When natural disasters strike, quickly assessing damage is crucial to saving lives and rebuilding communities. Under the mentorship of assistant professor Da Hu, Kennesaw State University student researcher Kiara O’Neal is using drones and artificial intelligence to improve post-disaster recovery efforts and reduce response times. O’Neal, a junior computer science major from Ludowici, Georgia, is one of dozens of students engaged in Kennesaw State’s Junior & Senior Scholars Program, which pairs undergraduate students with faculty mentors for hands-on research experiences.