David Chang ’25

Major

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Project Title

Farm Project Field Assistant

Presentation Link

View David's Presentation

Certificate(s): Applied and Computational Mathematics

I studied how to optimize operations and agricultural output across five farms and an urban garden in New Jersey. Alongside three other interns, I collected daily crop measurements for various vegetables, monitored bug populations through insect traps, took soil samples, and measured plant height and diversity on a livestock farm. We took a high-tech approach to our agricultural research by deploying Arable sensors containing multi-band spectrometers, infrared thermometers, and other technology. I helped analyze these data to assess growing conditions, crop coverage, and plant health. I also had the opportunity to fly a drone to take images of several grazing pastures, which I then analyzed using satellite data and geographic information system software QGIS and Sentera FieldAgent. These analyses provided information on the performance of pastures under different applied treatments. My most memorable – and favorite – part of the summer was collecting a dozen cow fecal samples to investigate their stomach microbiomes following their grazing of each pasture. This internship has inspired me to continue working toward a better and more sustainable world through research. I hope to continue applying high-tech and innovative ideas in critical fields of research, even when they may initially sound out of place.



Internship Year

2022

Project Category

Sustainable Food Systems

Organization(s)

Rubenstein Lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University - Princeton, New Jersey

Mentor(s)

Daniel Rubenstein, Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Gina Talt, Food Systems Project Specialist, Office of Sustainability