Team and Description
Dr. Kenneth J. Tobin (USA)
Dr. Tobin is a Professor and Director of the Center for Earth and Environmental Studies at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU). He received his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1994. Afterwards he completing a Post-Doctoral Research Assistantship at Princeton University. For over seven years he was a member of the NASA Precipitation Science team and since 2016 he is the lead investigator of the NASA funded SMERGE project.
Dr. Wade Crow (USA)
Dr. Crow is a Research Physical Scientist at the USDA-ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory. A world-renowned expert on soil moisture and remote sensing. He has a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton University (2001). The recipient of multiple NASA grants and awards including funding as a co-investigator to develop SMERGE.
Dr. William Teng (USA)
Dr. Teng is a Principal Scientist (ADNET Systems, Inc.) at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). He specializes in managing large-scale NASA hydrology-related data systems and user-focused science support, including projects to integrate various hydrology data sets into research and operational decision support environments. His PhD is from Cornell University (Civil and Environmental Engineering). He is a co-investigator on the SMERGE project.
Dr. Justin Derner (USA)
Dr. Derner serves as Lead Scientist for the NP215 (Pasture, Forage and Rangeland Systems) project entitled "Improved Management to Balance Production and Conservation in Great Plains Rangelands." He is a Research Leader at the USDA ARS High Plains Grasslands Research Station in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He received his Ph.D. in Rangeland Ecology and Management from Texas A&M University in 1996 and is a co-investigator on the SMERGE project.
Dr. Richard De Jeu (Netherlands)
Dr. De Jeu is the founder and CTO of Vandersat (AaRemote Sensing Company). His main research interest focuses on the role of soil moisture in land surface processes focusing particularly on passive microwave observations. He received his Ph.D. in 2003 from VU University Amsterdam. He has been involved in numerous NASA projects including the co-development of the LPRM version of AMSR-E. He is a co-investigator on the SMERGE project.
Dr. Robert Parinussa (Australia)
Dr. Parinussa is a Remote Sensing Scientist at Vandersat. His research interests include land surface parameter (soil moisture, vegetation density, and land surface temperature) retrievals for hydrology and climate applications using remote sensing techniques. He received his Ph.D. at VU University Amsterdam in 2013 and is a co-investigator on the SMERGE project.
Mr. Bruce Volmer (USA)
Mr. Vollmer is the lead for mission support for NASA GES DISC. He has nearly 25 years of experience working with NASA Earth sciences data systems. He has a Masters in Geography from the University of Delaware and is a co-investigator on the SMERGE project.
Dr. Vanessa Esobar (USA)
Dr. Esobar is a Support Scientist at the NASA GES DISC and is the leader of the NASA SMAP early adopters program. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland College Park and is a co-investigator on the SMERGE project.
Dr. Marvin E. Bennett III (USA)
Dr. Bennett is an Associate Professor of Geology at TAMIU. He received his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1995. Dr. Bennett previously was a Co-Investigator on a project related to NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission. Currently, he is a collaborator on the NASA SMERGE project.
Dr. Jianzhi Dong (China)
Dr. Jianzhi Dong is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the USDA-ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory. A recent Ph.D. graduate (2016) from Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands. His research interests focus on improving soil moisture estimation and error decomposition. He is funded as a post-doctoral associate by the SMERGE project.
Mr. Arturo Diaz (Mexico)
Mr. Diaz has experience. in Management Information Systems. Currently he is a Programmer at the Center for Earth and Environmental Studies at TAMIU who works for Dr. Tobin. He has provided invaluable support during the development of SMERGE.
Mr. Roberto Torres (Mexico)
Mr. Torres received his B.S. in Systems Engineering in 2016 at TAMIU. He is currently a graduate student in mathematics at TAMIU and is funded as a graduate research assistant to support the development and validation of SMERGE.