Good morning! This year ESIP is focused on “Putting data to work.” This is my favorite topic and the reason I got into data management. With my advisor, Rudy Husar, we wanted to bring together multiple datasets from different providers to understand long-range transport of smoke. I have thought a lot about that work in the last several weeks.
Putting data to work can focus on standards and interoperability. Two weeks ago, ESIP facilitated a workshop for USGS focused on developing sample collection-level metadata that built on existing work from TDWG and others. It can also look like incorporating persistent identifiers such as DOIs, RORs or ORCIDs and seeing the fruit of those identifier implementations in platforms like the Smithsonian/Harvard Astrophysics Data System (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/) or Project FREYA’s PID graph showcased last week at PIDapalooza.
Putting data to work looks like cross-agency collaboration. It was wonderful to see that NASA, NOAA, ESA and many other partners came together to rename Sentinel-6A after Dr. Michael Freilich because of his “lifelong dedication to understanding our planet and improving life for everyone on it.” Freilich has led the way in putting data to work and I would like to add ESIP’s congratulations on this honor . More info.
The call for Raskin Scholars (deadline: 3/15): In collaboration with his family, ESIP remembers Rob Raskin and his dedication to support the next generation of Earth science data and technology leaders that are putting data to work through the Robert G. Raskin Scholarship. This Annual Scholarship provides a $5000 award and travel support to the ESIP Summer Meeting, where the recipient will give an invited talk. More info.
For more ways we are putting data to work, join us this Wednesday, February 5 at 3pmET for the 2020 ESIP Winter Meeting Highlights Webinar. This will be a set of fast-paced lightning talks that highlight from over 20 breakout sessions and key events from the meeting. More info.
Over the course of the year, I want to share many more of these stories. If you are inclined, reply and let me know how you are putting data to work.
Thanks for reading and contributing to ESIP,
Erin
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Erin Robinson
ESIP Executive Director
Join the Winter Meeting Highlights Webinar When: Wednesday February 5th, 3:00-4:30 pm ET Join:https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/331745829 You can also dial in using your phone: +1 (571) 317-3116 (Access Code: 331-745-829) More Info & Int'l phone numbers: HERE
Whether you weren't able to attend the meeting in person or you're looking to see what happened in other breakout sessions, this webinar is for you!
This Week's Collaboration Area Telecons:
Monday: Schema.org
Tuesday: CLEAN; Envirosensing; Community Ontology Repository
Wednesday: IM Code Registry
Thursday: Data Stewardship; Disaster Lifecycle
See the full telecon calendar here. Select the meeting you'd like to attend, login instructions are included in description.
ESIP News
2020 Raskin Scholarship Call for Applications
The Raskin Scholarship seeks to promote collaboration, research support, and exposure for talented students and early career researchers in the Earth or computer sciences. The Scholarship, which is awarded annually, provides a $5000 award and travel support to the ESIP Summer Meeting, where the recipient will have an invited talk covering their field of interest. The award is named in honor of long-time ESIP participant, Rob Raskin, who was an Earth science information partner extraordinaire and a mentor to many aspiring Earth science data professionals. For more details on eligibility and how to apply, please visit our website.
Ignite@AGU Videos Now Available on YouTube
This 2019 Ignite @AGU event highlighted eleven geoscientists who were given one task… enlighten us, but make it quick. This year's event was sponsored by NASA's Earth Science Division and ESIP and was hosted by Planet Labs. Check out the videos here.
Data FAIR at 2020 Ocean Sciences Meeting
EarthCube, ESIP, and AGU along with their partners will be hosting a Data FAIR at the 2020 Ocean Sciences Meeting in San Diego, CA (2/16-2/21). The program, which was just held at the AGU Fall Meeting, provides researchers with opportunities to engage with informatics experts familiar with their scientific domain and learn skills and techniques that will help further their research and make their data and software open and FAIR. The Data FAIR will include Town Halls, Workshops, and the Data Help Desk staffed with experts from the Earth and space science informatics community and demos at Exhibit Hall Booth #322.
More News
NASA and Partners Name Ocean Studying Satellite for Michael Freilich
NASA and several partners announced last week that they have renamed a key ocean observation satellite in honor of Earth scientist Michael Freilich, who retired last year as head of NASA’s Earth Science division, a position he held since 2006. The Sentinel-6A/Jason CS satellite, scheduled to launch later this year, will now be known as Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich. “This honor demonstrates the global reach of Mike’s legacy,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a press release about the renaming. “We are grateful for ESA and the European partners’ generosity in recognizing Mike’s lifelong dedication to understanding our planet and improving life for everyone on it. Mike’s contributions to NASA – and to Earth science worldwide – have been invaluable, and we are thrilled that this satellite bearing his name will uncover new knowledge about the oceans for which he has such an abiding passion.” ESIP would also like to congratulate and thank Freilich for his enduring legacy.
Participate in OGC’s Testbed-16 and Shape the Future of Location Technologies
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is calling for participation in its next major innovation initiative, Testbed-16. Funding is available to offset the cost of participation. Testbed-16 will address some of the hottest geospatial IT topics of this new decade: Earth Observation Clouds; Data Integration, Interoperability & Analytics; Data Containers; and Security. To learn more about participating in an OGC Testbed, join a Q&A Webinar on the 28th January, 2020. To apply to participate in Testbed-16, respond to the Call For Participation by February 9, 2020.
Webinar: Leaving No One Off the Map: Gridded Population Data for Decision-Making (2/4 at 9:30 am ET)
Join this upcoming webinar, which will assess potential and limitations of diverse major gridded population data sets of the POPGRID Data Collaborative. Speakers will include CIESIN’s Robert Chen and SDSN TReNDS’ Maryam Rabiee. Register at https://buff.ly/3ahzag4.
Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and Google Earth Engine Announce Call to Action for Projects to Monitor the Pulse of our Planet
Shared data means everything to Earth observation researchers. If we hope to solve global problems such as climate change, open data is at the heart of finding answers. Sharing is at the heart of GEO’s latest call to action. In partnership with Google, GEO will select 25 project proposals to receive licenses for Google Earth Engine, to be used to tackle significant societal challenges and improve understanding of our planet.
Google is providing these licenses, valued at US$3 million, to broaden the use of Earth observation data. In keeping with GEO's goal of promoting openly shared data, we require that the chosen projects offer the results of their work to the open science community, including code, algorithms, datasets and results. See more details and apply by March 15, 2020 here.
Share Your Feedback on Competencies of Data Specialists
Please consider taking this survey, which is part of an effort to capture community feedback on potential competencies for data advisors (e.g. data curators – individuals that provide guidance to researchers in the selection, management, sharing, and preservation of their research data), and data service providers (e.g. data librarians – individuals that provide training, infrastructure support, preservation services, and other services to researchers related to their data management needs). The information provided by your response will be integrated into a “Data Advisor” and “Data Services Provider” Career Compass for the American Geosciences Institute, and as input into the process of developing learning assessment capabilities for a future version of ESIP's Data Management Training Clearinghouse.
2020 Gateway Focus Week Applications are Now Open!
The Science Gateways Community Institute offers two Focus Weeks per year. The 2020 sessions are:
June 1-5, Columbia University, New York, NY (apply by March 27)
Nov. 30-Dec. 4, San Diego Supercomputer Center, La Jolla, CA (apply by Sept. 25)
Gateway Focus Week is a five-day intensive workshop that has been carefully designed to benefit teams who want to ensure the sustainability of their gateway projects. Teams engage in hands-on activities that help them articulate the value of their work to key stakeholders. Participating teams produce a strong development, operations, and sustainability plan with a corresponding pitch deck that includes actionable goals. By working closely across teams, participants have the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences and challenges. Teams also learn how to access consultations, engagement opportunities, and other resources from the SGCI. Apply now!
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ESIP is funded with support from NASA, NOAA, and the USGS.
