HARNESSING EARTH’S DATA

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. “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.

NADS BECOMES AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH CENTER

Until recently, the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) was under the ITI organizational umbrella. As of January 2021, however, NADS has become an independent research center directly under the College of Engineering—a testament to its growth, financial independence, and stability.

Going back to 1989, the original Iowa Driving Simulator (prototype to the current NADS-1 simulator), was created as part of its predecessor, the Center for Computer-Aided Design (CCAD). The Iowa Driving Simulator was later moved under the Office of the Vice President for Research for a time, until 2006 when it moved back to CCAD and the College of Engineering, under the direction of Prof. Karim Malek, to help reinvigorate it financially and fuel its growth. That year, the NADS-1 simulator underwent an upgrade and enhanced logistics, and the center ran a series of successful studies with a record 540 research participants in one year. “The center started being what we had originally envisioned it could be,” says Omar Ahmad, now NADS deputy director.

A decade and a half later, NADS is stronger than ever as a global leader in the field of human factors and vehicle safety. College of Engineering Dean Harriet Nembhard says of the relationship, “ITI and CCAD provided steady leadership throughout the development of the NADS operation. The NADS is now ready to take its research to the next level as an independent unit.”

This is certainly not the end of the ITI-NADS relationship, however. “We look forward to continuing our longstanding relationships with ITI researchers, forming new collaborations, and continuing to combine our expertise to go after new opportunities,” says NADS Director Prof. Dan McGehee.

SPOTLIGHT: NADS

NADS is leading a $7 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant called Automated Driving Systems (ADS) for Rural America.