College of Information Science Joins Global Earth Data Network ESIP
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The College of Information Science at the University of Arizona has joined Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP), an international nonprofit community that brings together scientists, technologists and information professionals working to make Earth science data more accessible, usable and impactful.
The partnership connects the college to a network of more than 170 organizations spanning federal agencies, universities, nonprofits and private-sector groups. Founded by NASA in 1998, ESIP was created to foster collaboration around the development and use of Earth observation data, and today it serves as a hub for interdisciplinary work across environmental science, data stewardship and computing.
For the College of Information Science, joining ESIP formalizes relationships that faculty and students have cultivated for years while opening new opportunities for collaboration, governance and community engagement.
“ESIP is a really unique blend of folks from federal agencies like NASA and the USGS, from academia and from the science-focused private sector,” says Andrea Thomer, an associate professor whose research interests include the maintenance and evolution of knowledge infrastructures, scientific data curation and information organization. “The common thread between these varied groups is an interest in earth science data stewardship and applied data science.”
ESIP’s mission is to empower innovative use and stewardship of Earth science data to address major environmental challenges. The organization creates spaces—through working groups, collaborative “clusters” and biannual meetings—where professionals across the data lifecycle can tackle complex problems together.
Andrea Thomer, Associate Professor, College of Information Science, The University of Arizona.
Thomer, who serves as the official liaison to ESIP on behalf of the college, has been involved with the organization since her graduate student days, when she received a community fellowship from ESIP. That early connection grew into an enduring professional relationship.
“I kept returning after my fellowship ended because I found it to be a really supportive, creative and energizing community,” she says. “I’ve had multiple students receive community fellowships from ESIP over the years, and it’s been really gratifying to see them become part of this community too.”
Now, as an official partner organization, the college will be able to participate directly in ESIP governance and leadership. Faculty and staff can propose new research clusters, among other ways to be involved. These opportunities will help deepen collaborations with organizations including NASA, NOAA and the USGS.
The partnership also raises the profile of the college’s research strengths—particularly in biodiversity informatics, geoinformatics and environmental data science, one of the college’s key research focus areas.
“Becoming an ESIP partner means that the College of Information Science can now formally and directly be involved in ESIP governance through policy vote, by running for committee positions and by attending conferences at a discounted rate,” Thomer says. “It also makes ESIP more visible to the U of A community and vice versa, and gives us a more ‘official’ way to demonstrate our college’s strength in biodiversity and geoinformatics.”
For the University of Arizona, whose researchers are deeply engaged in climate science, environmental monitoring and biodiversity research, the connection offers a natural extension of existing strengths. By joining ESIP’s collaborative community, InfoSci faculty and students gain new opportunities to contribute to, and shape, the evolving ecosystem of Earth science data.
In an era defined by environmental change and the rapid growth of scientific data, the challenge is not simply collecting information about the planet, but ensuring that it can be used effectively to understand and protect it. Through its partnership with ESIP, the College of Information Science aims to help meet that challenge, bringing expertise in information science to a global community working to turn Earth data into insight.
Learn more about the interdisciplinary research and faculty of the College of Information Science.