Digital technology shapes how many children today interact with the world. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified this wired existence, with everything from school to playdates taking place online.

With this in mind, , a hydrologist and 91̽�� professor of civil and environmental engineering, and , a 91̽��master’s student in electrical and computer engineering, set out to show children how technological breakthroughs predated the internet and were inspired by the natural world.

In their children’s book “,” illustrated by Hatice Sena Balkan, Hossain and Zhou write about the work of Ismail Al-Jazari, a 12th-century polymath considered by many to be the “father of robotics.” The book, published by Mascot Books, explores the origins of eight of Al-Jazari’s inventions, including a four-cycle gear system, a blood measurement device, an elephant-shaped water clock and a robot that helps wash and dry hands.

A few years ago, Hossain discovered Al-Jazari’s work, “The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.” Hossain was amazed by the inventions and robots in the book and was eager to learn more.

Around the same time, Hossain met Zhou as part of the College of Engineering’s industry capstone program, where they worked with teammates to create a remote-controlled culvert inspection vehicle called the HydroCUB. Hossain and Zhou worked together well and decided to collaborate on sharing a medieval story relevant to children today.

Hossain answered questions from 91̽��News about the book.

What’s the most important thing you want kids to get from the book?

We want them to know that the real world, outside of the digital world where they might be spending most of their time, can be a fascinating and wonderful place. The natural world is a laboratory that can show them how water works and moves. A pioneer of modern-day robotics invented robots by borrowing principles from the real world. That’s the message we want our kids to take: Spend more time outside watching and learning from nature and less time with computers.

What’s your favorite invention in the book?

I like the one about the robot that automatically dispenses water to clean and perform ablution, or washing. While the user is cleaning themselves, the robot plays a flute-like sound, which was also an invention, and then hands the user a towel. Every sequence of the task is timed and organized.

Can you share more about how you came to work with Zhou on this book?

When I met Qishi Zhou, I found we partnered really well on water issues, combining my understanding of the needs of the water community — the broad community that works on water issues for research, industry, policy, planning and utilities — with the expertise available from the electrical and electronics engineering design community to solve real-world problems. The partnership was based on the development of robots and gadgets to solve societal problems, improve quality of life and address societal needs. This was almost like a microcosm of what Ismail Al-Jazari did 800 years ago when he used automation to create tools to improve quality of life.

How does your interest in Al-Jazari relate to your expertise as a hydrologist?

I became interested in Al-Jazari because he used water as a core concept to drive the automation architecture of his devices using simple concepts of hydrostatic pressure and water flow laws. As a hydrologist, this is what we also study and use, but it never dawned on me that such concepts could be used to drive automation and even build robots when there was no electricity. It just drove home the concept that water is as powerful and relevant as today’s electronics, computers and information technology. This thought makes me feel quite proud as a hydrologist.

Outside of your work as a hydrologist, you specialize in filmmaking and the communication of science. What do you think is most effective at sharing the wonder of science with kids?

I don’t think there is one perfect or single way. But I do think there has to be a great story that will get kids hooked and want to know more. Often, that’s a story that kids can relate to, based on their personal experiences — so a story that humanizes the topic and is of a broad and uncommon perspective, with fun action that appears counterintuitive or is against mainstream thinking.

Now that the rainy season is here, culverts across the city are giving stormwater and streams a clear path away from streets and roads.

Before the rains come, the Washington Department of Transportation inspects these concrete or metal tunnels for any damage that . But there are a lot of spaces to inspect, and these spaces are often small and inaccessible for people.

So 91̽�� students created a rover, called the HydroCUB, that can enter sewer pipes, culverts or other tiny areas and send live video status reports back.

The team worked on the rover throughout the pandemic.

“The pandemic was challenging because I was separated from my family and my friends,” said lead researcher , a 91̽��master’s student in the electrical and computer engineering department. “It was also challenging because I was in Minnesota and my teammate was in Seattle, so we had to ship things back and forth. In addition, issues with the supply chain meant that many of the parts were unavailable and we had to do extensive searching to find them. But knowing this project would solve a real-world issue made me feel uplifted.”

The goal is for WSDOT, which proposed the idea, to use the tool to look for vegetation, cracks, debris and other potential “fish-barriers” in culverts. HydroCUB is designed to operate from a distance through a 300-foot-long cable that supplies power to the rover and transmits video back to the operator.

This rover was designed as part of a two-quarter 91̽��industry capstone program where students work with clients to design solutions to real-world problems. In this case, WSDOT asked the 91̽��team to build a cheap but robust device to monitor culverts. The organization has been working with the 91̽��team throughout the process to review its design and make suggestions. This capstone program is sponsored by the 91̽��departments of civil and environmental engineering and of electrical and computer engineering.

“It is a thrill to work on something that is going to solve many issues,” Zhou said. “HydroCUB is one-of-a-kind that is both reliable and low-cost. It also provides a platform for future students to do more improvement or testing.”

For more information, contact Zhou at qishiz@uw.edu and lead 91̽��faculty , professor of civil and environmental engineering, at fhossain@uw.edu.

To talk to someone at WSDOT about this project, contact , who has been working with the team, at KukesC@wsdot.wa.gov.

An astronomer tells tales of stargazing and pursuing the universe’s big questions, a grandparent shares wisdom for happy living, a jazz drummer lays down a cool new album …

But behold, yet more! An engineer pens STEM biographies for children, a cartoonist draws stories from his life, researchers ponder the future of river and wildlife conservation, and faculty masters bring out new classical recordings on guitar and piano.

Though 2020 was a holy humbug of a year, 91̽�� talents persevered, and published. Here’s a quick look at some giftworthy books and music created by 91̽��faculty and staff, and a reminder of some recent favorites.

Stargazing stories: , associate professor of astronomy, published the anecdote-filled “” in August. “These are stories astronomers tell each other when all of us are hanging out at meetings,” Levesque said. Kirkus Reviews called them “entertaining, ardent tales from an era of stargazing that may not last much longer.”

‘Grand’ wisdom: , professor emeritus of English, has written novels, short stories and more, but takes a personal turn in “.” He offers his grandson, and readers, “what I hope are 10 fertile and essential ideas for the art of living.” It’s all presented “tentatively and with great humility,” Johnson says, as “grandfatherly advice is as plentiful as blackberries.”

Drums, duets: , assistant professor of music, released the album “” in March. Poor told 91̽��News the music “is a celebration of space — space for drums to resonate and convey a feeling, and for the melody to dance around and push that feeling. It is primarily a collection of duets with saxophonist  and the sound of the record is focused on drums and sax throughout.”

STEM stories: , professor of civil and environmental engineering, published two books for young readers this fall: “The Secret Lives of Scientists, Engineers, and Doctors,” volumes and . The volumes showcase “the struggle, growth and success” of 12 professionals in STEM fields, including a geneticist, a biologist, a cancer researcher and a scientist at the National Institutes of Health. More books are .

Life drawings: , professor of Slavic languages and literatures and comparative literature, published “,” a eclectic collection of drawings and essays, highlighting his different styles through the years, “from tragedy to tragicomedy to documentary to black humor,” he said.

Guitar works: School of Music faculty guitarist released his 10^th album in March. “” features classical guitar works written for him by composers and

Sheppard plays Brahms: , internationally known professor and pianist, put out a digital release of 107 early Brahms works in October, titled “.” The work joins Sheppard’s lengthy from a decades-long career.

Ecological restoration: How has climate change affected regional ecological restoration? , a research scientist in human centered design and engineering, looks for answers in “,” from 91̽��Press.

River history: Seattle was born from the banks of the Duwamish River, writes BJ Cummings of the 91̽��Superfund Research Program, but the river’s story, and that of its people, has not fully been told. Cummings seeks to remedy that with “,” published by 91̽��Press.

Coexisting: Agriculture and wildlife can coexist, says , professor of environmental and forest sciences, in his book “.” But only “if farmers are justly rewarded for conservation, if future technological advancements increase food production and reduce food waste, and if consumers cut back on meat consumption.”

And here are some favorites from 2019:

O’Mara’s ‘Code’: History professor provides a sweeping history of California’s computer industry titans in “ The New York Times called it an “accessible yet sophisticated chronicle.”

Mindful travel: of the English Department and the Comparative History of Ideas program discusses how travelers can respectfully explore cultures with lower incomes, different cultural patterns and fewer luxuries in “.”

Kingdome man: , associate professor of architecture, studies the life and work of Jack Christiansen, designer of the Kingdome and other structures, in “,” published by 91̽��Press.

Powerful silence: “,” a documentary directed by English professor about NFL star Marshawn Lynch’s use of silence as a form of protest, is available for rent or purchase on several platforms.

Seattle stories: 91̽��Press republished English professor ‘s well-loved 1976 reflections on his city, “.” Sale, who taught at the 91̽��for decades, died in 2017.

• Joanne De Pue, School of Music communications director, assisted with this story.

New books by 91̽�� faculty members include a pair of children’s works profiling STEM researchers and a personal memoir of an immigrant’s journey to freedom. Also, several 91̽��faculty and staff members are featured as 91̽��Press looks back on a century of publishing — and a book on British colonialism is honored.

Work of Quintard Taylor, Bill Holm featured as 91̽�� Press looks back at 100

Marking the 100^th birthday of 91̽�� Press, its staff chose “10 pivotal titles” from its history — including three books by 91̽��faculty members — in an essay for the website LitHub titled “.”

The list represents books, the staff wrote, that helped define their fields. “Mirroring the innovative spirit of research and inquiry at the 91̽��, the press developed a reputation for publishing at the forefront of many fields … from natural and environmental history to Native and Indigenous studies, and from African American and Asian studies to literature in translation.”

The list includes “,” by , 91̽��professor emeritus of art history and curator emeritus of the Northwest Coast Indian art at the , calling it “a foundational reference work and study guide for contemporary Native carvers, painters and weavers.” 91̽��Press put out a 50^th anniversary edition of the volume in 2014.

Also featured is 91̽��history professor emeritus ‘s chronicle of “the growth of the neighborhood at the city’s heart that shaped its urban history.” “” was published in 1994.

“Seattle’s journey to world-class status has been closely tied to the vibrant culture that blossomed in this community,” the 91̽��press staff wrote, “nurturing such talents as Ray Charles, Quincy Jones and Jimi Hendrix along with the first Black Panther Party chapter outside of Oakland. The book’s call for economic justice remains as relevant and urgent as ever.”

Also noted is “,” published in 1973 with a new, updated edition in 2018. The book — called the bible of botanists and gardeners in the region — is by C. Leo Hitchcock, who was a 91̽��professor of botany; with botanist Arthur Cronquist. The new edition was revised by David Giblin and Peter Zika of the and 91̽��biology professor , with Ben Legler of the University of Idaho.

Also on the list was John Okada’s novel “No-No Boy,” with fair consideration for the author’s family by 91̽��English professor .

* * *

Faisal Hossain of civil & environmental engineering publishes children’s books on STEM

, 91̽��professor of civil and environmental engineering, has published two books for young readers: “The Secret Lives of Scientists, Engineers, and Doctors,” volumes and , from Mascot Books.

The books will showcase “the struggle, growth and success” of 12 professionals in STEM fields, including a geneticist, a biologist, a cancer researcher and a scientist at the National Institutes of Health, among others. They will be written especially for readers from second to fifth grades.

With more volumes planned, the book series is a spin-off from a National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine effort called aiming to widen access to science education. Read an on the Civil & Environmental Engineering website.

Published in September, the book is available for order and will be in stores soon. To learn more, contact Hossain at fhossain@uw.edu.

* * *

Affiliate dentistry faculty member publishes memoir of escape from Iran

, a part-time affiliate faculty member of the 91̽��School of Dentistry, has published “,” a memoir of her solo journey from Iran to the United States as a Baha’i refugee.

The book tells of Khajavi-Harvey growing up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, and of her escape on her own at age 15 across the Iran-Pakistan border. Khajavi-Harvey is a Seattle dentist and human rights activist.

One reviewer wrote that the story “is a vivid reminder that immigrants bring with them deeply rooted values of family, loyalty, hard work and perseverance. We are richer for their presence.”

The memoir is available through eBook platforms, online retailers and bookstores. To learn more, contact Khajavi-Harvey at zkharvey@gmail.com.

* * *

Historian George Behlmer’s book ‘Risky Shores’ honored by conference on British studies

91̽��history professor emeritus ‘s 2018 book “Risky Shores: Savagery and Colonialism in the Western Pacific” was co-winner of the 2019 from the North American Conference on British Studies.

The prize, which comes with $500, is awarded each year to “the best book published anywhere by a North American scholar on any aspect of British studies since 1800.” Behlmer’s was published by Stanford University Press, and was this summer in the journal American Historical Review.

The other Stansky Book Prize winner was “Trust Among Strangers: Friendly Societies in Modern Britain,” by Penelope Ismay of Boston College.

A team of researchers led by , professor of civil and environmental engineering, developed and continues to improve a technology-based irrigation advisory system to give farmers real-time information right on their cell phones.

The system is called Provision of Advisory for Necessary Irrigation, or PANI for short. The work extends to India the earlier development of a similar irrigation advisory system in Pakistan.

It’s an application that uses NASA observations of Earth, such as precipitation data from the satellite mission, to help farmers know better, based on resources in their own area, when and how much to water their crops.

The system uses low-cost environmental monitoring ground sensors to help provide advisories on a hyperlocal scale, and for a variety of crops. Hossain’s team tested the system with 150 farmers in northern India in 2018 and 2019 and found it did indeed help improve their productivity and water usage.

Now, as part of commemorating the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day, NASA’s program has featured Hossain and the PANI system . Hossain is the first of four researchers NASA selected to profile.

Hossain also worked with NASA-contracted staff to create videos about the PANI system and lesson plans geared for students in , , and , and in which he discusses his work.

Separately, NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System also is adding Hossain to its list of .

“Knowing when and how much to water crops can empower India’s struggling farmers and help conserve critical freshwater resources,” NASA wrote, adding that research from the 91̽�� is “critical.”

The PANI project is a collaboration involving the 91̽��and the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kritsnam Technologies and GeoKno, all of India. It is built on a that is now serving 100,000 farmers and has recently expanded to Bangladesh.

For more information, contact Hossain at fhossain@uw.edu.

• Learn more about the project in a NASA video:

Hydropower dams, which use flowing water to turn a series of turbines to generate electricity, provide a source of energy that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels. But they also disrupt the flow of rivers, and impact the fish and people that live there.

Scientists have been monitoring many environmental effects of dams, including how they affect a river’s temperature — and could potentially threaten the fish downstream.

Researchers at the 91̽�� were interested in studying how several hydropower dams affected the temperature of three major rivers in Southeast Asia’s . Since 2001, each river has seen the construction of at least one major dam, with more planned. The three rivers converge into the Mekong River, which people rely on for fish and irrigation for rice and other crops.

Using 30 years of satellite data, the team discovered that within one year of the opening of a major dam, downstream river temperatures during the dry season dropped by up to 3.6 degrees F (2 degrees C). The cooling persisted where the rivers meet the Mekong River, which showed, at most, a 1.4 F (0.8 C) cooling. The researchers Feb. 13 in the journal Environmental Research Letters. The team is also Feb. 15 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Seattle.

“People have modeled how far they could see a cooling effect after a hydropower dam goes in. In the U.S., that cooling tends to be localized around the dam. But what we see in the Mekong is like, ‘Wow!'” said senior author , a civil and environmental engineering professor at the UW. “Everything has happened very dramatically in the last 20 years. Lots and lots of dams were just suddenly coming on, left and right. And now we can see this cooling effect that is no longer localized, but continuing into the river system. We’ve never seen anything like it, to the best of our knowledge.”

The researchers used to track changes in surface water temperature for the Sekong, Sesan and Srepok rivers. The satellites capture the heat, or infrared radiation, from the rivers.

“With these data, we’re looking at the temperature emissions from the rivers. It’s like night vision: Warmer things give off more emissions, colder things give off less,” said lead author , a postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who completed this research as a 91̽��doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering. “These satellites have been predominantly used over land, not water, because you need to be looking at a big enough area. But there’s almost 40 years of Landsat data that works great for large rivers that people are only recently starting to take advantage of.”

Using satellite data to monitor river temperature has a caveat: clouds block the satellites’ view of the Earth. So the team could only monitor changes during the region’s dry season. Still, the researchers were able to detect decreases in river temperature within a year after major dams on all three rivers came online.

During dry season of 2001, the Sesan River had a 1.8 F (1 C) temperature drop, which corresponded with the completion of the Yali dam. Then, between 2008 and 2009, the temperature dropped by another 3.6 F (2 C) after two more dams — the Sesan 4 and the Plei Krong — were completed.

Similarly, in 2009, the Srepok River cooled by 2.5 F (1.4 C) in the dry season after a network of four dams came online.

And in 2015, the Sekong River temperature dropped 1.3 F (0.7 C) the year after the Xe Kaman dam was completed on the Xe Kaman River, a tributary to the Sekong.

These rivers also had sensors that monitored river temperature year-round between 2004 and 2011. Before 2009, all three rivers had a similar temperature pattern: The water started to warm up at the beginning of the dry season, around November or October, and then cooled off once the wet season started in April or May.

But after 2009, the Sesan and the Srepok rivers, which had major dams built during that time, stayed cool year-round.

“At the beginning of the wet season, the dams start to have more water than they can store, so they’re letting it go in a controlled way,” Bonnema said. “As the wet season goes on they’re like, ‘OK, let’s fill up the reservoir’ and hold the water. Then when dry season comes, they have this big water supply that they let out over the course of the dry season.

“If you look at the river flows after a dam goes in, you end up with more water in the dry season and less water in the wet season than before. The dry-season water also happens to be colder because it’s pulled from deep within the reservoir. That brings the river temperature down closer to what it is in the wet season.”

The team investigated whether anything else might be driving these temperature drops, such as air temperature, precipitation or land use in the surrounding region. Precipitation stayed mostly the same over the 30-year period. The air temperature showed a slight warming trend. The land around the rivers had been deforested during that period, but researchers said that is often linked to water warming, not cooling. That points to the role of the dams.

The Sekong, Sesan and Srepok rivers combine into one river, which eventually enters the Mekong River, a central feature of the Southeast Asian ecosystem. The team found that this infusion once warmed the Mekong so that the river was, at most, 0.72 F (0.4 C) warmer downstream of the confluence than it was upstream. But after 2001, the trend reversed, with the rivers now slightly cooling the Mekong River. The river is now up to 1.4 F (0.8 C) cooler — not warmer — downstream of the confluence.

The cooler water could have an effect on the fish that live downstream, the researchers said.

“They’re going to keep building these dams,” Bonnema said. “If you look at where new dams are planned in the 3S Basin, they’re building closer and closer to the Mekong. These are also big dams, which means the impacts on the Mekong will likely be more significant — these temperature changes are going to get more dramatic. So the question is how do we work with these dams to minimize their effect? My recommendation is that we slow down and think things through.”

Additional co-authors on the paper are , research professor in the civil and environmental engineering, and , associate professor of aquatic and fishery sciences at the UW. This research was funded a NASA Earth System and Science fellowship, the NASA Water Applied Science Program, 91̽��Global Affairs and the National Science Foundation.

For more information, contact Hossain at fhossain@uw.edu and Bonnema at matthew.g.bonnema@jpl.nasa.gov .

Grant numbers: 80NSSC17K0379, NNX15AC63G, EAR 1740042

By 2050, Earth’s population is estimated to reach nine billion. This will intensify a growing food security crisis, which is already exacerbated by current agricultural processes, climate change and economic inequality. Around the globe, there is an urgent need to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of the food supply chain.

This fall the 91̽��’s annual will feature three 91̽��engineers and scientists who are working across disciplines to manage the quality and quantity of the food we eat and grow. Their lectures — on developing technology to help farmers, studying how arsenic affects food and water quality, and analyzing how dams in rivers impact fish — are free and open to the public, but seating is limited and .

Growing more with less: Smart tech solutions to feed the world

The series kicks off Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in Kane Hall 130 with , a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department. His work has resulted in satellite management systems in several nations across Asia that help improve water, food and energy security. Asia has some of the fastest growing economies in the world, but regional monsoons impact efficient water management and reduce agricultural yield. Learn how Hossain uses global weather models and satellite data to develop technology that will help farmers increase crop yield through sustainable water management.

Updated 11/25/19 – video

Human and ecosystem health: Arsenic in food, water, plants and animals

On Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Kane Hall 130, , an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, will talk about how arsenic is a naturally occurring but harmful pollutant. Its ubiquitous presence in natural and agricultural environments threatens global food security and negatively affects the health of millions of people worldwide. Neumann is studying how arsenic in local and global settings affects food and water quality, and the health of ecosystems.

Updated 11/25/19 – video

Floods, fish and people: Challenges and opportunities in the Mekong River basin

The lecture series closes Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Kane Hall 130 with , associate professor of aquatic and fishery sciences. Holtgrieve is an ecosystem ecologist and fisheries scientist whose research spans the Puget Sound area, Alaska and the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. He will talk about his work in the Mekong River basin to address how energy policy, watershed hydrology and ecosystems interact in order to lessen the effects of climate change and new infrastructure in rivers around the globe.

Updated 11/25/19 – video

All lectures are free and start at 7:30 p.m. Advance registration, either or by calling 206-543-0540, is required. All lectures will be broadcast at a later date on UWTV.

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The vast farmlands of Pakistan — a country with an economy based on agriculture — rely on one of the largest continuous irrigation systems in the world. Farmers were once able to depend solely on rivers and man-made canals fed by glaciers and rain.

But as population and urbanization boomed in recent decades, the country turned to groundwater to keep up with demand. Today, more than 60 percent of Pakistan’s water is pumped from natural underground reservoirs, with no limits placed on how many wells can be drilled or how much anyone can take.

Now, Pakistan’s water managers are looking to NASA satellites to help them more effectively monitor and manage that precious resource, thanks to a partnership with engineers and hydrologists at the 91̽��.

“Satellites up in space looking at how much water we have underground, in rivers or in the atmosphere are providing routine observations that can help policymakers and on-the-ground managers make informed decisions,” said , 91̽��associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. “From offering improved flood forecasting to indicating areas where groundwater resources are threatened, freely available satellite data can be an invaluable resource, particularly in developing countries.”

After training at the UW, the in January 2016 began using satellite data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or , mission to create monthly updates on groundwater storage changes in the Indus River basin. This will allow them to see where groundwater supplies are being depleted and where they are being adequately recharged.

Like all NASA satellite data, GRACE data are freely available for download from open NASA data centers ( and the at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

GRACE’s pair of identical satellites, launched in 2002, map tiny variations in Earth’s gravity. Since water has mass, it affects these measurements. Therefore, GRACE data can help scientists monitor where the water is and how it changes over time. Using tools developed by the 91̽��and partners at the University of Houston; Ohio State University, Columbus; and NASA’s Applied Sciences Program, Pakistan’s water managers and researchers can analyze the NASA data to estimate changes in the total amount of available water, as well as changes in groundwater supplies.

“Using these satellites, we can indicate the areas that are most threatened by groundwater depletion. We can tell the farmers and water managers and help decision makers formulate better and more sustainable policies,” said Naveed Iqbal, an assistant director and hydrogeologist at the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources. Iqbal spent six months at the 91̽��learning how to analyze and process the GRACE data to enhance decision-making at his agency.

GRACE project scientist Carmen Boening of JPL, which manages the GRACE project for NASA, said, “This is another great example of the unique ability of GRACE to see changes in water resources on a regional scale and provide easily accessible information where data are otherwise limited.”

Compared to traditional groundwater monitoring efforts, the satellite information offers less spatial resolution but huge benefits in terms of cost and efficiency. For example, Pakistani water managers spent eight years building a groundwater monitoring network in the Indus River basin alone, and that network provides readings only twice a year.

“It’s so fundamentally difficult to do this monitoring in a conventional way — sending people and sticking probes in the ground to measure water. It takes a long time and it’s expensive,” said Hossain, who runs the UW’s . “In some places you can’t even send people because the terrain is too remote or there is mortal danger due to insurgency and political strife.”

This Pakistan project is a collaboration led by the 91̽��with the University of Houston, Ohio State University, SERVIR and the NASA Applied Sciences Program’s Water Resources application area. is a joint initiative of NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development to use the vast amount of data and observations collected by Earth-orbiting satellites for greater good — for example, to give residents in flood-prone areas early warning before their homes and fields are inundated by floodwaters, predict where mosquito-borne disease outbreaks are likely to occur, or monitor soil to grow healthier crops.

The 91̽��team focuses on helping resource-poor nations use satellite data to sustainably manage water and environmental resources. The team has helped Bangladesh since 2014. In coming months, the group will train water managers from Vietnam to monitor water resources and land use change, and managers from Nepal to estimate water content in snowpack and glaciers in the Himalayas.

To unlock the vast potential of Earth-observing satellite data, it is essential to build the capacity of resource managers in developing countries, Hossain said. It’s also necessary to package the NASA satellite measurements in a way that can help farmers in Tanzania, water managers in Pakistan or foresters in Belize make informed decisions — all projects that are currently using SERVIR-enabled space data.

That process has to include human dimensions — building the skills of in-country managers, making systems more user friendly, and ensuring they are compatible with traditional practices — rather than simply focusing on the scientific research, data acquisition and technology, Hossain said.

Hossain said this project succeeded, in part, because a Pakistani agency staff person was able to immerse himself in a long-term research laboratory residency at the UW— “not only to master the scientific concepts, but also to communicate to us the true hurdles that we are up against.”

The research was funded through the NASA Applied Sciences Program’s Water Resources application area and the SERVIR Applied Sciences Team, USAID and the 91̽��. Travel funds were provided in part by the and .

For more information, contact Hossain at fhossain@uw.edu.