Six agriculture students from UA Cossatot will be attending the annual National Science Foundation Advanced Technician Education (NSF ATE) conference on October 25-28, 2022 in Washington D.C.
This year Keaton Cox, Kaydee Cowling, and Haley Wright are presenting posters about projects conducted by the agriculture department. Three additional students attending the conference include April Klitz, Hannah Honey, and Valerie Smith. UA Cossatot faculty members Kelli Harris and Crystal Sims will also be in attendance.
Cox’s research is about water quality. The students in Natural Resources have been collecting water samples and testing for coliform bacteria, lead, mercury, pH, and other quality factors. The data is recorded through ArcGIS Survey123, including location data which is then mapped.
Cowling and Wright’s project started in the Intro to GIS class in the spring of 2022. They are collaborating with Casey Hardaway at Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Nature Center to collect location data on fossils found on the management area.
The conference will host more than 850 NSF ATE grantees and their project cohorts to focus on the critical issues related to advanced technological education. Fundamental persons working on ATE projects across the country will partake in the hybrid event. Conference partakers represent community colleges,
business and industry, secondary school systems, and four-year universities covering projects in a wide variety of areas, such as information technology, engineering technology, micro-and nanotechnologies, chemical technology, biotechnology, and other program areas.
The primary goal of the GSTARS project is to design and implement a curriculum that meets the region’s need for technician-level GIS skills in agriculture and related science industries. In addition, the $299,635 grant will create pathways for future GIS Technicians to enter the local workforce.
“This grant has created an amazing opportunity to integrate technology and technical skills, such as GIS data collection and drone operations, into our agriculture and science programs. We are excited to share what our students have been learning at UA Cossatot through the GSTARS grant during the NSF ATE conference," said GSTARS team leader and agriculture faculty, Kelli Harris.
To learn more about this grant and conference, contact Kelli Harris at kharris@cccua.edu. ###