-9. Tampa, FL. (poster)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
4. Aryal, N.; Blersch, D.; Osborn, S.; and Thapa, A. (2023). Developing an undergraduate level hand-on Ecological Engineering course. 2023 Annual International Meeting of ASABE, Omaha, NE, July 9-12 (poster)
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Progress 06/01/22 to 05/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience: Undergraduate students in Biological Engineering and Environmental Studies programs including socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged minority. Undergraduate research assistant Graduate student in Natural Resources and Environmental Design or Environmental Engineering. North Carolina A & T State University faculty in the area of Environmental Engineering and Science. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A graduate student worked during the reporting period on the project. The PI met weekly with the graduate student to discuss ecological engineering projects for the course. The graduate student contributed to a review article in ecological engineering. The graduate student is also pursuing a research project on evaluating the effects of conservation practices in the field and watershed scales. The graduate student will attend ASABE annual international meeting in summer of 2023 and present a poster. An undergraduate student and a new graduate student will work in fall 2023. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been shared in AEES and/or ASABE conferences. Additionally, we continue to discuss ways to utilize the materials in Landscape Architecture program. A university of Tennessee faculty showed interest in utilizing the materials in year 3 and will be provided with the materials in year four (fall 2023). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue to refine course materials and implement in the fall 2023 Train an undergraduate and a graduate student Reach out to relevant stakeholders in the university and outside the university Prepare a manuscript on ecological engineering course material development
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The major accomplishment include implementation of a data science module, semester-long projects, and lab exercises. Many environmental and water quality sensors and dataloggers (water quality sonde, pH sensor, temperature sensors, datalogger, raingage, etc.) have been acquired for this project through internal funding. More dataloggers and sensors acquisition to support student learning activities are in progress. Additionally, supplies to create ecological systems have been either purchased or being purchased for student use. The course was offered to undergraduate (4xx) level as well as graduate (6xx) level. A graduate student was trained on the project. The graduate student worked on the agroecosystems. More specifically, how best management practices in the agricultural field influenced the water quality and quantity at the edge-of-the field. While we are still refining the course project and the labs, we have made a significant progress in all three specific objectives by 1) developing semester long-project; 2) developing hands-on laboratory exercises; and 3) enhancing student knowledge of data science. We continue to add more labs and refine all the course materials.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Aryal, N.*; Blesrch, D.; and Osborn, S. (2022). Developing an undergraduate level hands-on ecological engineering course. 22nd Annual Meeting of American Ecological Engineering Society, Baltimore, MD, Jun 21-23 (poster)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Naseri, M. Y. *.; Xia, K; Jha, M.; Gautam B.; Aryal, N.; et al. (2022). A modular approach for integrating data science concepts into multiple undergraduate STEM+C courses. 2022 ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) Annual Conference and Exposition, Minneapolis, MN, July 26-29
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Progress 06/01/21 to 05/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience: Undergraduate students in Biological Engineering and Environmental Studies programs including socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged minority. Undergraduate research assistant Graduate student in Natural Resources and Environmental Design or Environmental Engineering. North Carolina A & T State University faculty in the area of Environmental Engineering and Science. Changes/Problems: Changes to credit structuring was delayed due to leadership changes in summer of 2021 and corresponding delays in class changes implementation. Consequently, the three lecture hour was implemented in the Fall 2021. The class was offered in "hybrid learning" format in Fall 2021 as some students attended remotely and some attended in-person. Consequently, there were challenges implementing labs and semester-long project. Because a significant internal source funded the instrument and sensors, the expenditure has been low. However, we will acquire more sensors, equipment, and materials for ecosystems design in year 3. In the summer 2022, a suitable undergraduate student to work on the project could not be identified as the originally identified student changed his intent at the last moment. Training of faculty on instructional methods could not be carried out as it would have been retrospective. However, the faculty member from University of Auburn and University of Arkansas continue to serve their roles in course material development and refinement. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A graduate student has been working on the project. The PI meets weekly with the graduate student to discuss ecological engineering projects for the course. The graduate student contributed to a review article in ecological engineering. The graduate student is also pursuing a research project on evaluating the effects of conservation practices in the field and watershed scales. An undergraduate student also continued to work for the first half of the year 2. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been shared in ASABE conferences. Additionally, faculty from another program at A&T - Landscape Architecture - and Biological Engineering Program at Florida A&M University have been reached out to potentially utilize the course materials partially in their relevant course. We continue to discuss ways to utilize the materials in Landscape Architecture program. However, Florida A&M indicated that they were not adding ecological engineering program in the near future. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue to design and refine course materials and implement in the fall 2022 Train an undergraduate and a graduate student Reach out to relevant stakeholders in the university and outside the university Prepare a manuscript on ecological engineering course material development
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The major accomplishment include implementation of a data science module and implementation of semester-long project in 2021. Many environmental and water quality sensors and dataloggers (water quality sonde, pH sensor, temperature sensors, datalogger, raingage, etc.) have been acquired for this project through internal funding. More dataloggers and sensors acquisition to support student learning activities are in progress. Additionally, supplies to create ecological systems have been purchased for student use. The project implementation was impacted by COVID 19 partially in year 2 (please see the changes problems section). A graduate student has been working on the project.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Tang, Z.; Wood, J.; Smith, D.; Thapa, A.; and Aryal, N. ? (2021) A review on constructed treatment wetlands for removal of pollutants in the agricultural runoff. Sustainability 2021, 13, 13578. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413578
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Aryal, N.*; Wang, L.; Uzochukwu, G. (2021) Hands-on strategies in an ecological engineering course. 2021 Annual International Meeting of ASABE, Virtual conference, Jul 12-16
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Progress 06/01/20 to 05/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience: Undergraduate students in Biological Engineering and Environmental Studies programs. A graduate student in Natural Resources and Environmental Design or Environmental Engineering. North Carolina A & T State University faculty in the area of Environmental Engineering and Science. Changes/Problems: Since the receipt of the award letter and the start date was in the summer of 2020, we could not change the credit hours from lecture to lab in 2020. The class was offered in a "remote learning" format. Because all students attended the class remotely, we could not carry out the proposed activities in the class. As the proposed activities required students to work in groups with laboratory exercises or semester-long projects. A graduate student was recruited but the student could not join us due to COVID travel restrictions. The submitted change in course credit hour (from lecture only to lecture and lab) was approved in the faculty senate in spring 2021. However, the final approval is delayed due to changes in leadership positions. Consequently, the fall 2021 implementation will be laboratory exercises and a semester-long project under the current time format. Because a significant internal source funded the instrument and sensors, the expenditure has been low up to the point. However, it will accelerate as we continue to acquire more sensors, equipment, and materials for ecosystems design and pay the graduate student working on the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?An underrepresented minority undergraduate student has been working on the project. The PI meets weekly with the undergraduate student to discuss ecological engineering projects for the course. The undergraduate student has also been involved in supporting research projects that are relevant to the course. As such, the student has been exposed to a variety of topics related to ecological engineering. The student had been offered to attend the American Society of Agricultual and Biological Engineers (ASABE) annual conference, but could not due to his schedule conflict. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been shared in ASABE conferences. Additionally, faculty from another program - Landscape Architecture - has been reached out to potentially utilize the course materials partially in their relevant course. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Design the course materials and implement in the course in fall 2021 Revise the developed course materials in spring and summer 2022 Reach out to relevant stakeholders in the university and outside the university Prepare a manuscript on ecological engineering course material development for dissemination Train the undergraduate and the graduate student
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The project implementation was impacted by COVID 19 (please see the changes problems section). The major accomplishments includeimplementation of a data science module in 2020, design of more laboratory exercises, and semester-long projects, and purchase/acquisition of sensors and equipment. Many environmental and water quality sensors and dataloggers (water quality sonde, pH sensors, temperature sensors, datalogger, raingage, etc.) have been acquired for this project through internal funding. More dataloggers and sensors acquisition to support student learning activities is in progress. Additionally, supplies to create ecological systems have been purchased for student use. An undergraduate student is working in summer 2021 to design and evaluate the lab exercises and semester-long projects. A graduate student has been recruited to work on the project. The student will join the project team in the fall 2021. IRB application for the survey was done in 2020 and the decision was "not required". Change of course credit hour from lecture only to lab and lecture was completed in spring 2021.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Aryal, N.*; Wang, L.; Uzochukwu, G. (2020) Hands-on and project-based learning strategies in an ecological engineering course. 2020 Annual International Meeting of ASABE, Virtual Conference, Jul 13-15
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