Science Foundation Grant Aids UNL Research On Irrigation Sensor
Small computer node in the soil will relay moisture information
to a center pivot.  Published on: May 1, 2013  A University of
Nebraska-Lincoln computer engineer believes he has come up with
a new irrigation sensing tool that can conserve water, improve
yields and cut costs.  Mehmet Can Vuran, assistant professor of
computer science and engineering at UNL, has developed a
wireless underground sensor network to give irrigators real-time
information about soil moisture. He's had the help of doctoral
student Xin Dong, as well as a five-year, $418,760 grant from
the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career
Development Program to further develop the technology.  Now they
have a new grant of $50,000 from NSF to help them take the idea
to market.  Known as the I-Corps, the NSF program's goal is to
guide toward commercialization promising scientific discoveries
that offer great benefits to society. NSF specifically sought
out discoveries that