Graduate Student and Researcher Matt Rogers Invited to Give GLOBE Workshop in Estonia
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Atmospheric science graduate research assistant Matt Rogers was recently selected to headline the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit Environment (GLOBE) program's 10th anniversary conference. At the spring 2007 conference on "Science Education and its Sustainable Development in Estonia," Rogers delivered presentations and led practical workshops and discussions on NASA's educational mission and Colorado State University's CloudSat Network.
A community of primary and secondary school students, teachers and scientists worldwide, GLOBE participants work together on environmental and earth system investigations and research. As part of the NASA educational mission, GLOBE participants collaborate with the scientific community by conducting measurements, reporting data and publishing research projects. Working in conjunction with the GLOBE Center in the U.S. and the National Ocean and Atmosphere Association (NOAA), Estonian students are trained in cloud observation and report data collected directly to CSU via a website.
"Our partnership with GLOBE has provided us access to a global network of schools that provide us with ground-truth observations while affording us the ability to bring real science lessons to some seriously interested students," said Rogers. "It's a thrill to talk about scientific research with the scientists of tomorrow and make connections with interested teachers and scientists involved in the GLOBE program across the planet."
During his visit, Rogers presented a CloudSat talk at the Estonian GLOBE conference describing the CloudSat mission, detailing the outreach program and its interaction with students and teachers in a classroom setting. CloudSat is an experimental satellite, part of a constellation of satellites orbiting the Earth in the A-Train formation; CloudSat and its sister satellite, Calipso, use radar to collect cloud and precipitation data from space.
Rogers also conducted a workshop centered on CloudSat observations, the website and the CloudSat Education Network (CEN). A second workshop focused on developing collaborative research projects between students and CloudSat scientists. Estonian teachers were particularly interested in a simple comparison of cloud type to the changing of the seasons and the mechanisms behind changing seasonal formations.
"Everywhere I went, I met teachers and scientists who were justifiably proud of their work and looking to make more connections with scientists here at CSU," Rogers said of the experience. "I think that continuing this international contact with students and teachers will lead to some fruitful research being performed by students and scientists."
For more information on CloudSat please visit the website at http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu