ESE PhD candidate Anne-Marie Zaccarin defended her thesis on Radio-Frequency Passive Wireless Sensing for Agricultural Applications on Thursday, February 12th. Advised by Professor Troy Olsson from the BIOTICS Lab, Zaccarin’s work focuses on developing a long-range passive sensing platform for agricultural soil health monitoring.
“I’ve had the opportunity to develop biodegradable capacitive soil moisture sensors that can be directly integrated into wireless sensor systems,” Zaccarin explains. Notably, Zaccarin was the first in her lab to take wireless measurements. To do so, Zaccarin and collaborators devised creative solutions such as “building an anechoic chamber to better replicate the environment in an agricultural field.”
Zaccarin’s thesis research also contributes “to the field of passive chipless RFID by using high performance microacoustic resonators to enable long-range passive wireless sensing.”
The more challenging aspects of Zaccarin’s research dealt with “designing appropriate test setups for characterizing my soil moisture sensors. I had to characterize the properties of my sensors in soil, while using RF test equipment that is sensitive to the presence of dust.” To overcome this challenge, Zaccarin and her collaborators continued to think creatively. “We designed and then built a soil holder,” Zaccarin explains. “The sensor active area is sandwiched between soil, while the leads remain free of soil, allowing us to measure the sensors using RF probes.”
At a certain point in her research, Zaccarin’s measurements inside the lab, “limited my ability to characterize sensor performance in its intended agricultural use case. I had to find ways to adapt my measurements so that I could take them outdoors,” Zaccarin explains. To test her sensors in an agricultural field, Zaccarin “had to make sure the VNA was away from the soil by placing it in a plastic box and drilling holes where cables had to be passed in.”
Zaccarin extends gratitude toward all of her collaborators within the IoT4Ag NSF Engineering Research Center, particularly her faculty advisor.“Troy Olsson always provided valuable feedback, and went above and beyond to make himself available to answer any questions or concerns.”
Beyond overcoming technical challenges, Zaccarin joined Penn in the fall of 2020, during the remote learning days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I spent almost a year working mostly from home,” Zaccarin says. “One of the more memorable moments from my time at Penn was finally getting to meet my advisor and collaborators in person after months of remote interactions.”
When Zaccarin’s not working, “I love to take advantage of nice weather; I like to go on bike rides, hikes and reading in a park. When the weather is less conducive to outdoor activities, I love crafting, especially sewing and knitting.”
While Zaccarin’s not one hundred percent sure what’s next, she’s looking to forward to “continuing to do research, whether in academia or industry.” Learn more about Zaccarin’s work here