New Engineering Research Center to Focus on Agriculture Technology | Newsroom – UC Merced University News

Part of the ERC mandate is to converge a wide range of academic disciplines in tackling challenges; another is to develop a diverse and inclusive workforce from across the United States. By partnering with industry and a broad community of students, faculty and professionals, the IoT4Ag Center will create an innovation ecosystem to continue these efforts into the coming decades.

The West, Midwest and East Coast are all represented in IoT4Ag, with collaboration nodes and education and research sites across the country, providing limitless opportunities for students, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders.

The IoT4Ag Center is divided into three integrated thrusts, with teams of researchers working on sensing, communication and response technologies.

IoT4Ag is housed in the School of Engineering, but the UC Merced branch, in the communication thrust, will include many others: the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS), UC Water, drone and energy researchers, management of complex systems experts, socio-economists and big-data analysts, as well as the community, region and state.

We want to include everyone who has a perspective on engineering ag, from farmers, farm workers and the children of farm workers among our student body to government and industry partners, Keske said. Like the rest of the team members, Keske will wear several hats as the initiative gets underway.

Shes responsible for diversity and inclusion, and said shes looking to hold focus groups, ask farmers and commodity groups to be on the advisory board for IoT4Ag at UC Merced and visit field sites to survey farm workers, as well.

We want everyone to have a voice in this, Keske said.

Penn has also allocated a considerable part the ERC budget for travel and programs to train students, Keske said. The IoT4Ag plan calls for involving pre-college, community college and university students through audience-specific lessons and hands-on classroom, lab and field work; advising and mentoring; and a variety of social and professional activities to prepare a diverse workforce of the future to address the societal grand challenges of food, energy and water security.

The worlds finite land, water and energy resources demand new technologies and innovations to improve the efficiency and sustainability of all types of food production.

We can create the tech and infrastructure that will help farmers manage their crops down to the finest details of water and soil nutrients, Keske said. Digital technologies have the potential to improve efficiency, equity, safety, nutrition, health and sustainability across the worlds food systems.