Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The potential digital agriculture workforce developed from a diverse group of students from central and south Texas. Undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds completing programs at TAMUCC, TAMUK, and/or TAMUCS in areas of science that include animal science, plant science, geospatial science, computer science, math, and engineering. Changes/Problems:An initial challenge was funding from USDA for the program was not released to our University until November. Another challenge was with contract documentation with subawards. In particular, the challenge was regarding the contract finalization that was limited by verbiage that include (DIE) diversity, inclusion and equity. This was brought on by executive orders in the state that was unclear on participation in projects regarding DIE. After discussions with other grantees and the NIFA HSI coordinators at the PD meeting held in March, we were able to come up with a solution to allow for project subaward contracts to be finalized. The only other obstacle was due to additional requirements from our Institutional Review Board (IRB). These challenges have now been overcome and should not impact the rest of the activities with the program. As far as challenges with project goals, we were challenged on unification of the virtual components of the program. The challenges consisted of the development of a standardized format that could be used across all university partnerships but also to be shared with other USDA HSI partners for inclusion into future projects. We have come up with a solution by developing a method of standardizing virtual materials using AI. As part of the plan for using AI, we had to create a model of course outlining and transcript development. We will follow this up with a special avatar that will be the guide for students throughout all virtual course activities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As previously described, we have six students who are currently working on one of the seven experiential projects listed above. Further, we have had students attend professional symposiums. One of the graduate students has presented their ongoing work at two of the professional symposiums. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information regarding the CODE-Ag project and benefits have been shared at local events, conferences, and on-campus recruitment events. The goal was two-fold, to make the public aware of the importance of agriculture in the community and to share opportunities with potential project participants. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, the major task is to work heavily on recruitment and on finalizing curricula. The target is to have double the number of students on the project to a total of 12 that are receiving retention benefits that include funding. Further, we plan on sharing our virtual experiential course work to a broader audience of students across all three campuses to allow increased exposure to digital agriculture. The goal is to have a total of 30 students that utilized the virtual training. We are also optimistic that participation in the virtual training will draw more students to enroll in the long-term projects designed for Code-Ag.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Specific Goals- Recruitment and Retention (Recruitment) Through the utilization of an informative webpage, social media, academic events, and word of mouth, students interested or participating inand work with project faculty on digital agriculture-related projects. (Recruitment) Develop and implement K-12 and career outreach activities that demonstrate digital agriculture applications. (Retention) Through financial incentives, at least 18 undergraduate students and 10 Master students from underrepresented groups will be engaged in digital agriculture related program activities. (Retention) Mentored leadership of undergraduate and graduate students to master integrating and applying knowledge and acquired skills in digital agriculture. (Retention) Peer-mentorship program that enables undergraduate students to be led by graduate students participating in the digital agriculture program. Curricula Design Cross-curricular training of undergraduate and graduate students utilizing introductory courses taught by project faculty in the areas of animal science, plant science, geospatial science, data science, and engineering. Online skills courses that provide a view for students in terms of intersection and linkage of data science and agriculture. Virtual collaborative digital agriculture summer courses that promote application through team driven demonstrations of advanced analytics and machine learning techniques to analyze data from sensors, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and other sources to provide insights into animal and crop health. Virtual professional development courses to promote teambuilding, general research skills, and employment. Student Experiential Learning Expose students with either strong data analytic training/weak agricultural training or strong agricultural training/weak data analytic training with applied integrated coursework that will be applied in research/field activities. Engage program participants to research seminars and short courses in the summer to prepare and encourage students from various disciplines to enter a career in digital agriculture Promotion of digital agriculture related out-of-of class summer internships in USDA, AgriLife, etc. to foster relationships with potential mentors and/or job opportunities in agriculture. Develop and implement digital agriculture outreach through applied activities for education and training of future participant Regardingrecruitment goals, wecompleted our websitethat can be found athttps://sites.google.com/view/codeag/home. The website is available on program pages and social medial sites for each of the participating universities. Faculty participating in the project have been actively announcing the CODE-Ag program in their classrooms and program recruitment events. Project faculty havedeveloped and implemented two outreach eventsto promote the program to potential local students. Further, faculty have promoted the program for recruitment of potential students at SACNAS, the American Association of Geographers conference, and the AI In Agriculture and Natural Resources Conference. Theresult of recruitmentduring the onset of the project has been atotal ofsix studentsrecruited and engaged in program activities. Four of the students are attending Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Two of the four are master's students in the Geospatial Systems Engineering MS program. The reported demographics of the students include 1 female and 1male, 1 individual of African American descent, and 1of Native American. The other two students at TAMUCC are undergraduate students that are enrolled in STEM programs, Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical. The two undergraduate students reported demographics are Hispanic females. An additional MS student enrolled in the animal science program at Texas A&M University College Station with reported demographics of Hispanic female. One undergraduate student has been recruited and engaged at Texas A&M University Kingsville. The student's reported demographic is a white male. Theoverall demographicsof the current student participants isfour females, two males, three Hispanic, one African American, one Native American, and one White. As far as theretainment efforts, we currently havetwo graduate students that are receiving stipends. Further, the TAMUCC graduate students weresupported in giving a presentation at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and at the TAMUCC student research symposium. Outreach activitiesallowed for training of50 fourth gradersfrom Windsor Park Elementary in Corpus Christi Texas. Students were brought to the TAMUCC campus and givenbroad exposure to the life of a student that would be interested in digital agriculture. Students were led through hands-on activities and discussions, providing a glimpse into the real-world application of science and technology in the field of agriculture. Further,project faculty from TAMUCC participated having digital agriculture applications at the annual Earth Day-Bay. Faculty guided the participating community that included children, parents, and college age students through various interactive activities, helping them understand the importance of agriculture and the innovative role of sensor technology in environmental conservation. The hands-on activities sparked curiosity and excitement, making learning both fun and memorable.Over 2,000 individuals came through the event and took away an aspect of digital agriculture information. Regarding developing retainment standards, curricula, and student projects, project faculty have hadregular monthly meetingsto work on curricula and experiential training activities. Further, we have set up aTEAMS folder that allows for live up-to-date collaborative activitieswith the project team. As part of the process to develop cross-curricular training, we have outlined three phases. The three phases include aligned collaboration, cooperative collaboration, and conceptual collaboration. Theteam has completed the aligned collaboration phasethat consisted of discussions on how toarrange curricula to effectively be shared with participating students. This included discussions on the type of information that would be shared from the specific fields and how this information integrates with each other. Thisfirst phase was important to allow for setting up the proposed virtual coursework, applications, and professional development materials. Project faculty have initiated the outlining of virtual coursework and professional development. As far asexperiential activities, project faculty currently have the followingseven projectsin which participants are currently engaged: CODE-Ag project faculty currently have developed seven experiential research activitiesfor current and future student participants. At TAMUCC, the projects are "Bayesian statistical methods for data science, big data and analytics", "Statistical methods for analyzing multiway contingency table", Designing a compact Smart Greenhouse for real-time environmental monitoring", "Geospatial systems in agriculture", and "Obesity awareness, diet, and the food environment". At TAMUC, the current project is "The identification of WaterSmart dairy cows using sensor technologies". Additionally, at TAMUK, the project is "Effects of biochar and cover crop mixtures on production resiliency and soil health improvement in Texas". Third-Party evaluation by Dr. Krish Jayachandran (Jay) was completed in the summer to help the project improve meeting goals. Dr. Jay is a distinguished University professor and co-director of Agroecology programs at Florida International University. He spent two full days with project faculty to review activities, accomplishments, and provide feedback on overcoming roadblocks.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Yuxia (Lucy) Huang, Mahendra Bhandari, Sushil Paudyal, Sanku Dattamudi, Jose Baca, Zheng Wei, Xavier Gonzales, Cross-Disciplinary Mentoring for Undergraduates: Data Analytics in Agriculture2024 AI In Agriculture and Natural Resources Conference, April 15-17, 2024, College Station
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Emily Brennan, Ana Guerrero, Yuxia Huang, Xavier Gonzales. Obesity and Neighborhood Environments in Nueces County, Texas, USA, 2024 AAG Annual Meeting, April 160 20, Hawaiian
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