Assistant Professor Dr. Derek T. Robinson was recently awarded an Early Researcher Award from the Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Science. The award will fund two undergraduates, two Master's students, and a PhD to estimate the impacts of changes in climate, technology, and policy on farm livelihood, crop production, and ecosystem function across southern Ontario. Students will acquire unique skills using the innovative combination of unmanned aerial vehicle equipment, survey, and ecological fieldwork to collect new kinds of data that will be analyzed and ingested into simulation and ecosystem models. These models will evaluate potential farm responses and, in collaboration with farmers, identify land management strategies that can close the gap between potential and actual yields.
More information: http://env-emp-vlnx1.uwaterloo.ca/2016/09/01/early-researcher-award-for-research-in-agricultural-systems-with-uav-and-simulation/