Dr. Sharif Islam, a postdoctoral associate in the Space Enabled research group, has been selected as an ESIP Community Fellow and Future Earth Coasts (FEC) Fellow.

Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) is a nonprofit supported by NASA, NOAA, USGS, and other member organizations that aims to promote the collection, stewardship, and use of Earth science data, information, and knowledge in response to societal needs. ESIP Community Fellows are early career researchers doing graduate and postdoctoral work spanning many geo, ecology, data, and information science fields.

Concurrently, Future Earth Coasts (FEC) is a global research network  and platform for translating sustainability knowledge into action that includes a number of United Nations agencies, intergovernmental bodies, and organizations such as the International Council for Science. FEC Fellows are initially appointed for a term of three years and have access to opportunities for mentorship from the FEC Academy and opportunities for feedback on research outputs, among other benefits. 

Dr. Islam joined the Space Enabled research group in 2023 and is one of the key researchers using the EVDT (Environment-Vulnerability-Decision-Technology) Integrated Modeling Framework to build systems that apply satellite data for the Sustainable Development Goals. During 2024, Dr. Islam is leading the Space Enabled webinar series called the "EVDT Community Meeting." All are welcome to join and hear about examples of space technology research in applications such as drought response, greenhouse gas monitoring, and forest management.