Full Name: Ricardo Aguilar
1) What major(s), minors, and/or certificates you are working on at UMD?
I am currently working towards a bachelor’s degree in Geographical Sciences with a concentration in Geographic Information Systems.
2) What are your interests within your program(s)?
I want to gain knowledge and the critical thinking skill needed to contribute to research on the underlying factors of climate change in order to allow society to make better environmental decisions.
3) What previous jobs, internships, and volunteer experience have you had?
During the spring of 2015, I worked as a teaching assistant for Dr. Naijun Zhou. I was one of the TAs for Introduction to Geographical Information System.
4) Where you are from (optional)?
I was born in El Salvador, and currently living in Silver Spring, MD
Internship:
1) Where you are interning?
I am currently an intern at the lab run by Dr. Matthew Hansen and his team.
2) What are your internship responsibilities?
My task on the lab is to visually analyze samples to see if there was a change in land use or land cover.
3) What project(s) are you working on or contributing to?
I am currently helping with image interpretation for a project which aims to map forest loss caused by fires. And in the past weeks I helped with image interpretation for a project aimed to map bare ground globally. In addition, I contributed with an accuracy assessment of the deforestation maps generated by the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (Amazon Deforestation Monitoring Project or PRODES map) and the University of Maryland Global Forest Watch (GFW map).
4) How is the internship experience relevant to your studies in Geographical Sciences?
Working on research with this data is something that has inspire me to continue my studies within the fields of remote sensing. The internship has allowed me to put the knowledge that I gained in the classroom and as a teaching assistant to use in a research environment.
5) What are your career goals after your graduate?
After I graduate I want to complete a doctorate program in remote sensing. My long term career goal as a geographical scientist is to obtain a job at an organization that would allow me to conduct my own research about the environment while using my skills as a geographer.