The Interactive Qualifying Project, or IQP, is an experience that lets a team of students travel around the world to solve a humanitarian issue. Even though the Covid-19 pandemic made traveling abroad impossible for our class, we still managed to complete a worthwhile research project on the effects of light pollution.
Abstract
This project worked with the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) to address the issue of nighttime light pollution by bridging a gap between researchers, scientists, and citizens in order to better utilize the concept of citizen science to fight light pollution. The team researched the effects of light pollution, defined potential sources, and identified the potential for citizen science to revolutionize data collection within the light pollution research community. Additionally, the team created a python program to analyze data from citizen scientists, designed training materials, and investigated the motivations and barriers of citizen scientists. Our project prepared the GFZ to further grow their research operations in regions across the globe.
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