Design Thinking and computational modeling to stop illegal poaching

In this paper, we describe an interdisciplinary approach using STEM to solving a real-world problem involving poaching. This integrated STEM experience helped a team of researchers that included students from K-12, undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty to collaboratively understand, design and test potential solutions to the problem. The team employed an engineering based Design-Thinking framework combined with effective brainstorming strategies that have been well-established in business, marketing and commercial environments along with a computational mathematics problem solving approach. Not only this integrated STEM experience provided an opportunity for the team of researchers to develop professionally but also gave them an opportunity to become change agents to transform institutional practices and to engage the broader community to inspire the next generation STEM workforce. Specifically, the project framework guided the research team to propose potential integrated STEM based solutions including the application of drones to track illegal poaching as well as the development of an intelligent sensor based tracking system which are validated via sophisticated mathematical and probabilistic algorithms. This overall experience has clearly helped to establish STEM education partnerships and alliances outside traditional boundaries and has helped to create new synergies for all stakeholders who are invested in solving the problem of poaching. Specifically, it has helped to develop an international research experience for high school, undergraduate and graduate students who now have a unique perspective on solving real-world problems in developing countries. The program has helped to promote the much needed awareness of using STEM based solutions to solve global challenges through a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach involving students and faculty from mathematical sciences and engineering who continue to collaborate.