This Winter Term project, "Using Data Science and Machine Learning in Micro-Agriculture," explored how we can collect data from indoor plants and outdoor gardens, then utilize that data to automate the management of activities like plant watering schedules using artificial intelligence. Here, students are placing sensors in our Pollinator Garden, alongside Associate Professor of Computer Science and Business Adam Eck, who led the project. "[We want to] visualize the data over time to help us understand the health of the plants and the effects of weather and micro-climates," Eck explained. The two student contributors to this Winter Term lab, first-years Frank and Maike, were both participants in Oberlin's STRONG program, or Science and Technology Research Opportunities for a New Generation. This is a first-year program for students of underrepresented backgrounds that includes early research opportunities, close mentoring from STEM faculty and staff, community building with other STR...