Geospatial Analytics for Environmental Hazards and Promoting Energy Justice
Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), this posting seeks a graduate student researcher to engage in projects with the Research Innovation Center (RIC) researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), under the mentorship of Jennifer Bauer at the Albany, Oregon facility. NETL is a multi-disciplinary, scientific and technical-oriented national laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary lab supporting fossil fuel-based and carbon management research.
The integration of multiple geospatial data sets for authoritative sources is required to support advanced analytics and models to assess and predict potential hazards and risks associated with energy extraction and generation across the U.S., both onshore and offshore. Analytics of these data provides critical data used to support the development and validation of multiple machine learning models that can be applied to offer insights to understand potential environmental hazards, inform mitigation and remediation strategies, as well as ensure support for undeserved communities across the U.S.
This project has the following learning objectives / learning goals for the selected participant:
- Develop skills in data integration and data processing, leveraging programming libraries in python and with ArcGIS
- Learn how to generate new geospatial data layers, with federal documentation requirements
- Develop cartography skills to support the generation of maps and interactive map products, including online maps and story maps
- Develop an understanding of current energy activities across the U.S. and opportunities for clean, energy development, support for energy and underserved communities, and methods for reducing environmental hazards and impacts.
- Collaborate with project team to integrate additional data and analyze data to generate needed data layers/products
The ideal candidate would have some, but not necessarily all, of the following:
- Experience with Esri's ArcGIS Pro software, including familiarity with the spatial analyst and geoprocessing toolboxes
- Experience with Python code development, including the ArcPy, NumPy, and Pandas libraries
- Experience in technical writing
- Experience in developing maps for public release or inclusion in technical reports and/or manuscripts
- Experience in generating descriptive and exploratory statistics and generating multiple plots, charts, and graphs to aid in understanding both numerical and spatial data trends and patterns
The selected candidate will receive a stipend based on their academic status. The stipend rate for a graduate student ranges from $1,356 - $2,055 on a biweekly basis.