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.
Under the future education model, our program can now admit students with a bachelor’s degree in any major as long as they meet admissions requirements and have taken certain pre-requisite coursework. Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from a four-year college or university or its international equivalent with a 3.0 GPA or better. Students who have not completed all pre-requisite courses prior to submitting their application will still be considered for the program as long as no more than 2 pre-requisite courses are outstanding prior to the application deadline. Pre-requisites may be completed at most any regionally accredited 2- or 4-year institution. Basic science prerequisites must be taken within the past 10 years and nutrition courses must be taken within the past five years. The program no longer requires GRE scores.
Prerequisites
Chemistry 1 & 2 with labs (CHE 101/113, 102/114)
Organic Chemistry* (CHE 201)
Biochemistry* (BIO 305)
Human Anatomy and Physiology* (ES 207)
Microbiology (MIC 301)
Statistics (STA 119)
Human Nutrition (NTR 401)
Lifecycle Nutrition (NTR 402)
Food Science (NTR 202 – Fall ’21)
Food Management (NTR 310 -Sp ’22)
Community Nutrition (PUB 440 with approval) ServeSafe Certified (various in person and online)
*For these courses, a lab is recommended but not required for admission
The priority application deadline for Fall semester admission is the preceding December 1. Applicants must submit a resume, statement of Intent, 3 letters of recommendation, to the graduate school application portal by the deadline to be considered for admission to the program.
Nicole Klem MS RDN CCMS (she/her)
Program Director
Clinical Nutrition Dietetic Internship
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences School of Public Health and Health Professions University at Buffalo
This course covers the same content as MTH 306 – Differential Equations, but in a smaller course setting (max 45 students) and with more of an emphasis on concepts and underlying theory. Class notes will be available ahead of time on UBLearns, and additional problem sessions will be offered weekly (time to be determined, remote in real-time with recordings posted).
Please feel free to reach out to Barbara Prinari – bprinari@buffalo.edu – if you have any question about the course.
Each year, UB nominates one sophomore or junior to become a Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC) Fellow. These fellows are fully funded to participate in three-day leadership conferences in Washington, D.C. during the fall and spring semesters, in addition to completing a research paper that is eligible for publication and awards.
Since 1970, CSPC fellows have traveled to Washington, D.C. to learn about leadership and governance, to share their outstanding research, and to explore careers in public service. While attending the conferences, the fellows participate in workshops where they present and receive constructive criticism on their research papers. The fellows also have the opportunity to engage with policy experts, government officials and leaders in the legislative process. In the past, fellows have had the opportunity to meet with speakers such as Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke; Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta; Deputy Secretary of Labor Christopher Lu; journalists James Kitfield, Ron Fournier, and Clive Crook; and defense experts Michele Flournoy, Frank Cilluffo and Capt. Eric Jones.
Criteria for students applying to become UB’s CSPC fellow:
GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Demonstrated interest in the American government.
Comfort with speaking, presenting and writing about the American presidency or Congress.
All academic majors are eligible although typically fellows are from political science, history, international studies, business, philosophy, economics, public health or journalism.
Requirements:
Attend two conferences in Washington, D.C. (one in the fall semester and one in the spring semester).
Undertake an original research project on a subject with direct relevance to the U.S. presidency and/or Congress. Write a 10-15 page paper based on this topic
The School of Management is offering MGF 100 as an open enrollment class available to all students this fall 2021 semester. Please encourage your students to enroll if they have room for electives. It is an extremely valuable class for students who may be financially distressed perhaps due to COVID-19 or simply new to navigating finances on their own. The course is offered Thursday evenings to accommodate student schedules and it is scheduled to be in person at this point.
MGF 100: Introduction to personal finance
Students will learn why it is essential to have a spending plan and why budgeting is important. The course will guide students on concepts and tools on savings and investments (stocks and bonds), and how it fits into the budget; theory around managing risk relative to returns complemented by practice using financial tools/models; role of banks and financial institutions in risk management and as intermediaries; what is a credit score leading into consumer credit and the simple mathematics around calculating interest on student loans, credit card and personal loans; understanding your paycheck and how income tax impacts disposable income and investments decisions; discussions around taxes, society and the services it provides; increasing use of apps such as Venmo, PayPal and Apple Pay and discussions around these tools – are they safe?
The course is designed to promote creativity, modeling, observing, developing and demonstrating tools critical in acquiring financial literacy skills. It will be important to explore behavioral aspects of personal finance, focusing on areas such as the temptation in use of credit cards and how accumulation of debt could negatively affect the society in general and the broader economy. The objective will then be to tie this into a personalized spending plan. Students will hear from other recently graduating student’s cognitive impact of past behaviors, and how that has influenced their decisions, now as working adults.
SUNY Undergrad Juniors & Seniors: Are you thinking about graduate school?When is the best time to apply?How can you find funding? Are you interested in a career in research, or as a leader? Please join Susan Brennan, SUNY Research Fellow for Innovation in Graduate Education, Professor at Stony Brook University for a discussion of these questions. We’ll cover NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the SUNY GREAT(Graduate Research Empowering and Accelerating Talent) award program. Wednesday, April 28 • 3:00pm – 4:30pm
The SUNY COIL Global Commons summer program is a 6-week/6-credit Collaborative International Online Learning (COIL) course based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This course will count towards either a GE requirement or a student’s major course of study, depending on the disciplinary lens with which the student approaches the particular SDG. Students will begin in a storytelling course on cultural competency, then be grouped with those who share a common interest in one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
There are two components to this course:
3 credits – Intercultural Story-telling
Storytelling is a powerful tool of communication. A challenge faced by organizations, which operate with few resources is accurately and effectively communicating about their work and the issues they are trying to address. When the issues are complex, stories can inform, entertain, educate, inspire, and create connections to influence change.
3 credits – United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals
The world has problems. These problems- such as climate change, inequality, and elimination of poverty-require our attention and our action if we want a better future for our world. Framed by one of the six selected UN SDGs, students will work with people and organizations working on these problems all over the world, every day.
Course details
The SUNY COIL Global Commons program is a six-week, six-credit (undergraduate credit) program open to any student, from any higher education institution
Students are enrolled in two, 3-credit courses that culminate in storytelling projects completed in small groups in partnership with a community based non-governmental organization
The program cost is equivalent to six credits of tuition
A timeline of the course is illustrated below. Participants will learn about the partner organization and the final project. Students will work with their peers from other SUNY campuses as well as with contact from our international partner organizations around the world.
The first cohort of the SUNY COIL Global Commons completed the program in the summer of 2020 and their final storytelling projects are available to view. Check out their videos, podcasts, graphic novels, and more at the Project Showcase site! For a more in-depth explanation of the program description. If you have any questions, take a look at the Program FAQ’s.
Are you a strong, confident writer in your major? Do you enjoy helping and mentoring fellow students? If so, I invite you to take HMN 380: Writing Center Theory and Practice in the Fall of 2021. In addition to strengthening writing and teaching skills, this course is the pre-requisite for applying to work in the Center for Excellence in Writing as a peer writing consultant. This small, experiential seminar is fun, engaging and interactive. We need writing consultants across different disciplines and we value diversity. Email rhondare@buffalo.edu with any questions.
