Daniel Irwin Pioneered SERVIR Satellite Imaging For Natural
Disasters
An award commemorating a remarkable scientist who died in the
9/11 attacks was presented this week to a man deemed a
revolutionary at using satellite data for the good of
humankind.
This year's Charles S. Falkenberg Award commends Daniel E.
Irwin, an Earth scientist from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, AL, for creating an unprecedented monitoring and
visualization system that's shared among scientists, scientific
agencies, and governments in Central America and the Dominican
Republic and that harnesses Earth imagery from space for the
benefit of that part of the developing world.
Since Irwin pioneered the system in 2003 with funding from NASA,
this system-known as SERVIR ("to serve," in Spanish) has been used
to promote environmental sustainability through innovative
application of space imagery and has enabled satellites to support
responses to hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, algal
blooms and other disasters across Central America.
A Central American environmental leader recalled in a letter
supporting Irwin's award nomination the "incredible support" El
Salvador received from Irwin and SERVIR in response to an
earthquake, the eruption of the Santa Ana (Ilamatepec) volcano, and
Hurricane Stan.
Irwin is now working to build similar systems and international
collaborations in other developing regions of the world, such as
East Africa.
"Daniel Irwin is leading a revolution in the application of
Earth science information for sustainable development," said Woody
W. Turner, NASA's program manager for ecological forecasting.
Irwin accepted the award at the 2008 Summer Federation of Earth
Science Information Partners (ESIP) Conference, which took place
from July 15-18 in Durham, NH. The Falkenberg Award, given jointly
by ESIP and the American Geophysical Union (AGU), honors "a
scientist under 45 years of age who has contributed to the quality
of life, economic opportunities, and stewardship of the planet
through the use of Earth science information and to the public
awareness of the importance of understanding our planet."
Charles S. Falkenberg was a computer
scientist who advanced techniques for collecting and visualizing
earth and environmental science data. He, his wife, and their two
young daughters lost their lives when American Airlines Flight 77
crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
Irwin has more than 15 years of experience in using satellite
remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Central
America. He is currently the NASA Project Director for SERVIR,
which was developed at the NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. A
SERVIR operational facility is located in Panama at the Water
Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean
(CATHALAC) and is supported by the US Agency for International
Development. SERVIR is considered an early achievement of the
Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) -- a 70+ country
effort to develop a 21st century network for earth observation
systems.
"On behalf of the entire SERVIR team, I'm deeply honored and
humbled to receive the 2008 Charles S. Falkenberg Award," said
Irwin. "It's a real privilege to be able to transition valuable
NASA Earth observation data and models developed by NASA and other
partner agencies to improve the quality of life in the developing
world."