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PWNov11careers-3 25/10/11 09:32 Page 48 physicsworld.com Careers Enjoy a new perspective of the Earth Earth scientist and remote- sensing expert Shannon Franks describes how there is more to NASA than space exploration Homing in on home Shannon Franks uses satellite images to study the Earth. When people think of NASA, the first thing care for the health of the environment. It was a great project to work on; not only that comes to mind is probably an image of Not everything, however, was so easy. does Landsat have the longest continuous astronauts floating around the International During my first year, I was in a car accident record of satellite land-surface observation Space Station, or perhaps the great discov- that left me paraplegic and confined to a but, at the time of my internship, the pro- eries that have come from the agency’s space wheelchair. My dreams of working in the gramme had just launched its most recent programme. However, while space explor- field doing studies in the outdoors virtually and advanced satellite to date (Landsat 7). I ation and rocket science are among NASA’s vanished at that instant. But although I could was amazed by the work done there and the better-known achievements, it also does cut- no longer easily access the remote wilderness amount of information that can be derived ting-edge Earth science, forging new ways to areas that interested me, as I once did so from those beautiful images of Earth’s sur- monitor the planet we call home. effortlessly, none of this worried or deterred face. For example, what some people might I work as a contractor at NASA’s Goddard me from having a clear idea of what I wanted consider a pretty picture of the coral reefs in Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, in life. I just had to make an adjustment. My the Florida Keys, scientists consider critical Maryland, and my research is on Earth mind was as strong as ever and my determi- data for mapping coral-reef degradation observation. Specifically, I use the tech- nation to reach my goals was even greater. caused by pollution. A picture really can be niques of remote sensing to process and After rehabilitation, I returned to my stud- worth a thousand words. analyse images that have been collected by ies. As I settled into the groove of university Earth-orbiting satellites. The term “remote education, I found that I enjoyed higher- Data integration sensing” describes the acquisition of infor- level mathematics and physics, too, so I A few years after my first encounter with mation about an object or phenomenon decided to take the required courses for a NASA’s remote-sensing studies, I earned a without actually being in contact with it, so degree in physics as well as environmental Master’s degree in geography from the in some ways, we are all doing remote sens- science. As my skills and interests became University of Maryland, and this led me to ing every time we use a camera. However, clearer, I realized that I faced a dilemma: my current job. For eight years I have been when used scientifically, remote sensing also how could I combine my passion for the working at NASA as a contractor, of which involves harnessing parts of the electromag- environment and my interest in physics into the past three years have been as an netic spectrum that are not otherwise visible a career? The light bulb in my head lit up as employee of a firm called Stinger Ghaffarian to the human eye. For example, when using soon as I took a physics course on environ- Technologies (SGT). At the GSFC, roughly infrared light, the vitality of vegetation mental modelling. This course introduced 50% of the workforce are contractors and becomes more apparent and its level of me to the concept of remote sensing, and I there are many great relationships between moisture is more visible. was immediately hooked. the civil servants and the contract employ- The thing that eventually paved the way to ees. SGT is one of those contracting compa- Clarity through elimination my career in remote sensing was a series of nies and it has really provided me with the When I started my undergraduate studies at summer internships. I did internships every support and freedom to grow. Northland College, Wisconsin, I followed summer during my undergraduate years, When I was an intern at the GSFC, I was my passion for the outdoors and the natural and this not only gave me a chance to travel making pictures and posters of satellite environment by pursuing a degree in envi- around the US – something I love doing – imagery purely for aesthetics, but now I make ronmental science. I was living in a small but also allowed me to apply my skills in dif- them to portray my research and its results. town, surrounded by all the nature I wanted, ferent career environments. During the sum- During my career, I have worked on numer- and everything was bliss. I envisioned a mer of 2000 I did an internship at the ous Earth-science projects, from studying career with the Environmental Protection GSFC’s Landsat Project Science Office, vegetation regrowth following large-scale Agency, studying streams or perhaps work- where I learned the specifics of satellite fires in Yellowstone National Park, to creat- ing on some other project that would let me imagery and its many applications to society. ing global datasets, and I am currently help- 48 Physics World November 2011 PWNov11careers-3 25/10/11 09:32 Page 49 physicsworld.com Careers ing my NASA colleagues test a prototype impressive, behind every pretty picture there ranked as one the best federal institutions to method of estimating global carbon stocks at is information in the form of pixel values, and work at thanks to its culture and benefits, so hectare-scale (10 000 m2) resolution. By these have to be interpreted. For example, there is not a high turnover of staff – people integrating many sources of information, the data are often a stream of values from tend to stay here for a long time, whether such as land-cover data from the Landsat zero to 255 (calibrated to the reflected and they are contractors or civil servants. So, on satellite, tree-canopy information from lidar emitted energy received at the satellite, in the top of being highly qualified in whatever field sources (pulses of light directed towards the case of Landsat), so I have to be able to inter- you are in, I recommend that would-be appli- ground and returned to map surface pret how the changes in those values relate cants try to get a “foot in the door” in one way heights), and radar- and ground-collected to changes in Earth’s land cover. I also use an or another. For me, this was an internship, field data, we are developing the most accu- advanced algorithm to help me find the best but many people get hired because they rate way to date of predicting global carbon satellite images to use in analysing the way made a good impression at a conference or stocks and fluxes of forests. Since under- that land cover has changed. In a position have been recommended by another em- standing the global carbon cycle is essential such as mine, there are two things that you ployee. As my experience shows, physics can for predicting climate change, having this need: the curiosity to ask questions; and the lead to a fascinating career, and may even information about biomass flux is crucial. willingness and skills to find the answer to change your perspective of the Earth. On a daily basis, I am applying principles those questions. Without my background in of physics and mathematics to analyse infor- physics, that would not be possible. Shannon Franks is a remote-sensing scientist who mation from satellite imagery. One thing you I often get asked how a person gets a job at works as an SGT contractor at NASA’s Goddard Space quickly learn in this field is that while NASA. The first thing I usually tell them is Flight Center in Maryland, US, e-mail shannon.franks remotely sensed Earth imagery is visually that it is not easy. NASA is continually @nasa.gov Once a physicist: Hannu Rajaniemi including playing table-top role-playing games. But architecture, BLDGBLOG, features some strange when I came to the UK, I lost touch with the people I and bizarre architectural ideas such as walking was doing that with, so writing became an attempt cities. I got an idea from there about “memory to find an alternative outlet for my creative castles”, which is the ancient technique of impulses. One thing that really helped was that I structuring your thoughts in terms of imagined or joined a writers’ group in Edinburgh that included real spaces, with objects in those spaces acting as some well-established professional members, and mnemonic devices. The other writers in the they encouraged me to believe that I could write Edinburgh group also really helped me develop my and be published. craft. A writer is always a bit like a magpie – you collect things from all over. How does science enter your writing? My first novel is called The Quantum Thief, and it What are you working on now? Hannu Rajaniemi is an Edinburgh-based science- grew out of this idea I had of writing a sort of “heist” My next novel, The Fractal Prince, will be a sequel to fiction writer whose first novel, The Quantum Thief, story set in a very distant, technically advanced The Quantum Thief, and it will take some of the is published by Gollancz in paperback this month future.

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