October 2015
University partners to develop UAS app that predicts corn production A research and technology development partnership between two of the nation's leaders in the unmanned aerial
vehicles industry is taking flight.
Kansas State University recently signed a research partnership with PrecisionHawk Inc., a Raleigh, North Carolina,
company that develops unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and applications that manage the data collected by the
vehicles while in operation. The partnership establishes the four­year project "Advancing an end­to­end solution for
agricultural applications of unmanned aerial systems and remote sensing," which begins in September.
"Our newly formed partnership with PrecisionHawk really illustrates how targeted corporate­sponsored research
can advance the private sector interest and also the university's mission of research, education and outreach at the
same time," said Kent Glasscock, president of the Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization, which
facilitated the research partnership. Under the project, Kansas State University agronomy faculty and researchers at K­State Salina are using their
expertise to help PrecisionHawk create apps and programs that turn the aerial images of corn fields ­ and eventually
other field crops ­ into useful data about potential crop production issues. Researchers at K­State Salina are conducting flights to determine which photo and video sensors perform the best
to get the maximum information about a field while a vehicle is in flight. Information from these images will help
develop algorithms that can be converted into computer software or apps for PrecisionHawk's Algorithm
Marketplace, a recently launched app store with data analysis tools for the UAS market. The app is meant to simplify
how UAS operators interpret data collected from a vehicle's geographic information system during flight.
The resulting app from the Kansas State University­PrecisionHawk partnership will be able to connect information
collected via imagery with support decision tools to estimate yield response to varied management practices with the
final goal of predicting site­specific yield potential. It is predicted this technology also will be used to predict similar
outputs for soybeans, sorghum and other crops. K­State leadership in wheat research recognized with $1.6M grant
Kansas State University wheat researchers are leading efforts to develop a better understanding of the wheat
genome.
The National Science Foundation's Plant Genome Program awarded the researchers a three­year, $1.6 million grant
to fund projects and collaborations to help train new generations to answer challenging plant genomics questions.
Jesse Poland, assistant professor of plant pathology and adjunct assistant professor of agronomy, is the principal
investigator of the project "GPF­PG: Genome Structure and Diversity of Wheat and Its Wild Relatives." The project
will focus on ways to improve the current wheat genome assembly by using genetic information. Currently, the use
of molecular markers in wheat breeding is limited because of their size, which is five times larger than the human
genome. The project has the support of Kansas Wheat and will also partner with the Kansas Foundation for Ag in the
Classroom to develop education and training opportunities for future researchers. Kindergarten through 12th grades
will receive information for plant science careers. Undergraduate students and postdoctoral researchers also will
receive education and training in genomics and bioinformatics. For more information on Poland's research and lab members visit the Wheat Genetics lab page. Groundbreaking ceremony held
for Seaton Hall renovation and
expansion KSU and Fort Riley renew
partnership Kansas State University renewed its seven­years­
Kansas State University's College of Architecture,
and­counting university­to­military community
Planning & Design broke ground on a $75 million
partnership with the 1st Infantry Division and Fort
revitalization and expansion of Seaton Hall. Hundreds
Riley at the K­State­Fort Riley Partnership Renewal
of faculty, staff, students and friends were attended
Business Meeting on September 17, 2015.
the celebration. Speakers included Tim de Noble,
dean of the College of Architecture, Planning & Design;
KSU President Kirk Schulz and Fort Riley's Major
Kirk Schulz, university president; Lieutenant Governor
General Wayne Grigsby met and discussed the
Jeff Coyler and State Representative Mark Hutton.
partnership before signing the resolution in an on­
campus ceremony. The expansion will include the new Regnier Hall to
honor a gift from the Regnier family. The Kansas
The formal institutional partnership between Kansas
Board of Regents approved the name at its September
State University and the 1st Infantry Division at Fort
16 meeting.
Riley was established in April 2008. The agreement is
designed to serve as a model military­to­university
When construction is finished in 2017, Regnier Hall will
community partnership. It is the first and only
adjoin the expanded east side of Seaton Hall, doubling
comprehensive partnership of this nature in the
the college's square footage and providing needed
country. updates to learning facilities more than a century old. Altogether, the college is working to raise $15 million
through private gifts and student fees for the 194,000­
square­foot project. In June, Kansas legislators
approved state bond funding totaling $60 million to
support the project. The college's Student Advisory
Council has also expressed its support, voting last
Robotics team earns ninth
straight championship The streak continues. The Kansas State University
Robotics Design Team is the winner of the American
Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers' annual
student robotics design competition for the ninth year
in a row.
year to significantly raise student fees to benefit the
project. The aim of the competition is to encourage
undergraduate and graduate students to develop
Academic programs within APDesign consistently
place in the top 10 nationally in rankings and attract
students from Kansas, across the country and around
innovative robotic solutions to real­life problems in
agriculture. Automated plant phenotyping was the
focus of this year's competition challenge. the world. "To gauge the importance of this endeavor, one needs
DID YOU KNOW?
only to look at the tremendous support we have
received," said Tim de Noble, dean of APDesign. "Our
students, our state legislators and our generous
alumni and friends have all spoken. It is time to bring
our learning environment on par with our national
According to rankings released by Glassdoor.com
and reported by Forbes magazine, Kansas State
University ranks second in the nation when it comes
to the top universities to work for in 2015. reputation. Facebook
K­State Governmental Relations Staff
Sue Peterson, Director of Governmental Relations
Kristin Holt, Assistant to the Director
Asher Gilliland, Legislative Assistant
Twitter
Website
Contact Information
Office of Governmental Relations
110 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506­0112
785­532­6227
www.ksu.edu/govrelations
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