Ph.D. student Jerome Mitchell receives 2013 NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship
Third-year Computer Science Ph.D. student Jerome Mitchell was awarded a 2013 NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF).
The NESSF program supports graduate students in basic and applied research in earth science and space science. Of the 330 applications NASA received for the earth science research award, 56 will receive the award. Each recipient will receive $30,000 , renewable for up to three years.
"I am humbled and grateful for receiving the NASA fellowship. It reaffirms my ability and my commitment to continue in solving problems of global significance," said Mitchell.
Mitchell’s proposed research, which capitalizes on the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets’ (CReSIS) high-quality data products, is to develop learning algorithms to automate determining layers in polar radar imagery. This would unburden domain experts from the process of determining key features in the datasets.
"Jerome's research is notable for innovation and excellence. His success is a good example of the value of involving students in research starting while they are an undergraduate,” said Geoffrey Fox, Mitchell’s advisor and distinguished profess of computer science and informatics.
Mitchell has been engaged with the CReSIS, a Science and Technology Center established by the National Science Foundation, throughout his academic career at the University of Kansas (the lead institution) and Elizabeth City State University (ECSU).
The mission of CReSIS is to develop new technologies and computer models to measure and predict the response of sea level change to the mass balance of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.
IU’s support of polar research with CReSIS helps scientists better understand the state of polar ice sheets in order to improve models of the physical interactions of glaciers, sea ice, and ice sheets at both poles.
Mitchell received his undergraduate degree from ECSU and master’s degree from Kansas. He has participated in the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), where he conducted research in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) as an undergraduate to use mobile autonomous robots to decrease the human footprint of polar expeditions and enhance measurement precision.