**This is a new VIP that will be starting Spring 2026**
What is the ambitious goal of this project?
We seek to place environmental/life sciences sensors in various remote and on-campus locations to develop campus competency in the growing discipline of Internet of Things/Edge Computing.
Experience Gained
Students will learn to:
- Place sensors in environmentally inhospitable locations
- Meet the energy requirements of sensors off the power-grid
- Communicate with remote sensors when wifi is unavailable, and
- Use sensor data to measure real life environmental and life science conditions.
Methodologies and/or Technologies used to achieve project goals
- 3D design
- Adult education strategies
- Arduino & Rasberry Pi Computing
- Coding and coding software
- Design thinking
- Engineering lab
- Fieldwork
- Laboratory testing
- Mobile tech development
- Quantitative research methods
- Systems engineering
Preferred Preparation
No preparation is required.
Majors or Interests Needed
Any/All
VIP Coach Information
Jim Beck is a HPC engineer in Research Computing with a PhD in Computational Math, Science, and Engineering. Kyle Shannon is a Software Engineer in Research Computing.
Course Information
VIP 200, VIP 400 or VIP 500
Full semester course. Choose to enroll in 1 or 2 credits.
Team meetings: Hybrid, meeting times to be determined after students register.
Interested in joining this team?
For more information and to request a permission number to register, contact Dr. Jim Beck at jimbeck@boisestate.edu. You can also complete this interest form and someone will contact you. Check out this page for tips on contacting a professor.
To register
To register search by Subject: Vertically Integrated Projects, read the project description to find the right section of VIP 200, 400, or 500. Use permission number, here are instructions Add with a permission number