IDEA Mission Statement:

The IDEA Committee shall Inspire, Develop, Empower, and Advance (IDEA) all GRSS members and affiliates of accredited societies who are interested in the fields of interest of the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS). We celebrate, support and thrive on our differences for the benefit of our members and our GRSS community. The committee is responsible for planning and organizing activities across regions, chapters, and conferences to develop, empower, and advance engineers and scientists from diverse backgrounds (technical, regional, gender, etc.), and inspire members around the world to follow their technical interests to a career in geoscience and remote sensing. The committee also strives to inspire a future generation of engineers and scientists through various groups working with students at all levels of academics. The IDEA committee envisions a vibrant GRSS community collectively using their diverse talents to innovate for the benefit of humanity.

Women in the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (WinGRSS):

The IDEA Committee oversees the WinGRSS group. You can connect with us on LinkedIn and Facebook!

IEEE GRSS Women Mentoring Women (WMW) Program

Worldwide, women remain underrepresented in the STEM workforce and gender bias persists. GRSS wants to encourage professional development of women in GRSS, and we strive to raise awareness and engage the GRSS community. The main purpose of the WMW Program is to provide support for women within GRSS at various career stages ranging from early career to senior professionals. This encompasses individual, one-on-one connections that are fostered between mentor and mentee. In these individual mentoring meetings, the mentor and mentee discuss professional, academic, and personal issues. They set goals, problem-solve and celebrate successes. Interested? Sign up as a mentor or a mentee. Application deadline for the 2019-2020 year is July 1, 2019. Please note that you need to be a current IEEE/GRSS member to be able to join. WMW is currently being made available to all post-PhD women in GRSS. In the future, we hope to expand to PhD students as well. Read our GRSS WMW stories.

Interested?
Sign up as a mentor or a mentee.

Events at the annual International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS):

The annual Women in Geoscience and Remote Sensing Luncheon at IGARSS was started in 2012. The event is an informal lunch for women & men to network with other women & senior GRSS members. The event typically features a speaker with a short presentation and plenty of networking opportunities. A few impressions from previous Women in GRSS Luncheons:

Sign up today for the Women in Geoscience Luncheon at IGARSS 2019 in Yokohama, Japan! (Registration opens 29 March 2019)

The Women in GRSS Forum at IGARSS was started in 2017 to promote diversity, inclusion, and career success in GRSS that benefit all IGARSS attendees, but is particularly focused on women & minority attendees. The IGARSS Women in GRSS Forum features accomplished women from a mix of backgrounds and with diverse career paths. We are inviting you to join the Women in GRSS Forum at IGARSS 2019 in Yokohama, Japan. Come to learn, be inspired, and network!

Awards & Nominations

IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) Awards include “Inspiring Member of the Year”, “Inspiring Student Member of the Year”, and “Affinity Group of the Year”. Look into award and nomination information to nominate fellow women engineers & scientists or send us an email!

The WIE International Leadership Conference (WIE ILC) offers a great opportunity for women (and men) to interact with the WIE community and to gain valuable leadership skills. GRSS subsidizes travel for 1-3 GRSS members to attend WIE ILC each year. Interested? Send us an email to nominate yourself or a colleague!

Further reading & networks

The GRS Magazine includes a regular column on Women in GRSS. We encourage you to check these columns out for information relevant to you and your career.

IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to promoting women engineers & scientists, and inspiring women and girls around the world to follow their academic interests to a career in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
The mission of IEEE WIE is to facilitate the global recruitment and retention of women in technical disciplines. IEEE WIE envisions a vibrant community of IEEE women and men collectively using their diverse talents to innovate for the benefit of humanity. WIE aspires to inspire, engage and advance women in engineering. Join WIE today!

Members of the IDEA Committee (in alphabetical order):

  • Alina Zare
  • Heather McNairn
  • Keely Roth
  • Mariko Burgin
  • Nkeiruka Onyia
  • Shawn Kefauver

Contacts:

We encourage you to contact us with ideas for outreach & activities, to suggest topics, guest editors, and women leaders, articles/writers for the GRS Magazine column, or to volunteer. We are also happy to help you to get elevated to Senior or higher IEEE membership status.