CS4760 & CS5760 Scientists and App Ideas
Below is the list of scientists and their potential applications for collaborative CS4760 & CS5760 teams.
David Mifsud – Herpetologist, MI Herps Atlas Admin
Contact Information
Email: davidamifsud at gmail.com
Phone:
Office:
Michigan Herp Atlas Project
www.miherpatlas.org
App Idea: MI Herp Atlas Mobile App
Amphibians (frogs, toads, and salamanders) and reptiles (turtles, snakes, and lizards) are two diverse groups of animals which are regionally known as herpetofauna. Though not closely related, these two taxa are incredibly diverse as over 7,200 amphibian species and over 9,800 reptiles occur globally. Herpetofauna are ecologically important as they utilize aquatic and terrestrial habitats during various life stages, making them sensitive to environmental stressor and bioaccumulators of pollutants and toxins. Collectively, they represent the most imperiled groups of organisms on the planet. There are nearly 60 species of Herpetofauna in Michigan of which more than half are species of greatest conservation need. Despite the ecological importance of the state’s herpetofauna, these groups have not been as comprehensively surveyed or studied as compared to other vertebrate groups such as birds, mammals, or game fish. This led to the creation of the Michigan Herp Atlas Project.
The Michigan Herp Atlas Project (www.miherpatlas.org) is a citizen science program that collects observation data about Michigan’s amphibians and reptiles (collectively known as herpetofauna or “herps”) to document their distribution and changes in their populations statewide. Herps are an important group of animals, both groups serve as both predators and prey, indicators of ecosystem health, and inhabit both ecosystems transferring energy between the two systems. The MI Herp Atlas records data primary using PC devises, limiting the ability and speed of recording data. The app will significantly improve the ability of citizen scientists to record data in real time, allowing observers to document species throughout the state and uploading the observations. This will allow for statewide data collections and increased conservation in real time. The app will provide users with a quick, reliable, and streamlined way to document amphibians and reptiles helping to preserve these unique organisms.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 16, Tuesday, 1/16/2024, at 5 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 23, Tuesday, 1/23/2024, at 5 pm
By Zoom
Kuilin Zhang – Civil Engineer Associative Professor
Contact Information
Email: klzhang at mtu.edu
Phone: 906-487-1828
Office: Dillman 301i
Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Department
Michigan Technological University
App Idea: Intersection Traffic Observer App
This project aims to develop an Intersection Traffic Observer App to collect dynamic traffic data at a signalized intersection. At each leg (or approach) of the intersection, this App will be able to record vehicles departing from the upstream and arriving downstream of the leg simultaneously, as well as the number of vehicles in the queue (if there is a red signal) over the time. The App will provide an easy-to-use user interface to record the event (e.g., the timestamp of a vehicle passing the upstream or leaving the stop bar). Ideally, the upstream user will use the App to record the number of vehicles passing some location from the upstream, the downstream user will use the App to record the number of vehicles departing from the stop bar, and the queue observer user will record the number of queued vehicles. After an observation period (e.g., 1 or 2 hours), the App will save dynamic traffic data in some structured format (e.g., csv) that can be used for further traffic flow dynamic analytics for a smaller interval such as 5-min dynamically.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 17, Wednesday, 1/17/2024 at 9 am
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 24, Wednesday, 1/24/2024 at 9 am
By Zoom
Jessica Alger – Civil and Environmental Engineer
Contact Information
Email: jlalger at mtu.edu
Phone:
Office:
Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Department
Michigan Technological University
App Idea: Green Stormwater Infrastructure in SE Michigan
Continued urbanization, the complexity of urban landscapes, and the accelerating hydrologic cycle make urban stormwater management increasingly difficult in many areas of Southeast Michigan. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) practices can be used to mitigate flood risks associated with stormwater runoff in urban areas. GSI relies on vegetation, soil, and natural systems to manage stormwater runoff by slowing down and allowing stormwater to infiltrate into the soil where it can be used by vegetation. Understanding how placement and type of GSI can affect urban hydrological processes is important for stormwater management and urban flood risk mitigation. Mapping GSI is an important step to understanding the dynamics of urban hydrology but is often difficult due to a need for more data on where GSI is located throughout urban areas. Identifying where GSI currently exists in Southeast Michigan can help us measure its impacts on urban flooding and better understand how urban planners can use urban green infrastructure in areas prone to flooding.
This application will educate the general public on the importance of GSI in Southeast Michigan and by high school students in Detroit to locate, map, and note observations on the characteristics of urban green stormwater infrastructure. The general public can read about GSI and see observations mapped within the app. Students will actively participate in a GSI project, gaining hands-on experience in sustainable urban stormwater management. Students will be able to use this app to learn about the importance of urban GSI, locate GSI and take a picture that can be added to the map within the app, and take measurements of green stormwater infrastructure that will be used in a classroom activity to measure the impacts of the GSI on reducing flood risks. This app will help raise awareness of the benefits of green stormwater infrastructure and foster a sense of environmental stewardship among high school students.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 17, Wednesday, 1/17/2024 at 4:30 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 24, Wednesday, 1/24/2024 at 4:30 pm
By Zoom
Janae Foss – EPIC Consultant & Sheep Farmer
Contact Information
Email: jnfoss at gmail.com
Phone:
Office:
App Idea: Sheep Wormer App
The leading causes of death in the US sheep population are predation, lambing complications, and then internal parasites. This app focuses on helping sheep farmers manage internal parasites in their flock. Historically, sheep flocks were treated for internal parasites, or dewormed, on a regular schedule using anthelmintic agents, also called dewormers. Using this method, all animals in the flock receive the same treatment. Over time, this has led to anthelmintic resistant worms since only resistant worms survive to pass on their genetics to future generations. Instead of worming all sheep in a flock, it is now recommended that only sheep with a parasite problem are treated. This leaves both resistant and non-resistant worms in the breeding population, and results in a larger population of non-resistant worms, allowing anthelmintics to remain effective. Along with this, there is a push to cull animals that regularly require deworming, leading to a flock of sheep that are less affected by internal parasites. This app allows farmers to track how each sheep is affected by internal parasites, and whether deworming is effective, or if the animal chronically has a problem and should be culled.
There is a UI challenge with this app. Farmers need to be focused on their animals when doing a flock check. The app needs to be intuitive and easy to use. The display to enter the identification code for each sheep should be large and clean.
Also to note, there may not be access to the internet while performing the flock check, so there should be a way to store the data on the device, and then have it uploaded when a connection is available. It is expected that the internet is available when reports are being run and analyzed.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 16, Tuesday, 1/16/2024, at 4 pm CST (5 pm EST)
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 23, Tuesday, 1/23/2024, at 4 pm CST (5 pm EST)
By Zoom.
Mary Ellen Miller (Environmental Engineer & Adjunct Assistant Professor of the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science) & Sarah Lewis-Scholes (Civil Engineer)
Contact Information
Email: memiller at mtu.edu (Mary Ellen Miller) & Sarah.Lewis-scholes at usda.gov (Sarah Lewis-Scholes)
Office Phone: (734) 994-7221
Office:
Michigan Tech Research Institute, Michigan Technological University
&
USDA Forest Service – RMRS – Moscow Forestry Sciences Laboratory
App Idea: Asher App for Post Wildfire Assessment
Create an App to assist Scientists, Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team members, and interested Citizen Scientists in accurately identifying post fire ash color using an IPad or smart phone in conjunction with a new ash color ruler. Ash color plays a significant role in postfire assessment, providing valuable information about the severity and characteristics of a fire. The color of ash is related to the combustion process, the type of materials burned, and the temperature reached during the fire. Higher temperatures often lead to lighter or whiter ash, while lower temperatures may produce darker ash. Color can also change due to moisture.
By analyzing the color of the ash, investigators can estimate the approximate temperature of the fire and assess the severity of the burn. Certain colors may suggest the presence of specific chemicals or toxins that could pose risks to residents, responders, or wildlife. This information is crucial for understanding the impact of fire on the ecosystem.
The USDA Forest Service is developing ASHER – Ash Spectrum and Height rulERto help scientists and land managers determine ash color and depth. The development of an APP to assist in the collection of field observations is needed. The simplest version would be a data collection tool, more advanced features could help the user take uniform pictures of ash color or perhaps even assist in color matching.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 16, Tuesday, 1/16/2024, at 5 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 23, Tuesday, 1/23/2024, at 5 pm
By Zoom.
Leo Ureel – Asstiant Professor of Computer Science
Contact Information
Email: ureel at mtu.edu
Phone/Text: 906-487-1816
Office: Rekhi Hall 209
Computer Science Department
Michigan Technological University
Houghton MI
App Idea: Code Critiquer Interface
This project develops a front-end interface for a code critiquer system. A code critiquer system provides feedback on student-written source code. The core challenge is effectively interfacing with a pre-existing backend database, which stores student code submissions along with corresponding critiques. The primary objective is to design an interface that retrieves and displays critiques for individual students or specific submissions. The display should also visually present statistics that track and illustrate the students’ progress over time. This involves a thoughtful integration of data visualization techniques and user experience design principles to ensure that the interface is not only functional but also intuitive and engaging for users. This project will ultimately integrate into a larger research system implemented in Groovy and Grails with a MySQL database on the backend (accessed in a NoSQL fashion using GORM and Hibernate). Java source code will be provided to generate code critiques from source code.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 17, Wednesday, 1/17/2024 at 4:00 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 24, Wednesday, 1/24/2024 at 4:00 pm
In Leo’s office
Linda Ott – Professor of Computer Science
Contact Information
Email: linda at mtu.edu
Phone/Text: 906-487-2315
Office: Rekhi 211
Computer Science Department
Michigan Technological University
Houghton MI
App Idea: CS Scheduling App
In January each Department needs to plan the schedule of classes for the following academic year. Until a couple of years ago in Computer Science, we were using a program developed by students many years ago (I don’t remember the date but it was when we were housed in Fisher and we moved to Rekhi in 2005). The technology for that program has matured out of existence. We are currently using a spreadsheet to build the schedule which is very error-prone. Thus we desperately need a new scheduling program. Ideally, the scheduling program allows us to build a new schedule based on the previous year’s schedule. It should maintain information about courses, e.g., for a given course we’d want credit hours, what faculty have taught the course, what courses shouldn’t be scheduled at the same time, etc. This information can then be used to provide feedback as classes are placed on a schedule. (For example, if I attempt to schedule CS2321 and CS2311 at the same time, I should get an indication that these courses are commonly taken together and should not be scheduled at the same time.) Similarly once faculty members are assigned to teach a course, a notice should be generated if the faculty member is teaching more than one course at a given time. Other information that the scheduling program can help keep track of is which courses faculty have taught, faculty teaching preferences (e.g., TH versus MWF), room requirements, etc. In addition, it would be nice to have a note-taking feature to make notes over the course of a year for things to remember when planning the next year’s schedule
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 17, Wednesday, 1/17/2024 at 3:00 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 24, Wednesday, 1/24/2024 at 3:00 pm
In person at Linda’s office