Public Policy & Administration 497MS - ST-App/DoItTogether,EnvMonTech

In this class, we will be focusing on the idea of developing "open source science" projects that utilize low-cost environmental technologies, often for use in environmental justice situations. interdisciplinary students will meet and form teams to identify an environmental monitoring project they would like to design and implement. Some of these projects will build upon open source hardware technologies such as the Ardunio microcontroller, 3D design and printing, or other relatively low cost open science equipment. After these "open source science" projects are identified, we will purchase needed equipment and then use weekly class sessions for roll-up your sleeves working sessions. In these sessions you will (1) utilize online educational material to learn the technologies needed to build your device; (2) work iteratively, to develop and test a project prototype; and (3) (hopefully) develop a working system. Possible projects are: helium balloon-based or unmanned aerial vehicle photography, a GPS collar for tracking wildlife, a water pollution detection instrument, an open source research submarine to support fish ecology research, an air quality measuring instrument, a receiver to receive data from the emerging "Outernet" satellite system, or some 3D design and printing-related idea.

Students who are in less technical fields are invited to propose a project researching the social or public policy implications of one of these technical project ideas. Opportunities will exist for students to undertake a"service learning" aspect of their projects, by perhaps teaching Amherst middle- or high-school students about these technologies. Finally, students will document their projects through real-time "research notes" on the open science, PublicLab.org website.