US-Costa Rica PASI: Expanding the frontier in tropical ecology through embedded sensors; Costa Rica 2010

这个由美国国家科学基金会和美国能源部联合支持的泛美高级研究所（PASI）奖将在哥斯达黎加的塞尔瓦生物站举行。由杜克大学的伊丽莎白·洛索斯博士组织，PASI将讨论通过嵌入式传感器扩展热带生态学前沿的主题。该研究所将包括为期两周的会议，经验丰富的研究人员、研究生、博士后研究员和年轻教师将探索生态研究与工程和信息技术的融合。讲座将分为三个模块，第一个模块回顾生态学领域如何通过传感器技术的应用取得进展；第二个模块将侧重于技术组件，介绍和审查传感器网络的各个方面，从单个元素到它们产生的数据。最后一个模块将回顾案例研究，在这些案例研究中，传感器已经成功地用于回答生态问题，并将包括更多的实用教程和动手练习，以交叉训练参与者在假设的实际生成和部署以及短期和长期传感器设置的操作。这项活动将改变热带生态学家进行研究和收集数据的方法，从而拓宽他们的视野。这次PASI的成果将包括扩大现有网络的地理范围和最大限度地发挥数据共享和比较生态学的潜力的机会。为PASI编写的讲座和材料将通过一个公共网站传播，在线门户网站将进一步促进参与者之间的互动。

This Pan-American Advanced Studies Institutes (PASI) award, jointly supported by the NSF and the Department of Energy (DOE), will take place at the Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. Organized by Dr. Elizabeth Losos of Duke University, the PASI will address the topic of expanding the frontier in tropical ecology through embedded sensors. The Institute will consist of a two-week session, where experienced researchers, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and young faculty explore the merging of ecological research with engineering and information technologies. Lectures will be divided into three modules, the first a review of how the field of ecology has advanced through the application of sensor technologies; a second module will focus on the technological component, introducing and reviewing all aspects of a sensor network, from the individual elements to the data that they generate. A final module will review case studies in which sensors have been successfully incorporated to answer ecological questions, and will include more practical tutorial and hands-on exercises to cross-train the participants in the actual generation of hypothesis and deployment and operation of short- and long-term sensor setups. The activity will broaden the horizons of tropical ecologists by transforming their methods for conducting research and gathering data. Outcomes of this PASI will include the opportunity to expand the geographical scope of extant networks and maximizing the potential of data sharing and comparative ecology. Lectures and materials developed for the PASI will be disseminated through a public website and an online portal will further foster interactions among participants.