ISU graduate students take top honors in research poster contest

Boise- Idaho State University geosciences graduate students, Jacob Tibbitts and Jessica Mitchell, took top honors in a research poster contest at the 2007 Environmental Sensing Symposium, co-sponsored by Boise State University and the Inland Northwest Research Alliance.

First place and a cash award of $1,000 went to Tibbitts, who created a poster focusing on remote sensing of bare ground to monitor rangeland health. Second-place winner Mitchell won $500 for designing a poster focusing on remote sensing for invasive weeds.

Remote sensing uses satellite and airborne sensors to analyze soil, vegetation and topography without disturbing the Earth’s surface.

Researchers from numerous western universities, including ISU, BSU, University of Idaho, University of Alaska, Utah State University and Colorado School of Mines, attended the symposium held this fall.

The Inland Northwest Research Alliance or INRA is a coalition of eight universities working in cooperation with the Department of Energy to enhance graduate research.

Tibbitts, of Blackfoot, is pursuing a master’s degree in geographic information science at the Pocatello campus, and Mitchell, from Maryland, is working on a doctorate in engineering and applied science in Idaho Falls.

Media Contact: Chris Gabettas, ISU-Boise, University Relations, 208-373-1806