For the previous six years, Dr. Nickolas “Dan” Macchiarella has usually been discovered on the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida. A professor at Embry‑Riddle’s Daytona Seashore Campus within the School of Aviation, he’s extra than simply an fanatic of the zoo and its inhabitants. He and his college students — Tyler Deal, Sean Nolan, Nicholas Buckalew and David Zink — are offering vital information in assist of the surroundings, in addition to educating the zoo’s company in assist of COASTech — a consortium between the Brevard Zoo, academia and companies — to conduct each analysis on and training in regards to the coastal environments of Florida.
In line with Macchiarella, whose experience focuses on the appliance of sensors on uncrewed plane techniques (UAS), or drones, “One of the best aspects of our work with COASTech and the Brevard Zoo is that our students are the pilots: collecting, processing and providing data to other team members. They gain real-world knowledge while doing meaningful work.”
Previously referred to as the Turtle Tech Challenge, COASTech is highlighted throughout Science Sundays, an initiative happening all through the months of July and August. The occasion is designed to mix training and leisure in an effort to foster a love of science amongst company of all ages. Throughout Science Sundays, kids and company are invited to take part in hands-on actions led by consultants equivalent to Macchiarella and Dr. John Robbins, chair of the Aeronautical Science Division in Embry‑Riddle’s Daytona Seashore Campus School of Aviation, together with a devoted group of scholars.
Brian Ogle, Ed.D., director of Conservation Studying and Viewers Affect on the Brevard Zoo, shared his pleasure in regards to the summer season occasions to interact zoo company in STEM studying throughout their visits.
“It has been a privilege to collaborate with our STEM partners in applied research and STEM education opportunities,” he mentioned. “Partners like Embry‑Riddle make it possible to provide real-world learning moments at the zoo. We look forward to creating even more unique opportunities in collaboration with our STEM partners in the future.”
“Working on projects with COASTech and the Brevard Zoo has been pivotal in shaping my education and future career plans,” added Nicholas Buckalew, a grasp’s pupil in Embry‑Riddle’s Uncrewed and Autonomous Programs program and a UAS payload specialist. “These hands-on experiences have provided valuable insights into the intersection of technology, conservation and community engagement.”
Brevard Zoo company be taught from Embry‑Riddle college students Sean Nolan and Tyler Deal on the Science Sunday occasion. (Photograph: Dan Macchiarella)
Fellow COASTech participant David Zink, a senior majoring in UAS, shared that the power to discover the varied purposes of UAS, particularly ones that assist environmental conservation, makes his diploma program actually distinctive.
“It’s also quite rewarding to see the joy on people’s faces when they see these aircraft in action, knowing we’re using this technology to help the environment,” Zink mentioned.
Macchiarella and his college students dedicate a lot of their time and work to the Indian River Lagoon basin, flying uncrewed aerial autos (UAVs) carrying seen gentle and multispectral cameras. “As we monitor the basin, we also use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to search images for the subjects of interest — for example, sea turtles.”
In line with Tyler Deal, a School of Aviation senior majoring in UAS, “COASTech has been a great project that allows me to use what I have learned in my degree program in a way that benefits the environment. It has provided me with many opportunities for community outreach and has led to other environmentally focused projects around Cape Canaveral. The experience has even provided opportunities as far away as Argentina.”
Macchiarella, who’s a member of the Indian River Lagoon Council STEM Advisory Committee, alongside along with his pupil workforce, participates in two extra initiatives in assist of the surroundings in central Florida. A type of initiatives is funded by a Nationwide Science Basis grant together with Stetson College and the Metropolis of Cape Canaveral, the place the workforce has established aerial monitoring on the Veterans Memorial Park to establish inexperienced stormwater-infrastructure-based interventions for local weather and water high quality mitigation.
The opposite, a Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Affiliation Sea Grant together with Stetson College, helps the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council’s Regional Resiliency Motion Plan, emphasizing the significance of inexperienced infrastructure in mitigating flood dangers and defending water high quality within the Indian River Lagoon watershed.
“Not only are we able to contribute positively to the land and the environment through our love of aviation and UAVs, [but] I’m able to work directly with the next generation in the workforce, and the upcoming generation of students, to inspire them to make the planet a healthy and sustainable place for generations to come,” Macchiarella mentioned.
It doesn’t get any higher than that.
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