April 11, 2022
Congratulations to Julianne Liu and Haley Stuckmeyer for being selected as the spring 2022 DEVELOPers of the Term!
Julianne, a third term DEVELOPer, participated in the inaugural term of DEVELOP’s Virtual Environmental Justice (VEJ) office. She led the needs assessment project that focused on assessing the landscape and capacity of organizations and communities working towards environmental justice in support of disaster management and risk reduction. Using her passion for advocating for marginalized communities and environmental justice, Julianne strived to facilitate conversations with potential partners and displayed incredible attention to detail while working on her team’s project. Her care for diversity and inclusion has helped foster a lasting research base for DEVELOP’s environmental justice projects that will impact the program beyond her time as a participant. The virtual work environment was no deterrent to Julianne, and she excelled in fostering connections between DEVELOP and local organizations to plant the seeds for future projects nationwide. Julianne also explored research ideas beyond her project’s scope to understand how geospatial data can be leveraged for collaboration with environmental justice organizations, and her team spirit helped everyone working on the VEJ projects bond in the virtual work environment.
Haley was a first-time DEVELOP participant working on the Phoenix Climate project through the Tempe, AZ location. Working on a team with all new participants, Haley quickly adjusted to the rigors of the DEVELOP program and acclimated well to the fast-paced work environment. With a background in Biology and Chemistry and previous work experience for the Missouri Department of Health, Haley dove into DEVELOP as her first experience with geospatial science. She came into the program eager to learn and provide input from her unique background in public health to offer fresh perspectives for the team’s project. She always took initiative to identify gaps in the project work and find solutions through exploring new datasets and meeting partner needs. It was through her contributions that the Phoenix Climate team was able to expand the scope of their analysis from a few thousand parcels to over 20,000 parcels assessing tree cover canopy suitability in Week eight alone. Haley’s dedication and hard work have been invaluable contributions to her team’s project success and growth within DEVELOP.
Congratulations again to Julianne and Haley!
November 19, 2021
Congratulations to Seamore Zhu and Wangdrak Dorji for being selected as the fall 2021 DEVELOPers of the Term!
Seamore was a member of the DEVELOP Carolina Coastal Plain Ecological Forecasting team at the Athens, GA location. As a new DEVELOP participant for the fall term, Seamore used his diverse skill set in coding and multimedia design to support his team in troubleshooting technical issues and designing creative communication deliverables. He enthusiastically worked on multiple aspects of the project, strengthening his knowledge of remote sensing, while learning to use both Google Earth Engine and the Software for Assisted Habitat Modeling. Seamore’s initiative and drive helped shape the team’s project, and his work throughout the fall term has embodied DEVELOP’s collaborative spirit.
Wangdrak was a member of DEVELOP's Bhutan Agriculture team, through the Huntsville, AL location at Marshall Space Flight Center. Throughout the fall 2021 term, Wangdrak exhibited incredible growth in his technical capacity and knowledge of NASA Earth observations. Although Wangdrak was unable to start until later in the term, he immediately adapted and dedicated himself to the project and his team. Despite having a full academic workload and no previous remote sensing experience, Wangdrak exhibited impressive confidence in his work and readily accepted feedback to improve his team’s project. He thrived in the fast-paced DEVELOP environment and was a huge asset to his team’s success.
Congratulations again to Seamore and Wangdrak!
August 13, 2021
Congratulations to Chris Choi and Caroline Williams for being selected as the summer 2021 DEVELOPers of the Term!
Chris Choi was the team lead for the Colorado Ecological Forecasting team at the Colorado DEVELOP location. Over the course of the term, Chris was an incredible leader, keeping the team focused and handling challenges with poise. As the term progressed, Chris managed any uncertainties regarding the project and was able to work new products into the project smoothly. Throughout the term, Chris was a technical leader, not only to his teammates, but also other DEVELOP teams. Chris was an all-around fantastic DEVELOPer, earning praise from his teammates and advisors throughout the term.
Caroline was a member of the Argentina Food Security and Agriculture team at the Maryland - Goddard location. Her enthusiasm and passion for the project grew quickly as the term progressed. Despite having limited knowledge of Google Earth Engine coding, she worked to develop a significant portion of a forecasting script generated by the team. However, what really made Caroline stand out was her willingness and ability to help other DEVELOPers. During the term, she assisted team members whenever needed and even offered to help troubleshoot with the other Goddard team. Caroline’s passion for the project and ability to collaborate on efforts beyond her own work made her an exemplary DEVELOPer.
Congratulations again to Chris and Caroline!
April 5, 2021
Congratulations to Chloe Schneider and Ebony Williams for being selected as the spring 2021 DEVELOPers of the Term!
Chloe was the project lead for the Montana Water Resources II team at the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) location in Asheville, NC. While guiding her team through complicated methodologies throughout the term, Chloe facilitated a positive, supportive, and collaborative team environment. During team meetings with partners and science advisors, Chloe was instrumental in leading communication to ensure opinions were heard while the conversations stayed on track. Additionally, Chloe demonstrated strong critical thinking skills by asking thoughtful and intentional questions in meetings, webinars, and presentations. Overall, Chloe embodies the collaborative, resourceful, and motivational qualities of an exemplary DEVELOPer.
Ebony Williams was a returning DEVELOPer who joined the Langley Research Center (LaRC) location in Hampton, VA. She had a desire to gain networking, communication, and technical writing skills during the spring 2021 term. In addition to developing and honing these skills, she was also a strong contributor to the data methodology and analysis on the Fairfax Water Resources project team. She facilitated a leadership role in coding within the SERVIR HYDRAFloods tool to measure historical flooding for her team and the project partners. Ebony demonstrated professionalism, teamwork, and enthusiasm throughout the term and was an invaluable asset to the LaRC team.
Congratulations again to Chloe and Ebony!
November 30, 2020
Congratulations to Jake Dialesandro and Ella Griffith for being selected as the fall 2020 DEVELOPers of the term!
Jake Dialesandro was an incredible asset to the Tempe Urban Development II team and the Arizona node. Bringing his strong motivation and positive energy, Jake, a multi-term DEVELOPer, also brought an enthusiastic and motivational mindset to the team, tackling each day’s challenges without waiver. Throughout the term, he went above and beyond to better understand partner needs, addressing unique and complex project challenges. Jake fully epitomizes DEVELOP’s core values of collaboration, discovery, service, and passion.
Ella Griffith was the project lead for the Southern Idaho Health & Air Quality team and embodied all of the characteristics that make up an exemplary DEVELOPer. Since day one of the term, she was instrumental in cultivating a positive, supportive, and collaborative team dynamic. Ella was service-oriented and a big picture thinker who constantly aimed to make choices for the greater good of the project, partners, and team. She was an intuitive and communicative leader, who always made sure that her teammates were heard and motivated. As her teammate noted, “Ella has been the glue that holds the fabric of our project together.”
Congratulations again to Jake and Ella for a great term!
August 12, 2020
Congratulations to Katie Lange and Lauren Lad for being selected as the summer 2020 DEVELOPers of the term!
Katie quickly became a technical lead on the JPL Alaska Transportation and Infrastructure team. Without previous Python experience, Katie dove deep into processing workflows and reached out to project collaborators to rapidly improve her skill set across the 10-week term. Her drive to innovate, willingness to take on unfamiliar tasks, and collaborative spirit made her an exceptional DEVELOPer.
As the Project Lead for the CO Fishers Peak Ecological Forecasting team and a three term DEVELOPer, Lauren has been an inspiration to many during her time with the program. She has consistently brought organization, an eagerness to learn, and undeniable leadership to each of her project teams. Regardless of the challenge, Lauren learned new skills quickly and effectively guided her teammates every step of the way.
Congratulations again, to Katie and Lauren, on a fantastic term!
April 6, 2020
Congratulations to Ani Matevosian who was selected as the spring 2020 DEVELOPer of the Term!
Ani was the project lead for the Eastern Washington Disasters team at the Ames Research Center node. She showed phenomenal leadership throughout the term and consistently maintained a positive attitude through tricky analyses.
Ani’s initiative with communication and outreach demonstrated a deep commitment to the partner’s goals and priorities for the project.
Congratulations again, Ani!
November 22, 2019
Congratulations to Darcy Gray and Ryan Slapikas for being selected as the Fall 2019 DEVELOPers of the Term!
For the fall term, Darcy served as the project lead for the Asheville Urban Development team out of the NC - NCEI node. Darcy championed communications with project partners at the Asheville Urban Forestry Commission, quickly identifying end products that would be most useful to help understand their urban heat island questions. Beyond partner engagement, Darcy led her team in developing and executing the project’s methodology in Google Earth Engine. Her efforts have helped many scientists, developers, and engagement specialists become familiar with the project.
Ryan served as the project lead for the Visayan Islands Ecological Forecasting team from the GA - Athens node. Ryan came into DEVELOP with a background in R and Python, but quickly expanded his skill set to include JavaScript through the team’s work in Google Earth Engine. His willingness to share his technical knowledge and assist others made him a stand out DEVELOP participant, as well as a leader to the entire GA node. Ryan’s enthusiasm and leadership greatly contributed to the culture of the Visayan Islands Ecological Forecasting team and GA node as a whole this fall.
Congratulations Darcy and Ryan!
October 4, 2019
The conservation of crop wild relatives, plants that are genetically related to cultivated crops and function as repositories for genetic diversity, was the subject of a study undertaken by researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) in Fort Collins, CO. Partnered in association with the study, the NASA DEVELOP Program with the NPGS found that the use of satellites to monitor and map crop wild relative distribution was more efficient than standard field methods alone.
The collaboration between DEVELOP and the NPGS experimented with mapping different species of crop wild relatives with the hope of producing an operational method to monitor, accurately, crop wild relatives on a national scale.
The DEVELOP project from Fall 2018 is highlighted in an article, “Detecting Wisconsin’s Wild Cranberries from Space,” and can be found in the September 2019 issue of the International Society for Horticultural Science’s publication Chronica Horticulturae.
To find out more about the Wisconsin Agriculture & Food Security Fall 2018 DEVELOP project, click here.
To read the article from the International Society for Horticultural Science, click here (subscription required).
August 14, 2019
The Hampton Roads Urban Development team at the Langley Research Center had the opportunity to present their project results to the Hampton City Council on Wednesday, August 14th.
The team partnered with the City of Hampton, Virginia, to explore the urban tree canopy and impervious surfaces throughout the city using NASA Earth observations. City officials will use the results by directing resiliency efforts towards areas of greatest vulnerability within the municipality.
Click here for local press coverage of the presentation.
To learn more about the project, please visit the Hampton Roads Urban Development project page.
August 07, 2019
On Wednesday, August 7th, four DEVELOP participants presented the outcome of the Mobile Urban Development project to officials and partners in Mobile, Alabama.
The team evaluated urban heat islands and flooding to enhance green infrastructure initiatives of coastal communities in Mobile, Alabama.
Representatives of DEVELOP’s National Program Office attended the presentation to recognize the 16-year partnership with the Mobile County Health Department (MCHD) as a host for DEVELOP on the gulf coast.
Thank you to MCHD for the news release highlighting the final presentation on August 7th and DEVELOP’s partnership with the department.
To learn more about the project, please visit the team’s project page here.
August 01, 2019
Congratulations to Celeste Gambino and Vanesa Martin Aries for being selected as the summer 2019 DEVELOPers of the Term! Celeste and Vanesa were chosen from a strong group of nominees and were announced at the Annual Earth Science Applications Showcase at NASA HQ in Washington, DC on Thursday, August 1st.
For the summer term, Celeste served as a team lead on the Southern Maine Health and Air Quality project. The project examined tick-borne illness risks by evaluating land cover and tick habitat suitability in southern Maine. Vanesa served as the team lead for the Central America Transportation and Infrastructure project, which employed NASA Earth observations to map historic flooding in Guatemala and El Salvador.
During the summer, Celeste and Vanesa embodied DEVELOP’s core values of collaboration, discovery, service, and passion. They worked hard to lead their teams to successfully delivering innovative demonstrations of applying NASA Earth observations to challenging topics for the benefit of their project end-users.
Congratulations to Celeste and Vanesa!
May 07, 2019
In a short 10-weeks, DEVELOP teams across the country used NASA Earth observations to better inform environmental decision-making. During this time, participants presented their work, created outstanding project videos, and made lasting connections throughout the program.
May 01, 2019
Congratulations to the Texas Water Resources team at DEVELOP’s North Carolina-NCEI node. The team worked with the Texas A&M Forest Service and the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station Threat Assessment Center to use NASA Earth science data for studying drought in Texas. Check out their work! Check out their hard work here!
Apr 18, 2019
Congratulations to Carl Jurkowski who was selected as the spring 2019 DEVELOPer of the Term. Carl was project lead of the Argentina Water Resources team at the Idaho – Pocatello node. He showed exemplary leadership and communication throughout the term to ensure his team was on track. Learn more about Carl’s success in the upcoming spring 2019 review article, coming soon!
Apr 12, 2019
NASA DEVELOP hosts Applications of NASA Earth Observations session at the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting in Washington DC. With over 6,000 geographers in attendance, learn how six DEVELOP presentations showed the unique applications of NASA satellites!
Apr 08, 2019
64 participants worked on 16 projects over the course of this spring. Each team created a project video highlighting their work! Every term the DEVELOP National Program hosts a Virtual Poster Competition to identify the best video! The competition will run from April 5 to April 26, and you can help them out by viewing, liking, and sharing their videos to friends and family! Check out their hard work here!
Mar 29, 2019
In honor of Women’s History Month, DEVELOP interviewed three alumnae: Chippie Kislik, Leah Kucera, and Kelly Meehan. These women shared what they pursued post-DEVELOP and how DEVELOP was influential in their future endeavors.
Mar 20, 2019
DEVELOP at Boston recognizes their first year of operation! Come read how a connection from California brought a DEVELOP node to the northeast!
Mar 1, 2019
Neda Kasraee wanted to share her NASA DEVELOP work with a wider network. What she didn’t know was that reaching out to the right people would put her in front of an audience of hundreds of GIS professionals.
Feb 16, 2019
With the change in season comes new participants, new partnerships, and new projects. The Spring 2019 term has begun!
62 participants worked on 16 projects. Check out the winning video, Under the Radar!
This term, for their outstanding contributions to the program, Harrison Knapp and Jillian LaRoe have been named DEVELOPer of the Term!
Congratulations to Max Stewart, Sydney Neugebauer, and Conor Mulderrig for their exceptional service at DEVELOP this summer!
100 participants worked on 28 projects over the course of this Summer. They created some amazing videos highlighting their work which can be viewed here.
103 participants worked on 18 projects over the course of this fall. They created some amazing videos highlighting their work. The competition will run from November 16 to Decemeber 31, and you can help them out by viewing, liking, and sharing their videos to friends and family, however the best way to help is to leave intelligent and challenging comments for them. Check out their hard work here!
Congratulations to David Rickless, Mariana Webb, and Xin Hong for their above and beyond performance this summer at DEVELOP!
Congratulations to Helen Baldwin and Veronica Warda on being the 2017 Summer DEVELOPers of the term! Helen was on the Thailand Disasters team at Marshall Space Flight Center and Veronica was on the Wyoming Cross-Cutting project at the Wise County Clerk of Courts Office.
This spring, DEVELOP submitted 15 recent projects for publication as an article series through Earthzine. The series launched with the first article on Tuesday June 13 and the final article on August 21.
DEVELOPers attended the George Wright Society Conference in Norfolk, Virginia to demonstrate how America's national parks can benefit from the use of NASA Earth observations in their decision making processes. These collaborative projects were highlighted in two sessions, one co-chaired by NASA and NPS. This session concluded with the presentation of an "Intermountain Region Natural Resources Partnership" award to the NASA DEVELOP Program on behalf of the NPS Intermountain Region for the program's efforts and support during the National Park Service's Centennial. Many thanks to the National Park Service!
Congratulations to Austin Counts, selected as the Spring 2017 DEVELOPer of the Term! Austin was nominated by the Wise County and the Idaho Center Leads for his remarkable communication and collaboration skills. He worked on a multi-node, collaborative project and helped to ensure successful end results, even though participants were separated by two time zones and nearly 2,000 miles. He not only pre-emptively identified problems and solutions, but his hard-work ethic was contagious and motivated team members to accomplish project goals with little direction from project or node leadership. In essence, he embodied a leader's personality while still maintaining personable team relations.
