Analyzing Factors that Influence Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) at Elizabeth City State University Poster
Mentor: Dr. Barry Rock, The University of New Hampshire

ABSTRACT: Trees are very important to the environment as they provide oxygen to living organisms, uptake carbon dioxide, improve air quality by absorbing potentially harmful pollutants (e.g., carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide), produce carbohydrates (sugars ,cellulose, starch, etc.) and serve as an climate indicator (e.g., precipitation). In the Southern United States, loblolly pine trees (Pinus taeda) are the most essential and widely produced trees. It is extensively used for lumber and pulpwood. We extracted tree cores from the loblolly pines across the campus of Elizabeth City State University and compared the correlation of diameter at base height (DBH) and tree age. Once we collected the cores, we calculated the estimated age and determined the overall health condition of the trees, by analyzing the growth rings in each core. We also determined what variables contribute to the positive or negative growth of a tree (e.g., mulch, vines) .

Terascan Curriculum Development and Integration of SeaSpace Technology into the ClassroomPoster
Mentor: Je'aime Powell, Elizabeth City State University
Remote Sensing Team

Abstract: Seaspace and Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in February of 2012. Seaspace is the world's leading provider of satellite ground stations and processing software for remote sensing applications. The MOU stated that ECSU would provide a training site for Seaspace’s technology and data products along with integration of the products into classroom curriculum. In return, Seaspace would provide ground stations for receiving direct broadcast data from various telemetries. The ground stations include a 3.7m X/L band, a 3.6m C band, and a 5.0m L band dishes, along with accompanying computing hardware. The purpose of this project was to generate a training curriculum focused on the K-12 classroom, along with college courses, and outside governmental agencies. The curriculum contains one hour modules which as a whole could be presented as a 10 hour course that qualifies as one continuing education unit (CEU) for K-12 teachers and administrators.  Example modules for “Introduction to Remote Sensing” and “Introduction to TeraScan” were also created.