Fly Drones Initiative for Campus Tree Conservation Undergraduate Research and Training Opportunity Dr. Souma Chowdhury, ADAMS Lab, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo Initiative Goal: To develop a systematic framework for conducting drone based aerial survey of the health of vegetation in the UB North Campus, and assist in the creation of a workshop for training students to program and fly drones for related remote sensing applications. Initiative Description: This multidisciplinary initiative is an integral part of a project led by Dr. Souma Chowdhury on “Automated Design of Decentralized Robust and Explainable Swarm Systems”, and is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The novelty of this initiative lies in synergizing an enjoyable hands-on learning experience (in emerging technologies such as autonomous drones) for undergraduate students, with the opportunity to solve a real-world problem with direct impact on the health and wellness of our campus community. A summary description of the initiative is given below. Our UB North campus, spanning over 5 sq. km. has seen an alarming rate of tree loss in recent years. Together with the Professional Staff Senate (PSS), we have converged on the idea of flying unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs (aka drones) to capture high-resolution images of trees to assess their health. The overall concept is to identify patches of the vegetated area to survey, design the best flight paths to conduct this survey, and then program and perform remote-controlled and supervised autonomous flights of 1-2 UAVs based on the planned flight paths over these patches of vegetation. The data collected thereof will be analyzed, under the advice and feedback of academic domain experts on vegetation health, to assess the health of the trees surveyed. These efforts will be strategically interjected with training tutorials, where the participating undergraduate students will get trained on the techniques underlying various moving parts involved in this project. Training, mentoring and day to day feedback will be provided by the PI, Dr. Chowdhury, and other graduate students working on this project. Additional Support: University Honors College students selected to work on this project are then eligible to apply to the Honors College Research Fund for up to $1,000 per semester per student to further support the research and learning efforts under this initiative. Expected Learning Outcomes: In this project, undergraduate students will learn to:
Plan and program single and cooperative UAV flights for automated data collection, subject to weather and regulatory constraints;
Prepare UAVs with appropriately mounted sensors and rain-checks for useful flight experiments;
Fly UAVs safely (the new SOAR facility will be used for training in this regard);
Best practices in data logging, geotagging and data processing; and
Prepare technical publications and presentations for leading international conferences. Student Eligibility: Sophomore, Junior and Senior year students from Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial & Systems Engineering, and Geography at University at Buffalo are encouraged to apply. Prior experience with programming (in C or Python), mechatronics, flying drones, and/or computer vision is a plus (but not required). Interested students should contact Dr. Souma Chowdhury at soumacho@buffalo.edu. Please include your latest resume and unofficial transcript in your email.
If you are interested in serving as a Peer Mentor in the Honors Connections Program during the 2021-2022 academic year, please fill out our onlineapplication by Friday, June 25th.
The Honors College Peer Mentor Program is designed to help first-year Honors students adjust to life at UB and to the Honors College experience. Our intent is that through this program, our incoming students feel welcome at UB and excited to be a part of the Honors College family.
As an Honors Connections Program Mentor, you will be asked to communicate with your assigned first-year student(s) within two weeks of receiving their contact information, which will be around mid-July. In addition, you will be expected to:
Meet with your mentee(s) during the first two weeks of classes via zoom or in-person
Encourage participation in Honors College and campus-wide activities
Help answer general questions or concerns your mentee(s) may have
In general, we hope that each mentor will help make the transition to college a little easier for our new Honors College scholars.
If selected, Honors Peer Mentors will be required to submit a mini-profile of themselves to be shared with their peer mentee, including a photo.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email honors@buffalo.edu and we will reply as soon as we are able.
The Office of Academic Integrity (OAI) is seeking applications for Student Integrity Ambassadors (SIAs) for the 2021-22 academic year. Integrity Ambassadors will have a prevalent role on campus and will be able to specialize and develop in a number of areas, including programming and outreach, student mentoring, serving on hearing committees, and developing written and video works, among other opportunities. This position will provide students with a foundation of ethics and integrity as well as monthly leadership workshops for both hands-on and training-based professional development. Through the Integrity Ambassador program, students will collaborate with a group of goal-oriented peers and will be able to apply their personal strengths in the promotion of integrity, honesty, and excellence on campus. This is a volunteer position, and Ambassadors will spend up to five hours a week on responsibilities with opportunity to set and execute their own goals.
If you feel you could be a role model for excellence among the student body, we strongly encourage you to apply at http://bit.ly/oai-app. Applications close on July 16th with interviews scheduled shortly thereafter.
For more information, please refer to the attached flyer and the position description on the first page of the application. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at prov.jpraymor@provost.buffalo.edu and I will be happy to help.
Fellowships and Scholarships 101 Summer 2021 Workshops
Weekly Sessions
Tuesdays at 2 p.m.
Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Join the UB Office of Fellowships and Scholarships for a 30-minute introductory workshop covering how to search for awards, apply for major external fellowships, find funding for graduate school, and become a more competitive applicant.
All workshops will take place via Zoom. Once you RSVP for Fellowships and Scholarships 101 using the form below, you will receive an email with the Zoom meeting information. Note: The last day of summer workshops will be Wednesday, August 25. If you cannot attend the sessions, check out our Fellowships and Scholarships 101 series on our YouTube channel and make an appointment with an advisor online to address any unanswered questions or concerns.
LIke us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterAdd us on Instagram S.O.S. SEND HELP! The Tool Library is 100% volunteer-powered and we need your help to continue to deliver the tool borrowing service you’ve come to know and love Many of our members don’t know that The Tool Library is completely volunteer-run. Our Tooligans make us who we are.
Not only have they helped us stay open during a pandemic, but helped the organization thrive as we meet the need in our community. While membership has skyrocketed by over 40% this past year to nearly 900 members, our volunteer base has struggled to keep up with demand.
Rest assured that while our board is hard at work on longer term solutions, like bringing on paid staff, we are in desperate need of volunteers to help keep our doors open, tools running, and provide the service y’all know and love.
If you’re kind, creative, a problem solver, passionate about tools, sharing, and building a better world, you might just be a tool librarian in the making!
