Research Topics and Interests

At this time, I am an undergraduate student planning a career in academic research. I am also in the midst of graduate school applications (See about me for update 4/29/2019). While each of the programs I am applying to are slightly different, all of them are structured around ecology and forestry and each of them involve UAS as a component. This page not only highlights my broad research interests in ecology, but some of the potential specific topics I will continue onto in graduate school. This page will actually shorten once I decide what program to attend, and thus what project to follow through with.

UAS and Ecology

At the most fundamental level, I am interested in large scale ecological analysis while using UAS as my primary remote sensing method. I have a particular attraction to understand climate-ecosystem interactions, especially in environments that are valuable to human communities or are rich in biodiversity. More specifically, I see UAS as a tool to assess ecosystem functionality and ecosystem services as extremely high resolution (temporal, spatial, and even spectral) so that long term changes can be analyzed. An almost unbelievable amount of economic value is delivered from ecosystems to human communities (see Costanza et al., 2014 ) and must be protected for future generations of human beings. While I see drones to be an extremely important part of upcoming ecological research, I think it is important for researcher to stay true to more traditional ecological methodologies. It is too easy to see drones as an extension of satellite remote sensing techniques, and thus perform a limited amount of fieldwork. I believe that the benefit of drones will be maximized by combining extremely high resolution remote sensing with extensive field research, providing for unparalleled assessment of ecological conditions.

Past and Current Research

Industry Research

During my time at Purdue, I was exposed to research very early on. At the beginning, most of this research was far commercial applications. This included research into design of a low cost emergency radio repeater system. This project proved it would be possible to use drones as temporary radio range extension systems during search and rescue operations at very low costs. Early on, I also looked into the possibility of using drones to map the insides of a warehouse in three dimensions and then insert RFID technology within the 3D model. These projects are now not my focus, but helped me learn to appreciate the task of discovery.


Forestry

Worked with Dr. Guofan Shao of Purdue's department of Forestry and Natural Resources, I have spent a considerable amount of time addressing the validity of using drones in forestry applications. This included the first development of forestry metric analysis using UAS within the Central Hardwood Forest of the United States. Results were extremely conclusive that UAS is a affordable and fast means to accurately calculate forest metrics for hardwood forest stands. Additional work is being conducted currently to identify tree species within the RGB imagery. Manuscript in progress.

Coastal Ecology

Working as a researcher at UCLA, I have spent a significant amount of time addressing uses for drones in a few coastal ecosystems. By far, most of my work has involved kelp forest ecosystems. My primary project has been to identify how tides impact kelp forest canopy. Essentially, by understanding how much kelp appears on the surface of the water throughout the tidal cycle, models can be created to standardize kelp canopy quantity to any given point in the tidal cycle. This would enable drone data collected at any stage in the cycle to be compared to data collected at another stage, greatly simplifying long term monitoring of kelp. It also speaks towards the ecology of our target kelp species, Macrocystis pyrifera, common name Giant Kelp. Multispectral remote sensing is key to this analysis due to the stark contrast between water and kelp in the NIR region of the spectrum. Machine learning algorithms are part of our upcoming work as they may more accurately calculate kelp area than human beings can using spectral thresholding. I have applied similar techniques to assess salt marsh ecology in this lab as well. Manuscript in progress as well as another review paper based on UAV use in coastal ecology.

UAV Electrical Efficiency

I am working on a project with Ryan Ferguson addressing a lack of knowledge regarding UAV motor efficiency and power with various propeller sizes, shapes, and materials. We have produced, from scratch, a UAV motor test stand that uses the Arduino programming system to run the device. We have used the test stand to collect a plethora of information on various UAV propellers when attached to a common commercial UAS  motor and ESC combination. Two manuscripts are in production now, one regarding the construction of the stand and the other regarding power output and electrical efficiency based on propeller size, pitch, and material.

Potential Graduate Research Topics (See about me section, update as of 4/29/2019)

Note: This list is not exhaustive. More projects are currently being considered, this is just a short list to show general research interest

The Greening of the Amazon During Drought Conditions

A decade long debate has existed regarding satellite data that suggests the Amazon Rainforests have been getting greener during drought conditions. If this is the case, that would indicate the Amazon may be more resistant to climate change than previously assumed and is more limited by sunlight than water stress. However, other parties suggest that the satellite data is wrong and an artifact is actually present that is causing confusion. Others suggest that greening is indeed occurring but for some other reason that is being poorly classified in the satellite imagery.

If I take up this project, I will use LiDAR equipped drones to find an answer to the greening debate. I would use the very high temporal and spatial resolution possible with UAS to study leaf and canopy structure phenology within the Amazon with LiDAR, multispectral, and ground measurements. The goal would be to determine if satellite is an appropriate means to assess Amazonian productivity and if another factor is causing the greening such as leaf fall/flush trends or hydrologic gradients.


The Greening of the Arctic

There is significant evidence that the arctic is getting greener throughout the year due to global warming.  The shrubby vegetation present grows for longer stretches of the year and at higher elevations and latitudes. The impact this will have on arctic ecology, carbon storage, and albedo is yet to be understood.

If I take on this project, I would use drones and Google Earth Engine to better classify greenness of vegetation at a biome level. This would allow for assessment of greenness across the arctic at a higher level of precision. I would also address the impacts of arctic green-up on ecosystem services and ecosystem function at scale and model future trends.


Keystone Species of Tropical Mangrove Forests

Fidler crabs are typically considered to be keystone species of mangrove forests around the world. They help mangrove plant species grow and maintain nutrients within the system through a variety of means. However, some specific mangrove forests seem to be less dependent on crabs than others.

Little is understood about how the rapidly shrinking mangrove ecosystems will impact fidler crab populations. If the impact is immense, there may be a positive feedback look that devastates the health of mangrove systems. I would use hyperspectral drone based remote sensing to address the health and productivity of mangrove systems under various amounts of stress while simultaneously performing ground surveys to identify the health of crab populations within mangroves. Hopefully, a positively correlated relationship can be identified so that the role of fidler crabs can be better understood within the mangrove forest systems around the world.