IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - September 2019 - 126

of IEEE Chile. As part of the directory, I chose to serve as the
WIE coordinator. I'm happy with my role because I wanted
to establish a WIE affinity group in Chile to gather all of the
women in Chile affiliated to the IEEE, organize events, and
get traction to be able to hold WIE conferences. Although
this activity may be time-demanding sometimes, I enjoy
meeting new people from different engineering fields.
If you could give one piece advice to your younger
self, what would it be, and what is on your horizon?
Oliva: To my younger self, I would say, "You never know
where the next opportunity will be waiting for you. Just
be open to change, be confident, and enjoy the journey."
Now, I'm focused on working on my projects, producing
successful results, and growing my research team so we
can take on more projects and opportunities.
What led you to your current role or participation in
the organization of LAGIRS 2020?
Oliva: When Carlos Cárdenas was planning the future LAGIRS 2020, the first conference co-organized by the GRSS
and ISPRS, he asked for help from our Center of Earth Observation due to our experience organizing conferences. Also, as
coordinator of WIE activities in Chile, I offered to organize
WIE-related events at LAGIRS 2020. In every IGARSS I attended, I took part in the WIE luncheon and seminars, and I
loved the experience. So I want to organize the same activities for LAGIRS 2020 to bring the same experience to others.
What activities are you the most excited about at LAGIRS 2020?
Oliva: I'm the convener of a session in LAGIRS 2020, Effects of Vegetation Fires in the Earth System, that will have
contributions of researchers from Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and California. I'm excited about it because it's my first
time organizing a session at a conference bringing together
experts of my field from different countries. I'm also looking forward to coordinating all of the WIE-related events.
Do you have any special WIE or Women in GRSS
events or activities planned for LAGIRS?

Oliva: In LAGIRS 2020, there will be the traditional WIE
luncheon and a seminar related to women in geosciences.
In this case, as LAGIRS is co-organized by two international societies, the events will be opened to the public.
My goal for those events is to bring awareness to the WIE
mentor program, to the situation of women in geosciences,
and to facilitate networking among female geoscientists in
South America.
CHAYMA CHAABANI
Current title/position: Ph.D. candidate
Educational background: Computer science engineering
Research focus/specialization: Applied synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing to natural hazard monitoring
Nationality/current residence: Tunisia
GRSM: Which of your professional projects are you the
most excited about?
Chayma Chaabani: As I am a Ph.D. candidate and I am currently in the phase of dissertation writing, the research project that I am most excited about for the moment is my Ph.D.
project. We are mainly interested in investigating the potential of SAR interferometry to map and monitor natural hazards: namely, floods and landslides. The fundamental idea is
to provide the required information about the flooding extent and the positions of the postflood soil deformations to
ensure an effective guidance during flood emergencies. This
project introduced me to the remote sensing field, with all of
its advantages and difficulties. The potential study regions
for the research work are located in Tunisia, and the first and
foremost challenge that we had to face is the ground-truth
data collection. Nevertheless, this project allowed me to consider the importance of applied remote sensing in Tunisia
in the context of natural hazard management and decisionmaking processes.
It is important to spread awareness of applied research
among future generations, as they will be the future country

Field campaign views in Chile during Dr. Oliva's recent research activities. (Source: Dr. Patricia Oliva.)
126

IEEE GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2019

IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - September 2019

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