STEM Shoutout: Shirley Baros

UNM program receives funding from Federal Emergency Management Agency to photograph acequias

UNM’s Earth Data Analysis Center (EDAC) received a grant to work alongside the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security (DHSEM) and the Office of the State Engineer to develop a GIS database using existing Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) remote sensing and aerial photography for all acequias in New Mexico, which will be incorporated into the State Hazard Mitigation Plan. The project received $377,460 in funding through June of 2019.

Shirley Baros is the program director of this center. She is also a UNM graduate and a former ASUNM Senator. “EDAC embraces innovative geospatial information analyses and technologies such as LiDAR data analysis and drone remote sensing,” Baros said.

Baros and EDAC are active in interdisciplinary partnerships with researchers at UNM and other universities. According to Baros, these partnerships provide professional and academic development opportunities for UNM undergraduate and graduate students.