Location: Genomics and Bioinformatics Research
Project Number: 6066-21310-006-021-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 15, 2022
End Date: Sep 30, 2024
Objective:
1. Advancing data-driven research in climate-smart agriculture in any participating ARS research office.
2. Building a pipeline for future U.S. agriculture workforce that data and technology savvy and increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in agriculture research.
Approach:
This project is to support a research internship program for 24 students to work with ARS scientists on agriculture data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) research. The Project methodology and program activities include:
Training: ARS and University of Texas at Arlington will provide an intensive 2-week training program to get student ready, 20 hours per week for 2 weeks (total 40 hours for undergraduate). The program elements are:
• seminars by ARS scientists,
• hand-on training for stats, programming and introduction to agriculture engineering,
• working on summer project planning under faculty and ARS scientists.
Research Apprenticeship program jointly mentored by ARS and UT at Arlington scientists, a 8 week program (40 hours per week, 320 hours for undergraduate). The program elements are:
• Opening ceremony, USDA speakers and students who present summer project outline,
• Agricultural data research that are jointly supervised by ARS scientists and UTA faculty,
• Remote working from ARS, workplace is at UTA campus. UTA provides office space and computation facilities,
• The research topics are in Climate-smart agriculture particularly in data analysis using modeling and machine learning,
• A student symposium at the end of program to report student progress and recruit next cohort.
