Diving Deep: citizen scientists at Esri’s O-W-C
Written by: Simone Schneider, Shaun Baughman, Elise Lorenzo, Micah Ortiz
Can you say OMG? Of course, we’re talking about NASA’s Ocean Melting Greenland acronym.
During our first day at the ESRI Oceans, Weather, and Climate Forum we were so excited to meet individuals from several different companies who share our passion towards sustainable development goals.
Right from the beginning we were blown away by Dr. Dawn Wright’s (Esri Chief Scientist) incredible journey to the Challenger Deep becoming the first African American and female to explore the deepest parts of the ocean. Her journey as not only an accomplished scientist in the field of GIS but also a minority and a female was awe inspiring and brought chills to many of us attending the conference. Follow her fascinating journey in the ArcGIS Hub and Challenger Deep Story Map.
From there, Dr. Allison Leidner, from NASA’s earth science and applied sciences division, closed out the conference’s first session of the day. Her talk on NASA’s Climate and Resilience Applications kickstarted a day full of wonderful discussion and plenty more clever acronyms. Throughout the day we were also fortunate to hear from speakers Roger Sayre, David Herring, Carl Nettleton, Nicholas Tarpinian, and Heather Vollmer.
In between sessions, we had the pleasure of meeting Leslie Wilson (Esri Program Specialist, Early Careers Program) who gave us a tour of the newest Esri building on campus and a full presentation on the work being done at Esri, especially highlighting Esri’s internships and early career opportunities. Later throughout the day we also met with Linda Peters (Esri Business Development & Executive Program Director) who discussed private and public sector work, census data, and Esri’s multiple partnerships dealing with sustainable development.
As we chatted over refreshments in Esri’s inviting and modern campus, we connected, and reflected over the “why”; why we are here, why we all do the work we do in this field, and the impacts our collaboration has on our individual projects. Hearing presentations from people in different sectors served as a testament as to why we need collaboration, and why this forum is so important.
We left feeling inspired for Forum day two and beyond. More tomorrow, friends.
This blog is written by the US National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) team at Citizen Science GIS presenting at their first GIS conference. The next wave of ocean, weather, and climate change-makers is here on site, and ready to have an impact on the future of science, society and industry. For more information about our NSF REU/RET, please visit our REU/RET website (apps are open for the 2023 program) or contact PI Dr. Timothy Hawthorne and Co-PI Dr. Lain Graham.
Keep changing the world, friends!
