SPOTLIGHT: AER The Lab for Aerosol, Radiation, Remote-sensing, and Observation-based Modeling of Atmosphere—better known as the ARROMA Lab—was renamed the Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) Lab in 2020. The name change reflects the expanding focus of research and success securing external research funding.
Environment and Energy
HARNESSING EARTH’S DATA Imagine if an Iowa farmer could more accurately predict the weather, monitor water quality, and keep tabs on soil conditions. They could better decide when to plant, spray, and harvest, manage the land, and ultimately produce healthier, more abundant crops with less environmental impact. Connecting valuable NASA data and the Iowans who could benefit from them most is at the heart of a new multidisciplinary, multi-university grant from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium called the Infrastructure for Data-Advanced Research and Education (I-DARE). The effort is being led by Jun Wang, ITI assistant director and director of the Atmospheric and Environmental Research Lab (AER). The four-year program awarded in 2020 aims to cultivate a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce in farming-related businesses and operations from the field to precision agriculture. The workforce would be armed with skills to harness NASA’s Earth science and technology data to respond to Iowa-centric problems related to weather, agriculture, and natural resources, such as severe weather, soil moisture, and temperature fluctuations. Wang, the James E. Ashton Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, is principal investigator among a team from UI, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa. 12
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Iowa Technology Institute
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“The data are intended for us to engage with farmers and allow farmers to understand and access the data easily,” Wang said. “Our next-generation farmers need to be equipped with a set of tools and knowledge to manage the weather intelligence and the ever-changing natural resource data that is key for farming operations.” “The severe weather events, such as the recent derecho event, drought, flood, heat waves, or even the outlook of the next week’s weather can affect the harvesting operation. Wind can affect aviation pesticide operation. Soil moisture can affect the fertilization operation. Temperature affects the seed planting operation.” The I-DARE grant includes three main components: • A 12-day STEM research-oriented summer camp in year one with six-day camps each of the following three years. The camp format is subject to change, if needed, in response to the pandemic. • Integration of NASA’s science and research into courses at the home universities of investigators and collaborators. • Online training through the I-DARE virtual facility and the citizen science network, in which citizens measure weather parameters using small, low-cost sensors.
