I
am a student in the Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering
department at George Mason. The fields in our department are primarily geared
toward developing structurally sound and sustainable infrastructure as well as
analyzing and modeling natural events to help develop infrastructure
improvements. My research has been focused more on the latter aspect and
collecting useful environmental data such as air quality, water quality, and
weather data to be used for the improvement of current storm water systems. I also hope this data will improve our
understanding of environmental changes during extreme weather events.
Working with the guidance of Drs. Viviana
Maggioni (CEIE), Paul Houser (GGS), and Celso Ferreira (CEIE) I have been
developing a new type of sensor system. While most sensors are programmed to
send data at an unchanging rate, I have been working to create a reactive
network. This network is capable of responding to environmental factors like
thunderstorms, high winds, temperature extremes and any other sensed variables
by collecting data at a higher temporal resolution (more data points, higher
quality data). If any sensor station in this network senses a value above a
predetermined threshold (such as high wind, rainfall, high or low temperature
etc.) it will respond. What makes this system unique is the ability of the
sensor to not only respond itself, but to send out radio signals to the other
sensors in the network causing them to increase their sensing rate as well.
This is why it is referred to as a “Smart Sensor Web”.
Personally,
I have been in charge of programming of the sensors, building and setting up
the sensors in the field, as well as analyzing incoming data. The process has
been very time intensive, but very rewarding. I have expanded by knowledge of
computer programming having worked with C++ and python over multiple operating
systems. I have also learned a lot about what to expect in my field, how to
carry myself, and how to solve problems in team environments. Beyond this I
have learned about sensor operation and Arduino/Waspmote technology, circuitry
and electrical wiring, as well as radio communication.
It
has been a wonderful experience to this point and I have learned a great deal.
I anticipate the growth of this network on campus in the future and I hope to
be around to help improve this system following my time in the URSP program.
While many improvements need to be made, I believe the most difficult
challenges have been met and I hope to witness this system working up to its
full potential in the near future.
