The University of Lethbridge and Dr. Craig Coburn will be front and centre at the Telus World of Science - Edmonton, Wednesday.
Coburn, an assistant professor in geography who instructs courses in remote sensing, GIS, statistics and spatial modelling, is scheduled to present Environmental Remote Sensing: Tools and Challenges. He is the latest speaker from the U of L to be invited as a guest presenter as the University contiues its ongoing relationship with the Telus World of Science.
This free event is open to everyone and begins with a 5:15 p.m. check-in, followed by Coburn's 5:30 p.m. presentation. A reception will follow at 6:30 p.m. The Telus World of Science is located at 11211 142 Street, Edmonton.
Coburn's research program has been heavily governed by the desire to better understand the fundamental physical properties governing image content. As a result, he has designed and built several specialized instruments including airborne imaging systems and ground-based instruments to measure bidirectional reflectance in a quest to improve our ability to derive meaningful information from images. His research also has looked at various methods for understanding images via their spatial context and spatial dimensions.
It is hard to measure the impact that the space program has had on our understanding of our environment. Many attribute the growth and development of the environmental movement to a single image of Earth captured from the Moon by the Apollo 17 mission. The "Blue Marble" image, gave us our first view of the fragility, vulnerability, and isolation of our planet. Large scale Earth Observation programs soon followed from a growing interest in assessing our impacts on Earth. Today, more than ever before, Earth observation is providing the essential information for our continued monitoring of the environment.
Coburn explores this topic and the rapid pace of remote sensing technological developments that have often left the interpretation and quantification of the images lagging behind. Recent developments in remote sensing instrumentation at the University of Lethbridge have made significant inroads to our understanding of the information provided by these images.
