Environmental Sensors

Environmental Sensors is a collaboration within Indiana University, South Bend Physics department.  The collaboration is centered around using Arduino based embedded systems to monitor or change the environment.  Over the years, Quarknet teachers and students have engaged in several research projects with this collaboration.
They include,

• PICO – PICO is a collaboration working to directly detect WIMP dark matter by using bubble chambers to register recoiling nuclei.
  Click here for additional information about PICO.

• Shark Ticklers – Shark Ticklers is a group of university collaborators in a larger initiative with the goal of developing an industry-deployable, microprocessor-based, shark bycatch reduction device.
  https://news.iu.edu/southbend/live/news/35433-iu-south-bend-deploying-shark-ticklers-in

• South Bend Tree Canopy Project – The City of South Bend is committed to increasing urban tree canopy from its current average (~22%*) to 40%, which will require planting ~100,000 trees -- approximately one tree for every person in the City of South Bend.  IUSB is working with the city to deploy Arduino based data loggers to monitor high resolution environmental changes due to planting trees in the city over several years.
  https://together.southbendin.gov/trees
  https://news.iu.edu/southbend/live/news/35576-campus-partners-with-city-to-research-tree-canopy-impa

In addition to conducting active research, the Environmental Sensors collaboration is also committed to making data loggers available to High School Science Teachers for use in their classrooms first locally and eventually nationally.  This initiative is led by Professor Brian Davis, of IUSB, who runs a course centered around making, programing and measuring the environment using Arduino based data loggers (PHYS-P 303 Digital Electronics).  QuarkNet has run a couple of Makers Conference in collaboration with IUSB, which is a week long experience where High School students make, troubleshoot and program data loggers.

In July 2024 the Environmental Sensors groups launched two Weather Balloons which several different data loggers attached.  The project include both High School and IUSB undergraduate experiments.  You can review pictures and data from the balloon launched here. To the left is a picture of our 2 July 2024 launch. The image features Notre Dame QuarkNet teachers (from left to right) Jeff Chorny (1), Carolyn Fletcher (2, behind Chorny), Dan Kallenburg (6, behind balloon), Chris Culver (7, holding balloon), and Calvin Swartzendruber (10, back row, far right side). IUSB faculty Brian Davis (front row, blue shirt) and Ilan Levine (front row, far right) are also included in the image. No launches were conducted in 2025, but we planning on doing launches again in 2026.

The IUSB data loggers are currently powered by three AA batteries.  Future versions of the data logger will have the option of being powered by solar panels.  Picture of the currently used data logger model is the lower picture on the left.