US-Namibia Planning Visit: Feasibility of a US-Namibia REU Site on Controlled Environment Agriculture

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

0205231 Umashankar & Choi This is a planning visit grant for Drs. Ray Umashankar and Christopher Choi, in the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona, to travel to Namibia to meet with Professor Ibo Zimmerman and his colleagues in the Department of Natural Resources with the Polytechnic of Namibia, to explore the feasibility of developing a US-Namibia REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) Site in the area of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with Web-cam and CAD applications. CEA is the production of plants and their products within structures, such as greenhouses, that are engineered to control the environments of the plants. Structures are monitored by Web-cams and Web-based control systems. Student projects would focus on the mechanatronics and hydrophonics areas. This project is being jointly funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering and the Division of Engineering Education and Centers.