Geospatial Engineering Seminar, and Life-Changing Trip to Russia |
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by John Gagnon, promotional writer
The School of Technology will host an Engineering Explorations Focus Session, from 5 to 6 p.m., today, in EERC 313, on "Geospatial Engineering: Map Your World--Map Your Future."
Assistant Professor Eugene Levin and other surveying engineering faculty will identify current and prospective opportunities for students in geospatial engineering--in particular, a proposed graduate certificate and a master's in integrated geospatial technology, both of which are in the approval process, as well as a current technical emphasis in geospatial engineering that is part of the bachelor's in engineering.
Levin, program chair in surveying engineering, leads these initiatives, which involve a discipline that took him to Russia in late September, where he presented his research at an international seminar on geospatial science and technology. Specifically, he addressed a human-centric approach to man-made and natural disaster management and response.
The "3S" (Student Summer Seminar) was hosted by the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and the Siberian State Academy of Geodesy. The student gathering was in Novosibirsk, a city of two million in Western Siberia. Levin, who is from Novosibirsk, brought along Stephen Curelli, a 2008 graduate and a general support person in the School. Levin is Curelli's mentor and took him along because "I wanted him to realize the value of a Michigan Tech education."
Beyond that, the trip gave Curelli a new outlook on life. Once timid and uncertain; now he is outgoing and confident.
"In the past," he says, "I was more closed up. I enjoyed being alone. Now I have the confidence to go forward with my life. Everything is possible."
Curelli, who earned a bachelor's degree in surveying engineering in 2008 and who now helps the School with technical issues--as well as teaching, computing, advising and recruiting--was a leader among the fifty students at the conference. "He was popular and I am happy he was," Levin says.
Students came from China, Russia, Israel and Kazakhstan; Curelli was the only student from the US. The language of the conference was English, and Curelli was the only native English-speaking person there, so he coached other students (most of them came from China and Russia) in the language.
"I was just happy to be able to speak with these people and learn from them," he says. "I made it a priority to be friendly and show respect--so that, if they had a bad opinion about our actions in the international community, they would be able to reform it. I almost felt like an ambassador."
Besides exposing Curelli to academic life, Levin wanted to immerse him in a different culture. For between the US and Russia, Levin says, there are similarities and contrasts.
Both are "big territory."
In both Siberia and America, "Everyone comes from somewhere else."
Fast food versus a gourmet palate: "People have a different food culture."
In academia, America is strong on technology; Russia on theory.
There is 10 times more snow in Houghton than Novosibirsk.
This was Curelli's first trip to another country. He was exposed to the familiar: a city the size of Chicago, smog, traffic jams and a landscape of expansive conifers and white birch; as well as the new: unreadable signage, limited communication with locals, borscht and caviar.
"I recommend everyone travel to someplace different--someplace strange where you’re uncomfortable," he concludes. "I learned about myself."
He also learned some science, in particular, how to manipulate satellite imaging to analyze, say, an earthquake, compare the damage information to population information, deliver geospatial products for emergency services and pinpoint refuge zones.
Curelli hopes to enroll in Tech's proposed master's program in integrated geospatial technology. It is, he allows, a field of expertise that goes far beyond setting up a surveying instrument. |
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