ABout
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SPEC School is directed by Dr. Kyla Dahlin, an associate professor at Michigan State University in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences and the Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. Inspired by other summer courses for grad students and postdocs, like FluxCourse, IsoCamp, and the Complex Systems Summer School, Kyla launched SPEC School to help grow the ecological remote sensing community. Participants will get hands on experience with field spectroscopy, imaging spectroscopy, lidar, and other data products from the National Ecological Observatory Network. In addition, a major focus of the course is on developing leadership skills for academia and beyond.
SPEC School is currently funded by the US National Science Foundation through an NSF CAREER award to Kyla via the Division of Environmental Biology Ecosystems Science Program (award #2044818). |
Dr. Kyla M. Dahlin
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Ecology
The fundamental goal of ecology is to better understand the patterns and processes that control connections between the biotic and abiotic parts of the world. A lot of remote sensing is focused on terrestrial plants, but there are some very cool exceptions, and all types of ecologists (or eco-adjacent scientists) are welcome.
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Remote Sensing
Remote sensing just means measuring things from afar. This almost always involves interactions between light and materials, and so we spend a lot of time thinking about the electromagnetic spectrum and how different wavelengths of light (spectra) interact with different surfaces.
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Scientific Leadership
Across the sciences, early career researchers are not prepared well for the leadership roles they are expected to take on as researchers, professors, or wherever their paths may lead. A core goal of SPEC School is to build a leadership toolbox to enable an inclusive 21st century environmental data science workforce.
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guidance team
Various members of the SPEC School guidance team help develop the course curriculum, promote SPEC School at events, review applications, provide advice as needed to the organizers, and serve as part of the participants' professional networks. The team currently includes Dr. Adriana Uscanga (MSU, assistant director of SPEC School), Dr. Dana Chadwick (JPL), Dr. Kendra Cheruvelil (MSU), Dr. Sparkle Malone (Yale), Dr. Xi Yang (UVA), and Dr. Casey Youngflesh (MSU). The guidance team is still growing - if you have ideas you would like to contribute to SPEC School, please reach out to Kyla!
