Two Co-Lin students participate in department of homeland security research grant  

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Two Co-Lin students participate in department of homeland security research grant

WESSON – Copiah-Lincoln Community College students Dallas Nickerson and Julian Parker were part of a unique research opportunity this past summer. Jackson State University received a research grant from The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Scientific Leadership Awards for minority serving institutions. JSU then contacted Co-Lin to form a partnership to accomplish the research goals of the grant and get Co-Lin students involved.

The focal point of the DHS grant was to increase awareness of natural disasters through the implementation of newly emerging technology in research and education. A portion of the grant was used to purchase drones and other aerial equipment so that research could be conducted from the air.

Nickerson, a sophomore from Magee, conducted her research on Spatial Analysis for Mississippi River Flooding in Vicksburg, MS.

Parker, a sophomore from Brookhaven, focused his research on Flooding Levels for Hurricane Katrina, 2005.

Both students benefitted greatly from the summer internship program as they learned ArcGIS software, how to analyze data once captured, and were required to give a final presentation of their research findings to a panel of instructors.

Co-Lin instructors Dr. Reed Freeman, Dr. Kevin McKone, Jamie Lambert, and Thalamus Marshall served as mentors for the program.

“This research internship with JSU was valuable for the students because they were given the freedom to be creative in defining their specific objectives for the project,” the team of mentors noted. “Once their objectives were accepted by JSU, the students were somewhat self-reliant in learning and using the ARCGIS software. Hands-on work experiences for our students like this are a wonderful complement to college education in classroom settings.”

For more information about getting involved in pre-engineering, science, or another STEM field at Co-Lin, contact kevin.mckone@colin.edu or reed.freeman@colin.edu.

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