While the university was taking a break, the Geospatial Analysis Lab (GsAL) organized a week-long Geospatial Information Technology (GIT) exchange from March 13th to March 17th. This event was attended by the SERVIR Global team to share and learn about emerging technologies in the field of geospatial analysis to meet the needs of their individual projects. SERVIR is a joint development initiative of NASA and USAID, working in partnership with leading regional organizations around the globe, to help countries most in need of improved climate risk and sustainable forest management use the information provided by Earth-observing satellites and geospatial technologies.
The GsAL and students volunteers from the MS Environmental Management department played a key role in bringing together participants from SERVIR-Himalaya at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) based in Kathmandu, Nepal; SERVIR-Eastern & Southern Africa at the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) in Nairobi, Kenya; SERVIR-Mekong at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) in Bangkok, Thailand; and Spatial Informatics Group (SIG) in San Francisco, California and NASA SERVIR’s Science Coordination Office (SCO) housed in Huntsville, Alabama. This event was also attended by various technology partners like Google, Amazon, Hexagon Geospatial, the Radiant Group, Digital Globe, Esri, Dockers, Trimble and university partners from the University of Vermont and Brigham Young University.
Under the leadership of GsAL manager Megan Danielson, Fernanda Lopez (research associate), Radhika Bhargava (graduate research assistant) , OJ Javier ( exchange student to the MSEM program from the Philippines), Micheal Heffernan-Zelaya ( undergraduate student in the MS Environmental Science program) and Holden Greene ( graduate student in the MSE program) helped in making USF a hospitable environment to our national and international partners. All the students were very excited to see the applications of geospatial technology as a tool that is helping change the world through SERVIR Global. While the students missed their spring break, they were able to solidify their idea of having a career in geospatial sciences, build connection and network with the leading technological partners and representatives from around the world and, most importantly learn about the up and coming technologies and their applications.
GIT was a great platform for the GsAL lab and students to build further collaborations in their field of interests. They were glad to have his opportunity to learn from pioneers of the field and make the fruitful connection for their career. The GIT Exchange gave me a chance to make the connection of the work I am doing with Google Earth Engine and see how I can make it more applicable by combining it with the technological support provided by Dockers. When I learned about the application of object-based mapping and the use of Tethrys platform for application development, I wanted to learn these skills and use them for her master's project. Micheal OJ Holden says “ It was great to be a part of such an inspiring conversation throughout the SERVIR conference. It is truly eye-opening to see the people behind making big data accessible to people around the world. Sitting in on the talks for the conference opened my eyes to the technology available and how important these advancements are for our global future. Personally, it serves as a good step in the right direction to a better understanding of geospatial analysis, its applications, and the importance of building the skills (and perseverance) necessary to take advantage of these opportunities.” Holden Greene says that after volunteering at the conference and learning from all the presenters, he is looking forward to combining his skills in machine learning to expand on raster data analysis and OJ’s favorite part was to see how problem-solving works in a project as big and international as SERVIR Global.
As exciting as the first four days of GIT were, the most exciting part for all the participants was to visit the Google campus to learn about Google Earth Engine (GEE) from Nick Clinton. GEE is widely used in SERVIR projects to build various tools for analysis of land cover and hydrology of the focus regions. Thus, it was exciting to meet the developers and learn about the new features we can expect to see in GEE. Participants got hands on training and time to discuss their needs with the developers at Google. At the end of the long week of learning about new technologies and discussing the needs of various SERVIR hubs, the participants enjoyed the tour of Google campus and a little shopping spree at the Google store.
Overall, spring break for GsAL was a very productive week filled with lots of learning and networking. The students and GsAL look forward to building the partnerships they formed during GIT Exchange and spreading the motto of USF by changing the world from here...
The GsAL and students volunteers from the MS Environmental Management department played a key role in bringing together participants from SERVIR-Himalaya at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) based in Kathmandu, Nepal; SERVIR-Eastern & Southern Africa at the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) in Nairobi, Kenya; SERVIR-Mekong at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) in Bangkok, Thailand; and Spatial Informatics Group (SIG) in San Francisco, California and NASA SERVIR’s Science Coordination Office (SCO) housed in Huntsville, Alabama. This event was also attended by various technology partners like Google, Amazon, Hexagon Geospatial, the Radiant Group, Digital Globe, Esri, Dockers, Trimble and university partners from the University of Vermont and Brigham Young University.
Under the leadership of GsAL manager Megan Danielson, Fernanda Lopez (research associate), Radhika Bhargava (graduate research assistant) , OJ Javier ( exchange student to the MSEM program from the Philippines), Micheal Heffernan-Zelaya ( undergraduate student in the MS Environmental Science program) and Holden Greene ( graduate student in the MSE program) helped in making USF a hospitable environment to our national and international partners. All the students were very excited to see the applications of geospatial technology as a tool that is helping change the world through SERVIR Global. While the students missed their spring break, they were able to solidify their idea of having a career in geospatial sciences, build connection and network with the leading technological partners and representatives from around the world and, most importantly learn about the up and coming technologies and their applications.
GIT was a great platform for the GsAL lab and students to build further collaborations in their field of interests. They were glad to have his opportunity to learn from pioneers of the field and make the fruitful connection for their career. The GIT Exchange gave me a chance to make the connection of the work I am doing with Google Earth Engine and see how I can make it more applicable by combining it with the technological support provided by Dockers. When I learned about the application of object-based mapping and the use of Tethrys platform for application development, I wanted to learn these skills and use them for her master's project. Micheal OJ Holden says “ It was great to be a part of such an inspiring conversation throughout the SERVIR conference. It is truly eye-opening to see the people behind making big data accessible to people around the world. Sitting in on the talks for the conference opened my eyes to the technology available and how important these advancements are for our global future. Personally, it serves as a good step in the right direction to a better understanding of geospatial analysis, its applications, and the importance of building the skills (and perseverance) necessary to take advantage of these opportunities.” Holden Greene says that after volunteering at the conference and learning from all the presenters, he is looking forward to combining his skills in machine learning to expand on raster data analysis and OJ’s favorite part was to see how problem-solving works in a project as big and international as SERVIR Global.
As exciting as the first four days of GIT were, the most exciting part for all the participants was to visit the Google campus to learn about Google Earth Engine (GEE) from Nick Clinton. GEE is widely used in SERVIR projects to build various tools for analysis of land cover and hydrology of the focus regions. Thus, it was exciting to meet the developers and learn about the new features we can expect to see in GEE. Participants got hands on training and time to discuss their needs with the developers at Google. At the end of the long week of learning about new technologies and discussing the needs of various SERVIR hubs, the participants enjoyed the tour of Google campus and a little shopping spree at the Google store.
Overall, spring break for GsAL was a very productive week filled with lots of learning and networking. The students and GsAL look forward to building the partnerships they formed during GIT Exchange and spreading the motto of USF by changing the world from here...