Publish Date:  Dec 8, 2018

Hartnell computer science student Chris Rodriguez and engineering student Daniel Enriquez-Ulloa competed as a team on Dec. 8, tying for first place in a research-poster competition at the California Mathematics Council Community Colleges (CMC^3) in Monterey, said math instructor Brian Palmer. They split a $600 grand prize with the other first-place contestant.

The pair presented posters describing their research last summer at Food Origins in Salinas through the Hartnell STEM Internship Program. They developed a yield forecast model for strawberry harvests as part of a seven-intern team, in which Enriquez-Uloa worked on data and Rodriquez worked on implementation.

CMC^3 President James Sullivan, a math instructor at Sierra College, was very impressed with their work, Palmer said, particularly the potential fiscal impact of their analysis in the strawberry industry.