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On January 29, student members from the College of Agricultural, Food Sciences, and Sustainable Systems accompanied STEM Project Coordinator Jeremy Sandifer to the Cumberland Chapter of Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) 2016 Annual Conference held in Louisville, Ky.

Each discussed human and environmental interactions in the Appalachian region of Eastern Kentucky as part of an ongoing USDA and NSF-funded research efforts directed by Dr. Buddhi Gyawali.

Three students received awards as part of the competitive research presentation sponsored by Fruit of the Loom. Andrew Gott “Regression Analysis of Coal Mining in Appalachia” finished in first place, while D’Andre Garrison “Water Quality and Land Cover Change in the Kentucky River Watershed” and Ian Ries “Quantifying Surface Mining Area using GIS and Remote Sensing” each received second-place finishes.