Robert Austin
Research and Extension Specialist – Geographic Information Systems
EPA Faculty and Professionals
Williams Hall 3403F
Specialty: Geographic Information Specialist
My work is directed toward geomatics and the application of related technologies in soils, agriculture, and the environment. I largely support faculty, staff, and students in the use of geospatial information and analytics.
Current program emphasis is directed toward (i) the use and application of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in early-season nitrogen management and crop scouting, (ii) the optimization of commercial nitrogen inputs through on-farm, multiple rate strip trials, and (iii) the spatial characterization of heavy metals on agriculture land resulting from the 2014 Dan River coal ash spill.
Other technology and programming interests include: web-based distribution of spatial data (RESTful APIs, leaflet, GeoServer, PostgreSQL PostGIS), open-source spatial solutions (GDAL/OGR), mobile application development, spatial analytics (R), and the development of tools and services for use in agriculture and farm management
Publications
- Creating Predictive Weed Emergence Models Using Repeat Photography and Image Analysis, Plants (2020)
- Optimum Nitrogen Rates for Maize and Wheat in North Carolina, AGRONOMY JOURNAL (2019)
- Weed species differentiation using spectral reflectance and image classification, ADVANCED ENVIRONMENTAL, CHEMICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL SENSING TECHNOLOGIES XV (2019)
- Evaluation of Adapt-N and Realistic Yield Expectation Approaches for Maize Nitrogen Management in North Carolina, SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL (2018)
- The role of citizen science in addressing grand challenges in food and agriculture research, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2018)
- Evaluation of nitrogen-loss prevention amendments in maize and wheat in North Carolina, Agronomy Journal (2017)
- Assessment of trace element impacts on agricultural use of water from the Dan River following the Eden coal ash release, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (2016)
- Soil weathering as an engine for manganese contamination of well water, Environmental Science & Technology (2016)
- Chemical composition, speciation, and elemental associations in coal fly ash samples related to the Kingston ash spill, Energy & Fuels (2015)
- Modeling of ammonia dry deposition to a pocosin landscape downwind of a large poultry facility, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2014)