Talk Title: “CIDER, a New Drone Education and Research Program at UC Santa Cruz”
Speaker: Becca Fenwick, Director, CITRIS Initiative for Drone Education and Research, UC Santa Cruz
Abstract: Becca Fenwick will present on her work with the CITRIS Initiative for Drone Education and Research (CIDER) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the first UC undergraduate drone training program. CIDER offers training and research support for the use of drone technology across academic disciplines and industry sectors. Students benefit from experiential learning opportunities and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) licensure, and faculty gain access to licensed pilots who can conduct flights for research and teaching purposes, plus access to drone equipment. Industry partnerships and services contract provide internships and field training for students and research collaborations for faculty. CIDER values diversity and encourages students from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM to participate. The initiative recently received $1 million from the James Irvine Foundation to develop a workforce training program in the Salinas region.
Speaker Bio: At the University of California, Santa Cruz, Becca Fenwick is developing the CITRIS Initiative for Drone Education and Research (CIDER). This program brings together diverse students, researchers and industry partners from many sectors to fuel research and innovation and develop a diverse drone workforce. Working with drones unites Fenwick’s varied skill sets: her geospatial expertise from a marine geology and geophysics doctorate from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, her land conservation expertise from almost a decade as a reserve director for the UC Natural Reserve System, and her 15 years of environmental IT, tech and sensor network experience as the director of environmental IT for the UC Natural Reserve System.
About the Series: CITRIS Research Exchange delivers fresh perspectives on information technology and society from distinguished academic, industry and civic leaders. Free and open to the public, these seminars feature leading voices on societal-scale research issues. Presentations take place on Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m. PT. Have an idea for a great talk? Please feel free to suggest potential speakers for our series.
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