NASA Workforce Development Program Takes Students to New Heights | Article

Heather Nicholson, a Ph.D. student in geospatial sciences at Florida Atlantic University, knows one place where her research might take her: home.

"I grew up on the Mississippi coast and I've always loved nature,” Nicholson said. “I would love it if my research could help protect it."

Her research focuses on coastal marsh systems, a topic with applications to any coastal region—particularly those where local economies depend on fishing. “We're a seafood community,” Nicholson explained. “If all of the fish were to disappear tomorrow, we'd lose so much of who we are—and also a lot of our income.”

Even before starting her Ph.D., Nicholson was able to build skills as a geospatial scientist through NASA DEVELOP, a workforce development program that trains participants—typically college students or recent graduates—in remote sensing imagery analysis. Participants work in teams on discrete projects that cover a wide range of topics, from ecological monitoring to disaster preparedness. Projects are conducted in partnership with other organizations in local, state, or federal agencies, academia, and the private sector.

In an age of abundant information—but also widespread uncertainty about future environmental conditions under climate change—community decision-makers in the United States and around the globe need knowledgeable people to turn sophisticated technologies into pragmatic approaches and policies. DEVELOP has a long track record of training people to do just that.

According to Kent Ross, chief scientist for DEVELOP at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, one of the program's core missions involves "dual capacity building." Ross explained, "As we build capacity in the individual, it creates a dynamic that enhances the capacity in the institution and vice versa."

The program aims not only to answer useful research questions but to help move both sides of the partnership "from intellectual awareness and appreciation for Earth observations, to a genuine appetite for the solutions they can provide," he said.

In addition to covering a range of topics, DEVELOP projects are also geographically diverse. Last year, a project in southern Africa used satellite data to monitor vegetation health change, elephant movement, and climate conditions in an effort to minimize the conflicts between elephants and local farmers. Another project used six large data sets from NASA satellites and the International Space Station to study methods for detecting illegal gold mining operations in the Amazon.

Over 4,900 participants have participated in DEVELOP since the program began in 1998.

For Garrett Knowlton, a DEVELOP participant in spring 2021, the program connected his early interest in wildlife management to an immersive experience in coding and other technical skills.

"As an early-career ecology student, coding skills are just becoming a requirement at this point," he said. Though he only had an older laptop to work on, "I was able to do Google Earth Engine analysis at a pretty large scale."

While sophisticated tools like Earth Engine and big geospatial data sets are available for free, researchers need training and practice to learn how to use them. DEVELOP aims to provide that. "There's so much emerging research using satellites, and I know NASA and other agencies are putting in so much effort," Knowlton said.

This spring, Knowlton’s team of four used satellite imagery and spatial analysis software to study recent Colorado wildfires to determine what forest management techniques will reduce the danger to surrounding communities.

"Everyone brought their own perspectives and backgrounds. Someone on my team had a lot of experience with LiDAR [laser imaging, detection, and ranging] and drones," he explained. Of the two fires that the team studied, "One exploded overnight and was almost over within a week... then the other fire burned for 112 days."

A satellite image showing the surface temperature in San Diego, where yellow represents cooler temperatures and red represents hotter temperatures. Image courtesy of NASA.

NASA's Ross cited a series of urban heat studies as a favorite example of real-world applications for DEVELOP research. In a project in San Diego, a DEVELOP team was "able to compare their heat and model data to socioeconomic data sets to gain insight into vulnerable communities around the city," he said. According to Ross, it's the sort of project that "can inform [San Diego’s] work on environmental justice."

"It's really cool to see that these tiny little projects ... have major effects," Nicholson, the Florida Atlantic University Ph.D. student, said. The projects are "used by people who can really change things, and change policies, and make a difference." Nicholson echoed a major NASA DEVELOP mantra: bridging the gap between Earth science and society.

While nurturing geospatial research skills is DEVELOP’s major programmatic activity, participants also learn how to communicate and present their findings in a variety of mediums. Knowlton says he learned "not just technical skills but ... how to present our research to different groups, to a more technical audience or ... a community group."

While NASA is well known for its exploration of outer space, its focus on planet Earth, and the skill sets of those who study it, may be among its most impactful legacies.

Author: Tom Beach