Computer scientists at the University of Minnesota are building robots to monitor the water quality of Minnesota’s lakes. And they are recruiting middle schoolers around the state to build the robots and collect data!
Transcript
This is Minnesota's Legacy, a look at the organizations and the people who have benefited from Minnesota's Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
Julie Censullo: Minnesotans take our identity as the land of 10,000 Lakes very seriously. Just ask Junaed Sattar.
Junaed Sattar: Water is one of the, if not the, most important resource we have on the planet, and for Minnesota specifically, a lot of things depend on the lake.
Julie Censullo: Junaed is a computer scientist, but lately his work has involved water, because he and his team at the University of Minnesota have been building robots that can monitor the water quality in the state's lakes. Junaed and his colleagues have also been recruiting middle schoolers from around the state to help build the robots and collect data.
Nat Sound: So this right here, is the robot frame.
Julie Censullo: Rishi Mukherjee is a PhD student working on the project. He designed the water quality testing robots to be user friendly for middle schoolers.
Rishi Mukherjee: They get to learn how to build robot frames using PVC, and they get to have some hands-on experience with programming the robot itself.
Julie Censullo: The project, which is funded by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment, helps Minnesotans learn more about their lakes, but it also engages the next generation of scientists.
Junaed Sattar: And this is very much like how can we do science engineering education better to serve the community?
Minnesota's Legacy is produced by AMPERS with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at AMPERS dot ORG.