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NASA and ESA colleagues gathered smiling in front of Edge Hill’s historic Main Building.

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Edge Hill University hosts historic gathering of NASA and ESA scientists

November 8, 2024

Edge Hill University is proud to have welcomed world-leading NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) scientists to its Ormskirk campus.

Academics hosted the bi-annual face to face meeting of the joint Multi-mission Algorithm and Analytics Platform (MAAP) project, a significant milestone in global scientific collaboration for the University as it’s the first time the meeting has been held in the UK.

Computer science and geography students enjoyed an opportunity to meet with the scientists for two inspiring seminars on the diverse career paths available with NASA.

Dr Nathan Thomas, Senior Lecturer in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing at Edge Hill University, co-ordinated the meeting. He previously worked at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center during his tenure at the University of Maryland and still works as a scientist on the MAAP project.

Dr Thomas shared his excitement about hosting the groundbreaking event: “It’s a privilege to welcome world-leading scientists from NASA and ESA to Edge Hill University.

“This meeting signifies not only an opportunity for international collaboration but also an inspiration for our students and faculty, highlighting the global reach of our University’s academic network.”

The MAAP project brings together data, algorithms and computing capabilities to address the challenges of sharing and processing data from the field, the air and space. One ongoing experiment is mapping and measuring forests, focusing on areas of rapid change and deforestation to inform policy and decision-making.

NASA and ESA members sat around a table in a meeting

The group meeting, which reviews progress and sets plans for the upcoming six months, is typically held twice a year – once at a NASA location in the United States and once at ESRIN, ESA’s European Space Research Institute in Rome.

While at Edge Hill, NASA mission scientists Dr Laura Duncanson, Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, and Sam Niemoeller, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Software Engineer met with geography students and discussed the opportunities for geoscientists and how NASA’s technology is revealing Earth’s secrets.

And Sujen Shah focused on computer science and its use in space missions and research, and offered valuable career advice and insights into the skills needed to contribute to high-level scientific endeavours.

Dr Thomas added: “Hosting experts from NASA not only reinforces the University’s commitment to global research collaboration but also provides an unmatched opportunity for our students to understand how their education can translate into impactful careers.”

Find out more about studying geosciences and computer science at Edge Hill University.

November 8, 2024

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