Summer 2023 Newsletter

Posted 2 years ago
I-GUIDE Quarterly Newsletter
September 2023
Registration is now OPEN for the 2023 NSF I-GUIDE Forum, Harnessing the Geospatial Data Revolution for Sustainability Solutions coming up October 4th through 6th at The Forum at Columbia University, New York, NY.
The I-GUIDE Forum 2023 will bring together a diverse array of speakers and cover a wide range of topics, making it an exciting gathering for those interested in the intersection of geospatial science, technology, and sustainability. Participants will experience informative presentations and engaging discussions centered around cutting-edge advancements in geospatial AI and data science. These advancements play a vital role in enabling sustainable development solutions and pushing the frontiers of convergence science. The themes of the forum include:
Frontiers in Convergence and Sustainability Sciences
Digital Transformation of the Workforce
Geospatial AI and Data Science
Cyberinfrastructure for Convergence Research
The 2023 Forum agenda provides an overview of planned sessions and talks for October 5th and 6th as well as the schedule of tutorials and workshops happening on Wednesday, October 4th. For further information, see the 2023 I-GUIDE Forum website.
In August 2023 I-GUIDE brought together 35 graduate students and early-career scholars from academic institutions across the United States for the 2023 I-GUIDE Summer School, Convergence Science in Action, hosted at The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and supported by National Science Foundation (NSF).
Read all about the collaborative efforts of the scholars at I-GUIDE’s Summer School in Boulder, Colorado, where they addressed various challenges related to agricultural labor productivity under heat stress, improving flood predictions through accurate riverine topography models, identifying vulnerable populations at risk from wildfires in wildland-urban interfaces, and other topics. The participants worked on real-world problems, with a focus on convergence science, and concluded the event with final presentations, awarding top honors to the team addressing Great Salt Lake modeling and a people’s choice award to the group working on the SIMPLE-G model and heat stress. The Summer School is a key feature of the I-GUIDE initiative, with plans for future offerings.
At the end of the Summer School week, each of the six project teams presented their results and findings. Of the six, two project teams were selected to present their work a second time at the upcoming I-GUIDE Forum in October 2023. Check out the video recordings of all six presentations here.
Recent news and updates from the I-GUIDE team and partners as well as articles on related topics.
Interview with I-GUIDE’s Deanna Hence
Tropical Storm Hilary’s recent impact on California was unusual as tropical cyclones along the U.S. West Coast are rare. However Hilary was able to reach California because of warmer waters near the equator and specific atmospheric conditions. I-GUIDE’s Deanna Hence explains why predicting future occurrences like Hilary is complex but essential work.
The Water Science Conference (WaterSciCon) brings the water community together every two years to share research, collaborate, and plan for the future. WaterSciCon 2024 will be held the week of 23 June 2024 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The theme of the meeting is Catalyzing Collaboration. Leveraging collaborations between co-sponsors, AGU and CUAHSI, WaterSciCon includes engineering, urban planning, social science, and affiliated science communities.
September 2023 Ascender Profile
Hodo Orok
From Chemistry to Climate: A Journey of Resilience and Communication
Hodo Orok is a PhD Student and Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL. Within I-GUIDE Hodo contributes research to the Aging Dam Project and is a member of the I-GUIDE Climbers group and the Engagement and Partnership Team. Hodo was also a participant in the 2023 I-GUIDE Summer School hosted at the University Consortium for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado.
Explore the latest research publications from the NSF I-GUIDE team.


In recent years, we’ve gained better insight into how the global trade of agricultural products affects both people and nature. Yet, some aspects of how this trade impacts the environment remain unclear. This recent I-GUIDE study by da Silva et al. focused on soybean-producing areas in Brazil and found that, while most soybeans were sold internationally, areas with consistent local soybean production, not for international markets, were linked to higher deforestation. These places also saw more cattle farming and pasture expansion connected to soybean production. These findings highlight the need to manage resources carefully in our interconnected world and pinpoint areas where deforestation could be reduced through targeted policies.






















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