Student Remote-Operated Vehicle Demos Continue Through The Week

Contacts:

NY Sea Grant: Dave White, P: 315-312-3042, E: dgw9@cornell.edu

Great NY State Fair Media Relations: Dave Bullard, P: 315-487-7711 x 1377, E: dave.bullard@agriculture.ny.gov

Publicist Kara Lynn Dunn, P: 315-465-7578, E: karalynn@gisco.net


Photo: Michael Okoniewski/NYS Fair

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo visited New York Sea Grant's Lakes of NY partner exhibit, "Lakes of NY: Over, Under, Around and Through, 21st Century Technologies," at the 2015 Great NYS Fair on September 1. Cuomo is examining the preserved specimen of a sea lamprey, a parasitic fish native to the Atlantic Ocean and invasive to the U.S. Great Lakes. In Lakes Ontario and Erie, as well as our other Great Lakes, sea lamprey uses its suction cup mouth to prey mostly on large fish - sturgeon, walleye, various trout and salmon species.

During his brief stay with Sea Grant, Cuomo learned from volunteer Marisa White of the "Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!" educational campaign and how its efforts are trying to minimize the impacts of invasive species such as sea lamprey.

NYSG's Recreation/Tourism Specialist Dave White says that "The clean, drain and dry campaign continues to move forward to ensure that boaters and others are not moving an invasive species from one body of water to an additional one they might be enjoying throughout the course of the day."

"One thing people should be aware of is that several new local and state regulations have been put in place requiring folks to remove all plant and animal products from their boats," which White reminds includes kayaks and other recreational vehicles. "So in addition to clean, drain and dry there are now body of water specific regulations that boaters and other users should be aware of."

On Monday, Verona-Verona-Sherrill high schoolers Mike Brown and Noah Pfluke (pictured, respectively, third and fifth from the left) enjoyed a demonstration of their underwater remote-operated vehicle (ROV) at the 2015 Great New York State Fair Lakes of NY exhibit developed by New York Sea Grant. They are seen here with, from left, New York Sea Grant Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White, VVS High School Assistant Principal Erin Sanchez and Principal Andrew Brown. Photo: Kara Lynn Dunn/NYSG


Syracuse, NY, September 1, 2015 - Middle school, high school and college students who have built aquatic ROVs: remotely operated vehicles are demonstrating them in the reflecting pool of the mini NY State Park at the 2015 Great New York State Fair today and through September 5.

The students are using the build-it-yourself SeaPerch ROV kits used by science, technology, engineering and math educators and robotics classes nationwide as hands-on educational tools. The students maneuver the ROVs through an obstacle course in the pool.

The demonstrations debuted on Monday with Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School students and continue this week as follows:

• Tuesday, September 1: Chittenango Central School
• Wednesday, September 2: Cicero-North Syracuse Central School
• Friday, September 4: Central Square Central School
• Saturday, September 5: State University of New York at Oswego.

At the invitation of New York Sea Grant, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School middle and high students had the unique experience of operating ROVs they built and, in some cases adapted, especially to demonstrate at the 2015 Great New York State Fair. NYSG ROV Student Project Coordinator Dan Rockefeller facilitated poolside and walked the water safety talk by wearing a life saving belt pack. Photo: Kara Lynn Dunn/NYSG


The 10am to 4pm demonstrations at the top of the hour are part of The Lakes of NY: Over, Under, On and Through, 21st Century Technologies Exhibit coordinated by NY Sea Grant with components on land and in the pool at the Fair. Partners and sponsors supporting the exhibit include exhibit include the Great New York State Fair, Great Lakes Research Consortium, SUNY College of Environmental Science, Cornell Biological Field Station at Shackelton Point, Oneida Lake Education Initiative, H. Lee White Maritime Museum of Oswego, New York State Divers Association, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and the Lake Champlain Sea Grant.

Other components of the Lakes of NY exhibit include the 2015 Discover Clean and Safe Boating educational vessel, a Great Lakes Research Consortium weather-sensing buoy, information on aerial drones being used for aquatic invasive species research in Western NY; maritime history artifacts; and an underwater diver photo cutout opportunity.

‘This exhibit and the ROV Demo Days provide Fair visitors a closeup look at technology and its practical application for understanding the unique water resources of New York State,’ said New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White, associate director of the Great Lakes Research Consortium, and coordinator of the Lakes of NY Exhibit.

For more news on clean and safe boating, New York Sea Grant related resource site, www.nyseagrant.org/marina.


Visit www.esf.edu/shipwreck for data transmitting from a real-time weather-sensing buoy in the reflecting pool at the Mini New York State Park at the Fairgrounds. The buoy, provided by the Great Lakes Research Consortium, tracks air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and solar radiation index from the exhibit coordinated by New York Sea Grant and located opposite the Horticulture Building. Photo: Kara Lynn Dunn/NYSG



New York Sea Grant is featuring remotely-operated underwater vehicles at the Great New York State Fair. This feature is part of "Lakes of NY: Over, Under, Around and Through, 21st Century Technologies," NYSG's partner exhibit with the Great Lakes Research Consortium at the Fair, which is being held at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY from August 27 through September 7, 2015.

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published several times a year.