NASA helps FGCU students develop research skills through unique partnership
- Laurie D. Babcock
- October 16, 2024
- The Water School at FGCU
- Contributors: James Greco, Photos
5 – minute read
Florida Gulf Coast University made history this summer by becoming one of the newest sites for the prestigious NASA Develop program. Spearheaded by Rachel Rotz in collaboration with The Water School and the U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering, FGCU’s initiative offered research opportunities while addressing environmental issues in Southwest Florida.
NASA Develop is a national 10-week research initiative using the organization’s earth science data to solve environmental and public policy problems.
“FGCU pitched several proposals and successfully collaborated on one project, which included a partnership with the Seminole Tribe,” says Rotz, the program coordinator and an assistant professor of marine and earth sciences in The Water School. She coordinated with NASA to establish FGCU as a pop-up location for the national program for the first time.
Two FGCU students, along with one each from the University of Central Florida and Oregon State University, participated in the project. Their majors were environmental science, marine science, computer science and interdisciplinary studies.
“Our project focused on assessing water quality in Big Cypress, to understand how satellite systems can rapidly detect water quality issues from space,” says Rotz. “This aligns perfectly with FGCU’s mission of environmental sustainability.”
Rotz, who interned at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, formed the science advisory team with ecology and environmental studies instructor Dhruvkumar Bhatt and engineering assistant professor Ahmed Elshall.
NASA comes to campus
NASA Develop, an initiative of the space agency’s applied sciences program, addresses environmental issues globally through interdisciplinary projects. It teaches partner organizations how to use earth science data to tackle environmental challenges while cultivating the next generation of scientists and leaders.
“We want to take NASA science information and make it useful. So we want to build the capacity of communities or organizations to use NASA Earth Observations, and then we want to work with people that are trying to step up in their career and build their skill sets,” says Develop program manager Kenton Ross. He works out of the agency’s Langley Research Center in Virginia and met the FGCU team in June at the start of their project.
The FGCU students on the team, Nathan Hewitt and Gustavo Rosas, can add “NASA contractor” to their résumés because it’s a workforce development program — not an internship.
“To start a project from scratch and learn coding and analysis techniques is not easy, and the fast-paced environment of NASA definitely increased the pressure,” says Hewitt. A native of Westfield, Indiana, he is in the master’s of environmental science program and Honors College.
The team processed and analyzed data, conducted literature reviews and produced technical reports, presentations and videos. They used remote sensing and geographic information system technology, and collaborated with space agency scientists, the Seminole Tribe of Florida and FGCU science advisers.
Hewitt says the experience gave him a deeper appreciation of geospatial analysis and coding, provided a list of trainings and tools to help him better prepare for a career after graduate school, and opportunities for networking.
“Our purpose is to help them rise in their career, and that’s going to happen when they’re energized about the knowledge they can gain and the skills they can apply,” says NASA’s Ross.
Stewards of the land
The team’s main objective was to evaluate the feasibility of using NASA Earth Observations equipment to assess water quality around Big Cypress National Preserve and the Big Cypress Reservation. Along with satellite data, FGCU faculty analyzed water samples. Balancing the tribe’s ecological concerns with respect for the land, where Seminole and Miccosukee people hold traditional and customary use rights, was paramount.
“It’s more of an information science project than something dependent on field research. We want to show people what’s possible,” says Ross. The project underscores the potential of interdisciplinary research in addressing pressing environmental issues.
While the project has concluded, FGCU’s partnerships won’t end there. The Water School continues to collaborate with the Seminole Tribe, leveraging the work started this summer to apply for additional grants and expand into future projects. Rotz says she and her colleagues are also collaborating with the space agency on a second project for next summer.
“We’re excited for the upcoming work, continuing our collaboration with the tribe, and remaining a part of the NASA Develop pop-up rotation in the future,” she says.
