CU Boulder professor co-chairing major National Academies study for NASA

Steve Nerem is co-chairing a key National Academies’ study committee making recommendations on the next 10 years of NASA’s Earth science and remote sensing activities. 

The committee, formally called the Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space, is composed of scientists, engineers, and industry and nonprofit leaders.

Over the next year, the committee will review NASA’s existing infrastructure and develop a comprehensive strategy to address critical Earth science and applications in the coming decade. NASA’s Earth Science Division operates 20 orbiting satellites supporting research on our planet’s atmosphere, surface, oceans, and polar ice caps. 

Nerem, a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, a Fellow in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and director of the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, has been an active part of the Earth science community for 35 years. His research utilizes remote sensing to study Earth’s surface, gravity field, and sea level change.

“NASA Earth Science is really important to me. It’s what my life’s work has been about, and this is an opportunity to provide input to priorities for NASA in the future. It’s also a chance to give back to an organization that has supported my research for my whole career,” he said.

The committee was formed by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine at NASA’s request to advise the agency on high-priority Earth science challenges.

“Everyone in the research community has individual opinions on what is most important,” Nerem said. “NASA can’t do everything, so this group has to prioritize Earth science as a whole. To date, the committee has received over 250 white papers from across the country. They cover mission priorities, new instruments, and areas that will be facing gaps due to existing satellites reaching end of life.

Nerem’s role as co-chair is not the first time a CU Boulder faculty member has led a National Academies’ decadal survey. 

Waleed Abdalati, director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, served as co-chair of the National Academies’ previous Earth science decadal survey, published in 2017. Dan Baker, distinguished professor and director of the Colorado Space Policy Center, led the 2013 solar and space physics decadal survey.