Forest cover monitoring using satellite imagery is important to U.S. military terrain analysis. Mobility models, cover and concealment, and precise surface feature delineation all rely on an accurate forest/nonforest cover layer. However, the challenge remains in distinguishing trees from other vegetative land covers when relying on single date imagery. A Forest Cover Index (FCI) algorithm was previously developed on Worldview-2 imagery and was designed to separate forest cover from nonforest covered areas. In this research, the FCI algorithm was applied to Landsat-7 imagery using the analogous red (636-673 nanometers (nm)) and near-infrared bands (851-878 nm) from a peak summer image on 16 August 2012. The results obtained with Landsat-7 imagery proved satisfactory with an overall accuracy (tree cover versus non-tree cover) of > 83 percent, according to testing with two different accuracy assessment tests. The application of the FCI to Landsat-7 imagery broadens the applicability of the FCI to freely available imagery.

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Traditionally, the energy systems area, or any science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM) area, in general, has been male-dominated. Because of this, women in these fields have had a tendency to stand down when it comes to aiding in innovation and practicing a profession within specific fields, such as energy systems. To counteract this effect, research and educational activities have been designed at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) to create an enriching, hands-on-experience in energy systems for current and future female undergraduates. This paper describes how the department of electrical and computer engineering has developed educational strategies to increase the female participation in the energy systems area at UPRM. Some of these strategies include: a) Deliver hands on experience to prospect high school and freshmen college students, with special emphasis on female participants b) Enhance teamwork skills in project development and interdisciplinary work c) Create lasting interest in the study and design of energy systems. Activities based on these strategies range from building simple photovoltaic arrangements and small induction motors, to computer programming.The strategies presented in this paper have already been integrated with the mechanical, and the electrical and computer engineering class curriculums. They are aimed at creating awareness of the vast fields in the energy systems area with the intention of making females students take the initiative of developing themselves as professionals in these fields.

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