IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - December 2019 - 59

Networking in action at the Women in GRSS luncheon, with participants looking to complete their bingo cards. (Source: GRSS Social
Media Team and IGARSS 2019 Publicity Team.)

Dr. Keely Roth, chair of the IEEE GRSS IDEA Committee, introduces
some of the related activities to luncheon participants, such as the
WMW program, led by Dr. Heather McNair and Prof. Alina Zare.
(Source: GRSS Social Media Team and IGARSS 2019 Publicity Team.)

Women in GRSS luncheon participants at IGARSS 2019, including Sandra Cauffman (left), NASA's Earth Science acting division
director. She was a panelist at the Women in GRSS Forum two
years ago and was this year's IGARSS plenary speaker. Dr. Heather
McNair (right), one of the GRSS WMW organizers, also participating in networking activities. (Source: GRSS Social Media Team and
IGARSS 2019 Publicity Team.)

Participants sharing thoughts on the Women in GRSS Forum from
earlier in the morning. (Source: GRSS Social Media Team and
IGARSS 2019 Publicity Team.)

GRSS Forum. As a new feature at this year´s luncheon, the
incoming chair of the IDEA Committee, Dr. Keely Roth of
The Climate Corporation, introduced various Women in
Engineering activities organized by the IDEA Committee,
including the Women Mentoring Women (WMW) program, and also guided the luncheon participants in an
informal networking game, GRSS Networking Bingo. Of the
luncheon, Dr. Zhan, a WMW mentee, noted that, while 95%
of the attendees were women, attendees came from various
countries, including the United States, Canada, Pakistan, Japan, and China. We take this as an opportunity to remind
everyone that these Women in GRSS activities are open to
everyone, and indeed we encourage and welcome everyone
to join in to support and participate in "A More Inclusive
GRSS," which was the title of the first message from the current president of the GRSS, Paolo Gamba, published in IEEE
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine [2].
Regarding the luncheon, Dr. Zhan also added that "the
food was delicious, but I couldn't remember what I ate be-

DECEMBER 2019

IEEE GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING MAGAZINE

cause I focused on talking to others at the table." She noted
that this was her fourth Women in GRSS luncheon and it
has always been a valuable experience where she has "found
a place for women to exchange their working experiences in
no matter what the stage of your career." She met people
who had "confronted similar problems and had similar difficulties and so maybe needed similar guidance and similar
help." Finally, Dr. Zhan added that the luncheon is also a
great opportunity for people to get to know the WMW program because the attendees will probably become future
participants in the program.
REFERENCES
[1] S.C. Kefauver, M.S. Burgin, and L.M. Bruce, "Dr. Marta Yebra:
Balancing a thriving career and a rich personal life," IEEE Geosci.
Remote Sens. Mag., vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 182-184, June 2019.
[2] P. Gamba, "A more inclusive GRSS," IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens.
Mag., vol. 7, no.1, pp. 5, 102, Mar. 2019.
GRS

IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - December 2019