Source: TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY- KINGSVILLE submitted to NRP
THE DRONE WAVE FACTOR (DRONE USE FOR WOMEN ADVANCEMENT, VISIBILITY & EXPERIENCES IN FOOD & AGRICULTURE CYBERINFORMATICS & TOOLS ORIENTED TO RESEARCH)
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1025941
Grant No.
2021-68018-34634
Cumulative Award Amt.
$399,946.00
Proposal No.
2020-09342
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2021
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2025
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[A7401]- Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates
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%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1210199107050%
1350199107030%
3070780107020%
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.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:We have reached students from the Department of Range and Wildlife Science and the Department of Animal Science and Veterinary Technology at the Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Dr. Consuelo Donato and Dr. Evan Tanner attended over 10 classrooms and described the program to undergraduate students during the month of September and October 2023. The focus of the presentation was to recruit women to participate in the Drone WAVE FACTOR program. We had a total of 30 applicants in September-October 2023 and the selection process was completed in late October 2023. We selected five students for the Program: Kristen Rocha, Belinda Arnero, McKayla Valdez, Elyana Ruiz, and Rachel McMurray. Two students were Range and Wildlife Science undergraduates while the remaining three were Animal Science and Veterinary Technology undergraduates Changes/Problems:Unfortunately, the drone flight experience was very limited in Fall 2023, as in November 2023, the original PD (Dr. Humberto Perotto) left the program. Dr. Consuelo Donata and Dr. Evan Tanner (new PD) recruited Mr. Brian Loflin (new co-PD) to assist with drone flights and training, which proceeded in Spring 2024. As an update from our previous report, at the end of July 2023, Dr. Humberto Perotto accepted a new position as Associate Professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University. He has decided to leave the Drone WAVE FACTOR program and as such the remaining PIs implemented the changes to continue with the project. Plans for these changes were finalized in January 2024. This included the addition of Mr. Brian Loflin at TAMUK as a co-PD. We are widening the net of people who can access the program because student numbers are low in the Department of Range and Wildlife Sciences. Finally, one student (Rachel McMurray) had to drop out of the program after the Fall 2023 semester due to family issues. She was unable to complete the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided the following training and professional opportunities: - Training in Geographic Information Systems - FAA pilot licenses and limited drone flight training - Interaction with Federal and State agencies professionals: USDA-NRCS and Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center professionals. - Interaction with research scientists at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. - Students conducted their internship with three different organizations: Texas A&M Agrilife Corpus Christi (Elyana Ruiz and McKayla Valdez), Texas A&M Agrilife Beeville (Elyana Ruiz and McKayla Valdez), The King Ranch (Belinda Arnero), and with Dr. Sue Fairbanks at Oklahoma State University (Kristen Rocha). - Results from the work done during 2023/2024 will be presented at state meetings in 2025. - Four of the five student participated in an Internship Showcase Symposium at Texas A&M University-Kingsville's campus in October 2024. Two students presented a poster while the other two students presented an oral presentation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?When interacting with prospective students, we explained the benefits of the program and highlighted the opportunities that students from the previous cohort achieved. We introduced Kim Tanguma (currently graduate student at Texas A&M University-Kingsville) to the 2023-2024 cohort and Ms. Tanguma provided help with the students. Students also presented their experiences at the TAMUK Internship Showcase to promote the Drone WAVE Program. Social media accounts for The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, College of Ag, and Texas A&M University-Kingsville were used to promote the Drone WAVE Program and highlight accomplishments and research completed by the Drone WAVE students from this cohort. This method of informationdissemination will continue to be used during the final cohort. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to follow a similar approach than last year as our results show that all our students engaged in research. We plan to disseminate our information more widely and hopefully attract more students. One thing we will work on is to improve on the follow up processes at the end of the program to get an individual report from the students so we can learn more about their experience.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The program accomplished the following milestones: - Four of the five students completed and passed Part 107 FAA drone pilot test by February 2024. - Students trained on the use of the Phantom IV pro V2 on campus: This included basic maneuvers, visual observer training, and communications. Participants conducted training flights in the Phantom IV Pro V2 units. - Two student drone pilots participated in drone research flights with two units: Phantom IV V2 RTK and Matrice 210 RTK. These flights were part of research projects at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. - For their Spring research experience and internship projects the students worked in the following projects: Belina Arnero worked with Dr. Aaron Foley to map and visualize thermal imagery from drone flights for wildlife identification. Kristen Rocha worked with Celine Rickels (MS student at TAMUK) to develop protocols for using drones to survey pronghorn in the Southern Great Plains ecoregion. Elyana Ruiz and McKayla Valdez did not have spring research projects as they were unable to obtain their FAA Pilot license until late in the spring 2024 semester (April). - The Texas Geospatial Tour was completed in March 2024 and July 2024 with Dr. Evan Tanner, Dr. Consuelo Donata, Mr. Brian Loflin, and the students. We visited the Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center in Corpus Christi, the NRCS Central National Technology Support Center in Fort Worth (remote [Zoom] due to on-site issues), and the Texas A&M Agrilife Research Center in Beeville.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:We have reached students from the Department of Range and Wildlife Science and the Department of Animal Science and Veterinary technology at the Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Dr. Consuelo Donato attended over 10 classrooms and described the program to undergraduate students during the month of September 2022. The focus of the presentation was to recruit women to participate in the Drone WAVE FACTOR program. We had over 15 applicants in September 2022 and the selection process was completed in early October 2022. We selected five students for the Program: Cynthia Martinez, Angelica Sosa, Miranda Shaffer, RoseMarie Odvina, and Julia Warren. All the students were Animal Science majors. Changes/Problems:Unfortunately, the drone flight experience was very limited, as in late January-early February 2023, the State of Texas issued a ban on DJI products to be used by State agencies (i.e. Texas A&M University-Kingsville). The Drone WAVE FACTOR program fleet is made of DJI phantom IV drones. These were purchased well before the ban was set in place. In June 2023, Texas A&M University-Kingsville allowed us to resume drone flights using DJI drones and students were able to conduct practices using the Drone WAVE FACTOR Program drones in early June. Dr. Perotto traveled to Temple, Beeville, and Alpine, Texas to conduct the training with the students immediately after the drone ban was lifted at Texas A&M university-Kingsville. At the end of July 2023, Dr. Humberto Perotto accepted a new position as Associate Professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University. He has decided to leave the Drone WAVE FACTOR program and as such the remaining PIs are implementing the changes to continue with the project. Plans for these changes have been finalized and are currently being implemented into the third year of the program. We are widening the net of people who can access the program because student numbers are low in the Department of Range and Wildlife Sciences. We will begin working more closely with the Department chair to see how we can use the information we gathered in 2022 to help recruitment efforts for this particular department. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided the following training and professional opportunities: Training in Geographic Information Systems FAA pilot licenses and limited drone flight training Training in drone image processing using PiX4D Interaction with Federal and State agencies professionals: USDA-NRCS and Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center professionals. Interaction with research scientists at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Students conducted their internship with three different organizations: Texas A&M Agrilife Corpus Christi (Angelica Sosa and Rosemarie Odvina), Texas A&M Agrilife Temple (Cynthia Martinez and Miranda Shaffer), and Dr. Elizabeth Ann Staiger at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (Julia Warren). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?When interacting with prospective students, we explain the benefits of the program and highlight the opportunities that students from the previous cohort achieved. We introduced Kim Tanguma (currently graduate student at Texas A&M University-Kingsville) to the 2022-2023 cohort and Ms. Tanguma provided help with the students. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to follow a similar approach than last year as our results show that all our students engaged in research. We plan to disseminate our information more widely and hopefully attract more students. One thing we will work on is to improve on the follow up processes at the end of the program to get an individual report from the students so we can learn more about their experience.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? The program accomplished the following milestones: All 5 students completed the basic training in Geographic Information Systems at TAMUK. This basic training included at least 10 hours of online courses through ESRI training portal and included the following courses: Basics of map projections, introduction to GIS, introduction to ArcGIS Pro, and creating maps. All 5 students completed and passed Part 107 FAA drone pilot test by January 2023. Students trained on the use of the Phantom IV pro V2 on campus: This included basic maneuvers, visual observer training, and communications. Participants conducted training flights in the Phantom IV Pro V2 units. The Texas Geospatial Tour was completed between 13 and 15 of March 2023. Dr. Perotto and the students visited the Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center in Corpus Christi (03/13/23), the NRCS Central National Technology Support Center in Fort Worth (03/14/2023), and the Texas A&M Agrilife Blacklands Research Center in Temple (03/15/2023).

    Publications


      Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

      Outputs
      Target Audience:We have reached students from the Department of Range and Wildlife Science and the Department of Animal Science and Veterinary technology at the Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Dr. Consuelo Donato and Dr. Humberto Perotto have attended classrooms and explained the program to undergraduate students during the month of September 2021. The focus of the presentation was to recruit women to participate in the drone WAVE FACTOR program. We had a total of 13 applicants in September 2021 and the selection process was done in early October 2021. We selected five students for the Program: Jessica Rogers, Jessica Johnston, Kimberly Tanguma, Sasha Arias, and Abigail Lopez. At the end of the Fall Abigail Lopez decided not to continue with the program and we recruited Vianka Treviño. Changes/Problems:We do not over see major changes to out project at this time. We are widening the net of people who can access the program because student numbers are low in the Department of Range and Wildlife Sciences. We will start working more closely with the Department chair to see how we can use the information we gathered in 2022 to help recruitment efforts for the department. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided the following training and professional opportunities: Training in Geographic Information Systems Drone flight training and FAA pilot licenses Training in drone image processing using PiX4D Interaction with Federal and State agencies professionals: USDA-NRCS and Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center professionals. All students are engaged in research after the completion of the Drone Wave Factor program. Sasha Arias and Kimberly Tanguma graduate in August 2022 and both started their master programs at Texas A&M University-College Station and Texas A&M university-Kingsville. Jessica Rogers, Jessica Johnston, and Vianka Treviño are working as research technicians with Drs. Humberto L. Perotto and Dr. Ashley Tanner. Results from the work done during 2022 will be presented at the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society in February 2023. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?When interacting with prospective students, we explain the benefits of the program and highlight the opportunities that students from the previous cohort achieved. The story map prepared by Jessica Rogers and Kimberly Tanguma is a great way to disseminate the information and we plan to develop a story map for the 2022-2023 cohort. This is a great way to have students explore the achievements done by the Drone Wave factor program students. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to follow a similar approach than last year as our results show that all our students engaged in research. We plan to disseminate our information more widely and hopefully attract more students. One thing we will work is to improve on the follow up processes at the end of the program to get an individual report from the students so we can learn more about their experience.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? All 5 students completed the basic training in Geographic Information Systems at TAMUK. This basic training included at least 10 hours of online courses through ESRI training portal and included the following courses: Basics of map projections, introduction to GIS, introduction to ArcGIS Pro, and creating maps. All 5 students completed and passed Part 107 FAA drone pilot test by February 2022. Students trained on the use of the Phantom IV pro V2 on campus: This included basic maneuvers, visual observer training, communications. Participants conducted training flights in the Phantom IV Pro V2 units. Once they completed their trainings drone pilots participated in drone research flights with two units: Phantom IV V2 RTK and Matrice 210 RTK. These flights were part of research projects at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. For their Spring research experience and internship projects the students worked in the following projects: Sasha Arias worked with Ph.D. student Jose Avila to assess the 3D structure of grasses in grazed and non-grazed pasture and their impact on upland game bird abundance. Jessica Rogers and Kimberly Tanguma worked on mapping at very high Resolution the 'Kika de la Garza" Plant Material Center in Kingsville using a multispectral drone camera. Jessica Johnston worked on developing a framework to create a virtual center for the Wildlife Center at TAMUK so people can visit a garden of native plant species from anywhere in the world. Vianka Treviño worked on a project with Dr. Ashley Tanner to map and identify thermal changes in grazed and not grazed areas in a pasture at the University Farm in Kingsville. The Texas Geospatial Tour was done between 14 and 16 march 2022. We visited the Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center in Corpus Christi (03/14/22) the NRCS Central National Technology Support Center in Fort Worth (03/15/2022) and the Texas A&M Agrilife Blacklands Research Center in Temple (03/16/2022). Two students: Jessica Rogers and Kimberly Tanguma, choose to do their Summer internships with the NRCS Central National Technology Support Center. This opportunity allowed them to travel to the ESRI annual Conference and attend one of the largest GIS conferences in the country (See story map for details: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ba40cf00790540b284222a25455e8e6f).

      Publications