Recipient Organization
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY- KINGSVILLE
700 UNIVERSITY BLVD.
KINGSVILLE,TX 78363
Performing Department
RWS/CKWRI
Non Technical Summary
The Drone WAVE FACTOR Program is an integrated program that includes education, research, and extension. The main goal of the Drone WAVE FACTOR Program is to recruit, train, mentor, and graduate the next generation of women professionals with competitive geospatial sciences and technology skills and increase workforce diversity in agricultural and natural resources. We will implement hands-on training in spatial sciences to support research experiences and to boost professional opportunities to women undergraduate students to gain a competitive edge in the professional marketplace. We are planning the following activities: training in geographic information systems and remote sensing, preparation for the Federal Aviation Administration drone pilot exam, Unmanned aerial systems training, development of individual research projects, a Texas Geospatial Tour (a tour of facilities working with spatial technologies in Texas), internship experience, participation in professional meetings, monthly research/development meetings, and development of professional social media skills. The Drone WAVE FACTOR Program will recruit outstanding and motivated students from the Departments of Range and Wildlife Sciences and Animal Science as well as other departments within the Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Texas A&M University- Kingsville. Because women students are underrepresented in agriculture and natural resources, we will focus our recruitment on Hispanic women. To participate in this program, students will need to meet the following requirements: sophomore, junior, or senior classification at the start of the program, GPA > 3.0, and full-time status (12 credit hours for each long semester). The outcome measures were selected based on the Drone WAVE FACTOR Program objectives and are well aligned with the objectives of the AFRI Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Sciences Education and Literacy Initiative Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates and the Food and Agriculture Cyberinformatics and Tools Act initiative.
Animal Health Component
75%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
75%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
The main goal of the DWFP is to recruit, train, mentor, and graduate the next generation of women professionals with competitive geospatial sciences and technology skills and increase workforce diversityObjective 1: Enhance current collaboration between Texas A&M University -Kingsville (TAMUK) Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI), the Department of Animal Science and Veterinary Technology (TAMUK), NRCS, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Corpus Christi (TAM AgriLife Corpus Christi), and private landowners, to improve student success through professional development and networking opportunities. Geospatial Sciences and Technologies are fast developing, and these tools and approaches are being used more frequently in the fields of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Training in the use of geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) is important for student success and competitive opportunities in the professional marketplace. Activities such as training, hands-on research, internships, and presentations at professional conferences/public workshops will provide students the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in their career goals. Students will have the opportunity to interact with landowners, state and federal agencies, and natural resources professionals (agriculture, rangeland, and wildlife professionals). This will provide excellent networking opportunities and help students make informed decisions about their career options.Objective 2: Educate and train students in the field of Geospatial Science and Technologies with a focus on hands on UAS experiences. This program will provide a one-year fellowship to financially support to at least 20 underrepresented students within 4 years from the Department of Rangeland and Wildlife Science and the Department of Animal Science and Veterinary Technology (Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Texas A&M University-Kingsville). The primary experiential learning component of the DWFP will be an individual research project. This will require the students to work with a faculty mentor within the College (e.g. fire ecology, landscape animal nutrition, biomass estimation, vegetation mapping, habitat management, landscape analysis, thermal ecology, hydrology, movement ecology, nutrient cycling) to design a research project, collect, analyze, and interpret data for oral presentations and subsequent publications targeted for peer-reviewed journals. Research presentations will be tailored into extension presentations and featured in publications such as South Texas Wildlife Newsletter, Caesar Kleberg Tracks, Javelina Today, The Wildlife Professional, and Women and Drones. The focus of the research projects will be applied research to help students link research and real-world scenarios common in the Agriculture and Natural Resources fields. Each summer, students will have the opportunity to participate in an internship program where they will be able to work and apply their training directly with state and federal agencies or as part of a research project with CKWRI.Objective 3: Develop competitive geospatial sciences and technologies skills focused on agriculture and natural resources to join the professional workforce or prepare for post-graduate opportunities. The one-year fellowship will help students gain better insights on coursework, research applications and improve coursework engagement. Research helps student retention and graduation rates through a multifaceted approach. Students engaged in undergraduate research and mentorship programs have been shown to increase their GPA scores by an average of 0.5 points while 6-year graduation rates of these students are approximately 36% higher than students not engaged in these programs (Kinkel and Henke 2006). To achieve this, we will train students at the Geospatial Technologies Laboratory at CKWRI to get geospatial skills focused on drones and then they will be mentored by faculty in their own specific disciplines. Students will also have the opportunity to work along graduate students who will provide additional experience and exposure to graduate school in range and wildlife management and animal sciences. The development of these skills will provide a strong basis to develop competitive professionals and future leaders with strong geospatial skills that can be applied to natural resources and their ability to choose between the workforce or graduate studies.Objective 4: Mentoring and career development for students. The DWFP will provide the conditions for students to interact with faculty, NRCS personnel, and TAM AgriLife Corpus Christi scientists to develop a professional-student mentor relationship outside the classroom. Mentors will aid students in defining their professional goals through the evaluation of personal and professional interests and career and educational opportunities.
Project Methods
Student Recruitment, Selection, and RetentionRecruitment plan. The DWFP will recruit outstanding students from the Departments of Range and Wildlife Sciences and Animal Science at TAMUK. Because women students are underrepresented in agriculture and natural resources (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016), we will focus our recruitment on women (particularly Hispanic women). To participate in this program, students will need to meet the following requirements: sophomore, junior, or senior classification at the start of the program, GPA > 3.0, and full-time status (12 credit hours for each long semester). Dr. Consuelo Donato will be in charge of visiting classes and promoting the program. She will compile applications and the PD and Co-PDs will evaluate applications. For the internship component, students will apply to different opportunities through Dr. Consuelo Donato's program and they will be placed in different programs across the US.Student numbers. This program will support a minimum of 20 students during the life of the program. Each student will receive a participant stipend ($2,000 per semester; 1 payment of $1,000 at the beginning of the semester, one payment of $1,000 at the end of the semester) during the Fall and Spring semester. During the summer, students will participate in a summer internship with a stipend ranging from $4,500 to $6,000 per student depending on the internship destination and associated travel costs. This model will allow for continuous monitoring of student status within the program.Replacement of Undergraduate students. If students do not maintain GPA, make progress during their research or graduate before their program is finalized, they will be replaced by a newly recruited student. The stipend payments will allow flexibility for student replacement and continuity in the delivery of research products.Nature of student activitiesApproach to Undergraduate Research, Education, and Extension Activities. The key components of the DWFP will lead to increased retention and graduate rates of women students in both departments. Experiential learning will be supported through training in GIS and remote sensing, preparation for the FAA drone pilot exam, practical UAS training, development of individual research projects, the Texas Geospatial Tour, internship experience, participation in professional meetings, monthly research/development meetings, and social media. Retention goals will be met through faculty and peer mentoring and enhanced by training and hands-on experiential learning opportunities.