September 25, 2001

NASA Project Uses Techniques Developed at NC State for Image Analysis

Dr. Krim

Understanding the earth we depend upon has always been one of humankind’s goals.  The tools we use to characterize the earth have traditionally been limited because we were bound to the planet’s surface.

Now, a project at NC State University, part of a multibillion dollar initiative supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is helping scientists gather information about the earth from space.  This Earth Observatory System (EOS) project opens a world of possibilities for advanced data collection to help us understand our diverse and ever-changing planet.  Dr. Hamid Krim, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Thomas M. Conte, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Dr. Clay S. Gloster, former associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is working on NC State’s contribution to the project.  Krim’s goal is to develop rapid mathematical algorithms to compile the complex measurements NASA gathers from satellites in orbit around the earth and to use specialized hardware, developed by Conte and Gloster, that enables an operator to remotely vary the intended application while the satellite is in orbit.  Using these data scientists can monitor and study many kinds of phenomena, such as climate trends, pollution effects and deforestation, that affect the planet.

Such studies depend on scientists’ abilities to blend information together to gain insight into global systems.  Single pieces of data don’t mean much, but together the collections of data can paint a picture of conditions on earth.  That’s where Krim’s rapid mathematical algorithms come in — without them researchers wouldn’t be able to compile their data efficiently and gain essential knowledge about the status of our planet home. 

Although NC State’s role in the EOS project is relatively small, Krim is pleased to be able to contribute to scientists’ understanding of planetary dynamics, an essential clue to our past, present and future.

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Media Contacts:  Dr. Hamid Krim, 919/513-2270, ahk@eos.ncsu.edu, Linda E. Rudd, 919/515-3848, linda_rudd@ncsu.edu