{"id":305,"date":"2019-12-11T16:05:52","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T00:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/?page_id=305"},"modified":"2026-01-30T16:31:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T00:31:39","slug":"undergrad-research-exp","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/undergrad-research-exp\/","title":{"rendered":"Undergraduate Research Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t#builder-section-1605649711058 .builder-banner-slide {\n\t\tpadding-bottom: 400px;\n\t}\n\t@media screen and (min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 960px) {\n\t\t#builder-section-1605649711058 .builder-banner-slide {\n\t\t\tpadding-bottom: 41.666666666667%;\n\t\t}\n\t}<\/p>\n<p>.wsu-cycle-pause {\n\tposition: absolute;\n    bottom: 10px;\n    right: 10px;\n    background-color: #fff;\n    z-index: 1000;\n    font-size: 0.7rem;\n    padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section id=\"builder-section-1605649711058\" class=\"row single builder-section gutter pad-top  builder-section-first builder-section-banner builder-section-next-wsuwpsidebarright\">\n<div class=\"column one \">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content cycle-slideshow\" data-cycle-log=\"false\" data-cycle-slides=\"div.builder-banner-slide\" data-cycle-swipe=\"true\" data-cycle-timeout=\"2000\" data-cycle-fx=\"scrollHorz\" >\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none first-slide\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2022\/01\/Mentors.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Kate.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Kate2.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/DfqkcM5UcAA0_R7.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Carter_0084-WEB-1200x630-1.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Picture1.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/mechanizedBlueberry112412-2.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"cycle-prev\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Previous Slide\" ><\/div>\n<div class=\"cycle-next\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Previous Slide\"><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"wsu-cycle-pause\" data-cycle-cmd=\"pause\">Pause<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"builder-section-1467248256533\" class=\"row side-right gutter pad-top\">\n<div style=\"\" class=\"column one \">\n<header>\n<h2>Undergraduate Research Experience in Agricultural Data Science (2020-2025)<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #800000\">The research area is a new transdisciplinary field of research that is a critical interface between plant biology, engineering, and data sciences. This research experience will encompass sensor development, different proximal and remote sensing technologies, data processing, and data analysis associated with agricultural applications. Some of the skills developed in this research experience (image processing, data processing, genomics\/phenomics, machine learning, etc.) are relevant to medical and other biological applications.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Project Overview:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Crop phenomics is a new transdisciplinary field of research that is a critical interface between plant biology, engineering, and data sciences. Phenomics data refers to sensory data acquired from high-throughput sensing\/automation equipment that is associated with crop phenotypes\/traits. Crop phenotyping is a complex process as the plant phenotype results from interactions between the genetic framework, dynamically changing environment, and complex plant physiology. In recent years, phenomics technologies have challenged traditional crop phenotyping approaches, especially for efforts toward crop improvement. The strong motivation for this project comes from the need to develop a unique interdisciplinary skillset and promote genuine interest among undergraduate students in this field of research for phenomics data-driven discoveries for impact on global food security. In this project, our diverse team of eight faculty mentors, actively pursuing research in topics associated with phenomics big data management research such as the development of automated sensing\/image processing tools, phenomics data-based visualization, and phenomics data-based variety development will provide educational and outreach benefits to traditional and underrepresented undergraduate students by providing an immersive research experience for about 9 weeks. The six major objectives defined in this project are to: (1) create a cohort-wide program offering transdisciplinary educational opportunities, (2) develop technical and research expertise, (3) develop professional and communication skills, and encourage graduate education, (4) promote networking and socialization, (5) promote diversity and broaden participation, and (6) proactively engage in <a style=\"color: #000000\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/?page_id=450&amp;preview=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #800000\">project evaluation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #800000\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Background on Phenomics:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Plant breeders and scientists are working towards developing new crop varieties for various reasons such as: 1) produce crops that have better yields to address global food security; 2) have high-quality products for better health (both for human and livestock; e.g. potato varieties with vitamins and higher protein content) and consumer choice (e.g. tastier apple varieties); and 3) can be produced sustainably (with fewer chemical inputs and lower water consumption, for instance). Phenotyping is a key adjunct to these crop improvement processes, that allows thorough evaluation of desirable crop traits (pre- and post-harvest) such as growth rate, drought tolerance, disease resistance, etc. Sensor applications for high-throughput phenotyping or phenomics utilize sensing, automation, and data mining tools for evaluating these phenotypes\/plant traits resulting from genotype-environment interactions, which is the major subject of this research experience theme.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;font-size: 1.4rem;font-weight: bold;letter-spacing: 0px\">In addition to research experience, activities include<\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;font-size: 1.4rem;letter-spacing: 0px\">:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Breeding, Genomics, and Phenomics Boot Camp\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Field Trips<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Field Day\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Professional Development Workshops<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">WSU Summer Research Symposium\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Graduate Education Seminar<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Internship Site at Pullman, WA<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Important dates:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Application deadline: 13 March 2025<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Application review begins: 10 March 2025<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Selection notification: 17 March-8 April 2025<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Tentative general program period: 2 June -2 August 2025 (the <strong>s<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>tart date will be adapted to accommodate students from the semester, quarter, and trimester systems<\/strong>). It is a full-time commitment, students should not register for any summer courses.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Student support includes:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Stipend = $4,500.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Support for travel and housing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\">Eligibility<strong>:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">U.S. citizen or permanent resident.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Must be enrolled in an undergraduate institution (2- or 4-year) and graduate after December2025.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Freshman or higher class standing with a decent cumulative GPA.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Agricultural engineering, electrical engineering, agriculture, plant sciences, horticulture, biology, engineering, programming and software development, computer science, mechatronics, computer information systems, mathematics, statistics, or other related majors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">Underrepresented students in science and engineering and students from community colleges that do not offer research opportunities for undergraduates are strongly encouraged to apply.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div style=\"\" class=\"column two \">\n<header>\n<h2>USDA-NIFA REEU Project<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\">Projects include<strong>:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/?page_id=434&amp;preview=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Integration of Phenomics and Genomics Data (Pullman)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/?page_id=425&amp;preview=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Intelligent Sensing for Precise and Scalable Phenomics (Pullman)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"http:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/undergrad-research-exp\/phenomics-in-wheat-breeding-programs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Phenomics in Wheat Breeding Programs (Pullman)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/?page_id=441&amp;preview=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Phenomics in Pome Fruit (Apple, Pear) Breeding Program (Wenatchee)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/?page_id=437&amp;preview=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Phenomics in Small Fruit (Berries) Research (Pullman)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/?page_id=444&amp;preview=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sensors in Phenomics (Pullman)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/undergrad-research-exp\/legume-breeding-programs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #800000\">Phenomics using Robotic Systems in Legume Breeding Program (Pullman)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Questions?<\/h4>\n<h6>Email (subject line starting with \u2018REEU Research:\u2019) <a href=\"mailto:Sindhuja.Sankaran@wsu.edu\">S.Sankaran@wsu.edu<\/a>.<\/h6>\n<h4>Collaborators:<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/Heritage-University-Logo-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-698 \" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/Heritage-University-Logo-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"386\" height=\"100\" data-wp-editing=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/Heritage-University-Logo-1.png 600w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/Heritage-University-Logo-1-396x103.png 396w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 386px) 100vw, 386px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-699\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"394\" height=\"106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1.png 2374w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1-396x106.png 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1-792x213.png 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1-768x206.png 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1-1536x412.png 1536w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1-2048x550.png 2048w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1-990x266.png 990w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2021\/02\/WVC-Full-Logo-Color-01-1-1188x319.png 1188w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 394px) 100vw, 394px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Funded by:<\/h4>\n<p>FACT: Research Experience for Undergraduates on Phenomics Big Data Management<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Powerpt_usda_nifa_centered_rgb_300.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-683 \" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Powerpt_usda_nifa_centered_rgb_300-396x163.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"362\" height=\"149\" data-wp-editing=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Powerpt_usda_nifa_centered_rgb_300-396x163.jpg 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Powerpt_usda_nifa_centered_rgb_300-792x326.jpg 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Powerpt_usda_nifa_centered_rgb_300-768x316.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/1041\/2020\/11\/Powerpt_usda_nifa_centered_rgb_300.jpg 890w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 362px) 100vw, 362px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Student Cohorts:<\/h4>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #333399\"><a style=\"color: #333399\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/undergrad-research-exp\/2021students\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2021 Students<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #333399\"><a style=\"color: #333399\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/undergrad-research-exp\/2022students\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2022 Students<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #333399\"><a style=\"color: #333399\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/undergrad-research-exp\/2023students\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2023 Students<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #333399\"><a style=\"color: #333399\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/undergrad-research-exp\/2024students\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 Students<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/undergrad-research-exp\/2025students\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #333399\">2025 Students<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> #builder-section-1605649711058 .builder-banner-slide {<br \/> padding-bottom: 400px;<br \/> }<br \/> @media screen and (min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 960px) {<br \/> #builder-section-1605649711058 .builder-banner-slide {<br \/> padding-bottom: 41.666666666667%;<br \/> }<br \/> }<\/p>\n<p>.wsu-cycle-pause {<br \/> position: absolute;<br \/> bottom: 10px;<br \/> right: 10px;<br \/> background-color: #fff;<br \/> z-index: 1000;<br \/> font-size: 0.7rem;<br \/> padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem;<br \/> }<\/p>\n<p> Pause<\/p>\n<h2>Undergraduate Research Experience in Agricultural Data Science (2020-2025)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The research area is a new transdisciplinary field of research that is a critical interface between plant biology, engineering, and data sciences. This research experience will encompass sensor development, different proximal and remote sensing technologies, data processing, and data &#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/undergrad-research-exp\/\" class=\"more-link\"><span class=\"more-default\">&raquo; More &#8230;<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2545,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-builder.php","meta":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/305"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2545"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305"}],"version-history":[{"count":67,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1360,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/305\/revisions\/1360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=305"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/sankaran-phenomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}