Special Topics: Citizen Science: Sensors, Makers and the Environment

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to technical aspects of citizen science, using air pollution as a case study. Students will learn about important air pollutants and the environmental regulations that govern these pollutants in the U.S. Students will be introduced to data quality requirements for applications ranging from regulatory pollutant monitoring to education/outreach. Students will also learn about operating principles for both laboratory- and consumer-grade pollutant monitoring equipment. The class will culminate in a project where student teams will design, construct, and test a low-cost air pollutant monitoring system. The groups will then deploy these sensor packages to collect and present their data. The project will use the TechSpark maker space. It is primarily aimed at non-engineering majors.