Miguel Roman

Miguel Román
Born	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nationality	Puerto Rican/American
Alma mater	University of Puerto Rico Cornell University Boston University
Occupation	NASA Scientist

Miguel Román, is a research physical scientist with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He is the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) award, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. A major focus of Román's work is the quantification of uncertainty in satellite-derived time series measurements from polar-orbiting sensors such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Terra/Aqua, and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) and Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) platforms.

Román is the principal NASA scientist for the VIIRS Day/Night Band on Suomi-NPP and oversees the development of NASA's Black Marble product suite. He has been PI on over $4 million of external funding for the development and use of operational products from MODIS and VIIRS. He has more than twelve years of research experience developing global quality assessment and validation techniques that include day-night visible, near-infrared, and multi-angle imagery acquired from in-situ and semi-autonomous airborne platforms.

At the agency level, Román serves as co-lead to the Science of Terra, Aqua, and Suomi NPP Land discipline group; helping manage an international team consisting of over 30 members. Román is also an associate member of the OCO-2 science team and serves as part of NASA's Disasters Response Program, working directly with technical and program staff from 6 NASA centers and JPL. The Disasters program targets a wide spectrum of disasters and is tasked with representing the Agency during national and international emergencies where NASA satellite data and products can be used to improve situational awareness and inform decision making.

At the international level, Dr. Román serves as an officer to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV), and as the Chair of the CEOS Land Product Validation (LPV) subgroup. The LPV subgroup arose out of the recognition that standardized approaches to global product validation were essential for wide acceptance and use of science-quality products. Román is also leading international efforts, under the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Human Planet Initiative, which are committed to the development and evaluation of state-of-the-art nighttime lights products that provide new scientific evidence and a comprehensive understanding of the human presence on the Planet.

Early years

Miguel Román was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After he graduated from CROEM high school, he attended the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus and, in 2004, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. Román continued his academic studies at Cornell University, earning a master's degree in Systems Engineering (2005). In 2009, he received a doctorate in Remote Sensing from Boston University. While studying at BU, Román did his dissertation research at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, as part of NASA's Harriett G. Jenkins Fellowship and the Graduate Student Research Programs.

Career at NASA

Upon his graduation from BU, Román became a research physical scientist in the Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).^[1] Currently, Román leads the Land Product Validation (LPV) activities surrounding the EOS Terra/Aqua MODIS and Suomi-NPP VIIRS instruments, as well as field-based and airborne experiments using small-UAS platforms. He is also the principal NASA scientist for the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band on Suomi-NPP. At the agency level, Román also serves on NASA's Center Disaster Working Group in the role of representative to the MODIS/VIIRS science teams, and as NASA/GSFC's point of contact for disaster-related information and response awareness. At the international level, Román serves as the current chair of the Land Product Validation Subgroup on the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV).^[2]

Román has been recognized for his speaking engagements at conferences and media interviews. His recent research work using the VIIRS instrument on Suomi-NPP has received international attention in more than 100 outlets; including CNN,^[3] The Washington Post,^[4] The Wall Street Journal,^[5] and NPR.^[6] He has authored or co-authored over 30 papers in major remote sensing journals and is credited with over 1000 citations over the last 5 years.^[7] Román is the recipient of NASA's Early Career Achievement Medal (2012), the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award (2012), was an honoree for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals "Call to Service" award;^[8] and, in 2017, became a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) award, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.

External video

You may watch and listen Miguel Román describe his work at NASA here

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans in the United States Space Program
• List of Puerto Rican Scientists and Inventors

References

External links

• Miguel Roman. Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Research (614) - Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory (619), NASA. Retrieved 2011-01-07.