Abstract

Environmental Horticulture and Urban Forestry are the fastest growing programs in the Division of Ecosystem Science. Based on student and faculty input, more computers and software are required to meet the needs of the number and diversity of students, staff, and faculty in the programs. The Center for Urban Horticulture computer lab is used for both student research and as a classroom. In order to keep up with current educational, teaching and research goals, current plant analysis software and computers to run the software are needed.

Background

The undergraduate and graduate programs in Environmental Horticulture/ Urban Forestry are the fastest growing programs within the College of Forest Resources. There are a total of 35 graduate and 35 undergraduate students housed at the Center for Urban Horticulture. The diversity of disciplines and projects among these students is immense. Students' interests range from public gardening to wetland restoration to plant stress physiology. Because of the heterogeneity of students there is a great need for appropriate technological resources. Students, faculty, and staff depend on a variety of forms of technology to achieve their educational, teaching and research goals. These resources range from field GPS units to large desktop computers loaded with most current software. At CUH is also housed the Division¹s computer lab containing 3 Pentium III, 13.6G, 128MB and 4 Pentium I33, 1.6GB, 32MB, 1 laser HP4000N laser jet printer and 1 Epson 1200 scanner. This computer lab is currently used for a multitude of situations. Not only does the lab serve as a student work lab but also as a classroom setting for statistical software. Undergraduate and graduate students are actively using this lab for class assignments and to process research. At least 2 of our faculty use the lab as a classroom. Dr. John Wott prepares students for public presentations by giving PowerPoint workshops in the lab. Dr. Kern Ewing also uses the lab to house up to 15 students who enroll in Data Collection, Analysis and Presentation (EHUF 502), a class focused on running statistical packages that are commonly used in ecological research goals. Students have become severely limited in achieving their goals in research and faculty have become limited in their teaching abilities by both the hardware, number and capacity, of the software housed at this computer lab. Because of the diversity of student interest and the high degree of specialty of much of the appropriate software, we are making the following request.

Benefits

Today¹s technological possibilities are virtually endless. The constant update of software and hardware can allow students at The University of Washington to achieve a distinguished education. In order to compete in the current job market it is critical that students learn to understand and use these tools.
Software that allows students and faculty to digitally describe and quantify plants provides a strong tool and creates a niche for the Division. Currently, there are a number of tools available on the market, from leaf analysis software to root morphology and architecture measurement systems. Specific tools such as these can be available not only to students to learn and use in projects, but for faculty as learning aids in the classroom. Currently there is a limitation in the area of digital image analysis systems as well as the appropriate hardware to handle this software. By incorporating these sophisticated resources into the Division and CUH's toolbox, a strong and precise form of plant measurement much needed in today¹s research institutions will be provided.
Regent Instruments Inc. offers the appropriate software needed to obtain significant results. Included in their image analysis systems software are:
1) Win/Mac Folia, a ³sophisticated leaf morphology and disease analysis instrument². Win/Mac Folia digitizes and measures leaves to assess area affected by disease or insect damage.
2) Win/Mac Seed, an image analysis system specifically designed for needle and seed morphology and disease analysis.
3) Win/Mac Rhizo, is an automatic and interactive analysis system designed for many types of root measurement. Included in these measurements are morphology, topology, architecture, color, and disease analysis. Win/Mac Rhizo is also capable of measuring minirhizotron images, which can be extremely important for field experiments.
4) MacDendro, is a system suitable for dendrometry and dendrochronology.
5)La6000, very high precision calibrated color optical scanner with a special lighting system for better image quality
All software all comes with 3 years of free upgrades which can prove invaluable in today's market.
Students and faculty are in need of not only this software, but powerful computers to run the programs. Currently, students deal with computers that are behind in both speed and memory.
By upgrading our computer lab to house this important software, along with powerful computers, we will draw and serve more students from the College of Forest Resources and the Division of Ecosytem Science to the Center for Urban Horticulture.

Student Access

Computers and software will be available to all registered students, staff, and faculty. Registered students from other disciplines within the College of Forestry and other colleges of The University of Washington will be encouraged to come to CUH and learn the software. This interaction will build bridges among departments.

Available Resources

Currently the space and support is available to house the computers and hardware at the Center for Urban Horticulture. A computer lab with furniture and adequate wiring is already established. The Merrill Hall computer lab also has a volunteer computer lab manager who provides technical help. CFR also has full-time computer support staff who provide help to students.

Installation Timeline

Contingent upon funding, the computers, hardware and software will be ordered immediately and installed upon arrival.

Departmental Endorsement

This proposal is endorsed by
Director of Center for Urban Horticulture, Dr. Thomas Hinckley
Undergraduate and Graduate Student Advisor and Associate Professor, Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott.
Associate Dean, Dr. Robert Edmonds

Student Endorsement

Students in the Environmental Horticulture/ Urban Forestry program are very supportive of improving their computing environment. Several students have expressed the need for better computers and software to meet the standards of current research and education.
Many students feel that the older computers simply cannot handle the programs that are required for current technology. Several students are enthusiastic about computer upgrades and the possibility of plant analysis software.
Caren Crandell, Ph.D student, Ecosystem Science
Wendy Wayne, M.S. candidate, Ecosystem Science
Jason Onjes, M.S. candidate, Ecosystem Science
Perry Gayaldo, Ph.D. candidate, Ecosystem Science
Robert Corletta, M.S. candidate, Ecosystem Science
Erika Pearson, M.S. candidate, Ecosystem Science

Items

Below are the items making up the current proposal. The asterisk (*) beside items signify that they were approved by the committee. This however was not implemented correctly for our database before 2005, so earlier years may not show this.

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