Davidson Fellow 2023 Scholarship Recipient: Anna Yang - Queen Assessment (S6, E33)

In this episode we're excited to introduce Anna, a Stanford University freshman and hobby beekeeper from Campbell, California. With a passion for honey bees and a background in engineering and science, Anna has embarked on an intriguing journey to address the decline in bee populations, focusing on the critical issue of queen failure.

Anna’s innovative research led her to the concept of “queen roar,” a unique sound bees make when their queen is missing. Leveraging her engineering skills, Anna developed a three-pronged approach to monitor queen acceptance and rejection within the hive. This approach includes:

1. An acoustic-based IoT device for data collection.

2. Gathering high-quality and diverse data sets.

3. Developing machine learning models for accurate queen assessment.

Despite facing challenges in her research, Anna's determination and inventive spirit shone through. Her efforts resulted in the collection of over 7,000 data points, achieving an impressive 91.8% accuracy rate in detecting queen presence.

Her remarkable paper, titled “Smart Bee Colony Monitor: Internet of Things Device & Fusion Convolutional Neural Network for Queen Assessment,” not only showcases her talent but also earned her a $10,000 scholarship through the Davidson Institute Fellowship Scholarship program, a testament to her contribution to the field of beekeeping and STEM.

Join us in this episode to delve into Anna’s fascinating research and her contributions to understanding and improving honey bee queen assessment. This is a shining example of how STEM programs are inspiring and supporting gifted students in the United States. Tune in to learn more about the cutting-edge intersection of beekeeping, technology, and science.

Leave comments and questions in the Comments Section of the episode's website.

Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:

• Anna's Page on the Davidson Institute 2023 Fellow Page:  https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-programs/fellows-scholarship/fellows/current-and-past-fellows/2023-fellows/2023-davidson-fellow-anna-yang/

• Honey Bee Obscura Podcast: http://honeybeeobscura.com

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Thanks for Northern Bee Books for their support. Northern Bee Books is the publisher of bee books available worldwide from their website or from Amazon and bookstores everywhere. They are also the publishers of The Beekeepers Quarterly and Natural Bee Husbandry.

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