Dr. Miguel O. Román

Dr. Miguel O. Román

  • PROGRAM DIRECTOR
  • NASA/GSFC
  • Mail Code: 619
  • LANHAM , MD 20706
  • Employer: Leidos
  • Brief Bio

    SummaryMiguel O. Román (WaPo Profile; Google Scholar Profile) is a Research Physical Scientist in the Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory  at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. A major focus of Román's work is the development and applied use of nighttime visible imagery from polar-orbiting satellites. He pioneered and oversees production of NASA's Black Marble, a product suite that enables monitoring of power failures during major disasters and the assessment of underserved and vulnerable communities worldwide.

    At the agency level, Román serves as NASA's Terra, Aqua, and Suomi NPP's Land discipline lead, helping manage a team of 22 competitively-selected investigators in charge of generating long-term data records from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). He has been principal investigator on over $5 million of external funding for the development and use of operational products from MODIS and VIIRS. As a Disaster Coordinator with NASA's Disasters Program, Román has strengthened engagement with stakeholders from across industry, academia, civil society groups, and NGOs to improve decision-making in disaster scenarios and risk reduction strategies.

    At the international level, Román is currently assigned as an agency representative to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). His contributions to inter-agency and inter-governmental initiatives, and the wealth of satellite measurements available from his work, are providing stakeholders with the fundamental data sets and strengthened capacity required to better understand and mitigate disaster risks, promote sustainable and resilient urban infrastructure, while addressing the immediate energy needs of historically-disadvantaged communities.

    Román is the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.

    Education

     - Ph.D. in Geography, Boston University, 2009. (Major: Remote Sensing and GIS)

    - M.Eng. in Systems Engineering, Cornell University, 2005.

    - B.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, 2004.

    Awards

    National Awards:
    Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) - Awarded by President Obama (2017)
    Residential Center of Educational Opportunities of Mayagüez (CROEM) Alumni of the Year Award (2016)
    Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals: Call To Service Category (Finalist, 2014)

    International Awards:
    IEEE Senior Member Grade (2014)
    IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) Chapter Chairmanship Award (2013)
    IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award (2012)

    NASA Agency Honor Awards - Individual:
    Early Career Achievement Medal (2012)

    NASA Agency Honor Awards - Group Achievement Awards:
    Black Marble Science Team (2018)
    Disaster Response Team (2018)
    Suomi-NPP Software Development Team (2012)

    Current Projects

    Terra, Aqua, and Suomi NPP Land discipline lead activities

    Agency/Program Element: The Science of Terra, Aqua, and Suomi NPP
    Program Point of Contact: Hank Margolis, Hank.A.Margolis@nasa.gov
    Performance Period: 2018 – 2021

    NASA’s Black Marble Standard Product Suite: Algorithm Refinement Efforts

    Agency/Program Element: The Science of Terra, Aqua, and Suomi NPP
    Program Point of Contact: Hank Margolis, Hank.A.Margolis@nasa.gov
    Performance Period: 2018 – 2021

    A Framework for the Validation of Global Nighttime Environmental Products

    Agency/Program Element: NASA Applied Sciences Program - GEO Human Planet Initiative
    Program Point of Contact: Nancy Searby, Nancy.D.Searby@nasa.gov
    Performance Period: 2018 – 2021

    Earth Science Partnership efforts with Google/Alphabet Inc

    Agency/Program Element: NASA Earth Sciences Division
    Program Point of Contact: Kevin Murphy, Kevin.J.Murphy@nasa.gov
    Performance Period: 2017 – 2020

    Enhancing NASA's Land Product Validation (LPV) Infrastructure and Participation in Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) Activities

    Agency/Program Element: NASA Earth Sciences Division
    Program Point of Contact: Hank Margolis, Hank.A.Margolis@nasa.gov
    Performance Period: 2016 – 2018

    Multi AngLe Imaging Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function sUAS (MALIBU) (PECASE Award)

    Agency/Program Element: NASA Earth Sciences Division
    Program Point of Contact: Hank Margolis, Hank.A.Margolis@nasa.gov
    Performance Period: 2017 – 2021

    Selected Public Outreach

    Recent Media Coverage 2014 - Present

    Bloomberg Businessweek, The Economist, CNBCThe Washington Post, Phys.orgThe Atlantic.

    Reviewer of the Following Journals 2014 - Present
    - Remote Sensing of Environment
    - Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
    - Journal of Hydrometeorology
    - IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
    - IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering
    - IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
    - IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters
    - Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres
    - Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences
    - International Journal of Digital Earth
    Education and Outreach 2014 - Present

    Undergraduate Student Advisement
    Terence Goard, Louisburg College, (2011)
    Shakeila Jones, Louisburg College, (2011)
    Ryan Wegener, Louisburg College, (2011)
    G. Jaramillo, Louisburg College, (2012)
    Elmer Rayo, Louisburg College, (2012)
    Roselani Robinson, Louisburg College, (2012-2013)
    Nicole Casto, Louisburg College, (2013)

    Graduate Student Advisement
    Bhartendu Pandey, Yale University, (2017)
    Eleanor Stokes, Yale University, (2013)
    Edward Saenz, University of Massachusetts-Boston, (2013)

    NASA Postdoctoral Fellow Advisement
    Zhuosen Wang, NASA/NPP, (2013-Present)

    Faculty Advisement
    Jennith Thomas, Louisburg College, (2011-2013)
     

    Talks, Presentations and Posters

    YTD Highlights

    9 / 1 / 2018
    • Miguel Román (GSFC/619) presented an invited seminar at the Copernicus Global Land User Conference held in Toulouse France. The Copernicus Global land service is producing global products based on Sentinel 3 data, using MODIS Collection 6 reprocessing products as a benchmark. Román’s presentation covered the following “lessons-learned” elements: Governance structure of the MODIS Land discipline team, decision and management of the developments/role of different entities / scientific support, decision and management of the evolution, validation approach, management of the continuity records and data systems, dissemination platform philosophy, and potential synergies with Sentinel 3.
    • NASA’s Black Marble team members Miguel Román (619), Ranjay Shrestha (619/SSAI), Zhuosen Wang (619/UMD), Eleanor Stokes (619/UMD), and Tian Yao (619/SSAI) participated in the MODIS/VIIRS Science Team Meeting, October 15 – 19 in Silver Spring. During the meeting, Román gave an overview of Suomi-NPP VIIRS land science team activities, product deliveries, and issues, and a status report on NASA’s Black Marble standard suite. Román also co-chaired the MODIS Land Science Analysis sessions, highlighting new investigations utilizing multi-sensor data fusion techniques for different land science studies. Tian Yao also presented a poster highlighting Black Marble product suite activities. During the closing plenary session, the MODIS and Suomi-NPP discipline summary report on Land was also presented. Key points discussed included: (1) identifying roles of PI’s and SIPS/DAAC on land products, (2) appropriate approach on product documentation (e.g., ATBD and User's Guide), (3) quantifying instrument and measurement performance, and (4) continuity of data products beyond the lifespan of the current MODIS products.
    • A successful proposal entitled “Securing Sustainable Seas: Near Real-Time Monitoring and Prediction of Global Fishing Fleet Behavior” was selected for funding by NASA’s program A.8: Sustaining Living Systems in a Time of Climate Variability and Change. PI: James Watson (Oregon State University); Co-Is: Miguel Román (619), Zhuosen Wang (619/UMD), Jamon Van Den Hoek (OSU), Maria Kavanaugh (OSU), and Jane Lubchenco (OSU). The overarching goal of the project is to improve global measurements of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 14.4.1 and parallel efforts to achieve sustainable fishery management and marine protected area enforcement by advancing our understanding, skill of detection and prediction of illegal fishing in near real time and aid the effective regulation of harvesting. This project will create a new illegal fishing detection system by incorporating NASA’s Black Marble Nighttime Light product suite.
    • From more than 300 applications, Miguel Román (GSFC/619) was selected to serve as a plenary speaker during this year’s ‘BOLD: A Federal Innovators Showcase’. Román’s talk, entitled: ‘Puerto Rico from Space: The Role of @NASAEarthData in Strengthening Community Disaster Resilience After Hurricane Maria’ presented use cases that illustrate how NASA’s Black Marble product suite is being used by end-users worldwide to advance universal energy access, sustainable livelihoods, and resilient cities. Román’s talk also provided a summary of the Island Communities and Areas of Intensive Risk (Island CAIR) effort, which focuses on community resilience projects across Puerto Rico. The Island CAIR project is an interdisciplinary effort supported by NASA’s Disasters Program, which comprises stakeholders from across local governments, civil society groups, NGOs, federal agencies, philanthropies, and academic institutions.
    • The White House National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR) held a workshop at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building entitled: “Future Plans for Managing and Utilizing Puerto Rico Address Data” on October 3. The objective of the workshop, represented by multiple US Government Agencies, was to share and discuss challenges, successes, and proposed solutions for utilizing and managing Puerto Rico address data. As part of the workshop, Miguel Román (619) presented a talk entitled “Association between Remoteness and Loss of Energy Services in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria”. Román’s briefing focused on the importance of understanding Puerto Rico's communities and history of their address systems before discussing how to change existing systems for improved disaster response.
    • On September 13, 2018, Miguel Román (619) and Edil Sepúlveda Carlo (618) hosted a group of professors from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez (UPRM) comprised of Marla Pérez Lugo and Cecilio Ortiz García. Dr. Pérez Lugo and Dr. Ortiz García are co-founders of the National Institute for Energy and Island Sustainability (INESI in Spanish), which is the only interdisciplinary and inter-campus institute of the University of Puerto Rico system. INESI seeks to insert the university community more effectively in the country's energy policy and in the resolution of energy and sustainability problems using empirical research and academic knowledge. David Green, Program Manager of Disaster Applications at NASA HQ, as well as Shanna McClain, Risk and Resilience Coordinator, were present in the meeting. During the meeting, Miguel Román provided an overview of the Black Marble Science Team efforts to support Puerto Rico’s recovery following the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and discussed future plans from NASA Disasters Program to further develop disaster risk reduction and resilience offerings across Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean region. David Green’s Disaster Program is supporting the Island Communities and Areas of Intensive Risk (CAIR) project, which looks to understand vulnerabilities and contribute to long-term resilience and risk reduction efforts in the wider Caribbean region. The Disasters Program plans to use Puerto Rico as a launching platform of the CAIR project in the Caribbean region, and plans for a workshop and training for 2019 are underway. The Puerto Rico team gave a presentation to the Disasters Program highlighting the role of universities in Puerto Rico’s reconstruction and resilience. They provided a background on the creation and evolution of the Energy Institute INESI and focused on the results and lessons learned from the energy stakeholder forums held for the last several years throughout Puerto Rico. From those stakeholder meetings a common vision for Puerto Rico’s electrical system was identified, as well as the causes for the vulnerability of the grid. The visiting professors also provided their experience and lessons learned in post-disaster relief and resilience after Maria, with a particular focus in the creation of a resilience through innovation in sustainable energy (RISE) interuniversity convergence collaborative platform. Future collaborations in the context of the CAIR project were discussed, and some opportunity areas were identified.

    < Aug 2018

    5 / 1 / 2018
    • Miguel Román (619), Kurt Thome (618), Jack Xiong (618) and Jaime Nickeson (618/SSAI) attended the CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) Plenary that was held Aug 27-31 at EUMETSAT in Darmstadt, Germany. Román presented a report of the Land Product Validation (LPV) subgroup. Thome is the Chair of WGCV and Nickeson serves as Secretariat. Thome oversaw the meeting and made several presentations on WGCV activities, including those involving the Land Surface Imaging Virtual Constellation (LSI-VC), and CEOS and the Working Group on Carbon action items. Román is the Chair of the WGCV subgroup on Land Product Validation. In addition to WGCV subgroup reporting there were several agency reports, and Xiong provided the NASA agency report. Because we were being hosted by EUMETSAT, there were several presentations on WGCV interactions with the Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS) as well as CEOS Virtual Constellations related to Ocean color, temperature, altimetry, vector winds. At the end of the meeting, a new WGCV Chair and Vice-Chair were installed as Thome completed his term as Chair.
    • The latest readership statistics from Google showed that the “Earth at Night” (619) is the most popular of all Google Earth stories. The NASA stories in Google Earth have been viewed over 2.3 million times since April 2017, and the “Earth at Night” story has contributed over 40% of the viewership and is expected to hit the one million views mark soon. The story, using the 2016 global composite nightlight image, through five major spots of the world – Tokyo (Japan), The Nile (Egypt), New Delhi (India), New York (USA), and Hong Kong (China) provides a glimpse of what the world looks from space at night.
    • Miguel Román (GSFC/619) participated in the 2018 GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) workshop in Mexico City. The workshop, conducted in Spanish (with English translators) was organized in collaboration with NOAA’s Satellite Products and Services Division, NASA’s Disasters Program, UNAM’s Institute of Geography, AEM (Mexican Space Agency), CENAPRED (Mexico’s Disaster Management Agency), and INEGI (Mexico’s Statistical Institute). As part of the GNC-A workshop, Román and NOAA colleagues facilitated a disaster tabletop exercise focusing on regional needs. The goals of the exercise were: (1) to provide participants with the opportunity to experience the unique roles of different stakeholder groups, (2) to discover interdependencies, (3) test collaborations, and (4) validate assumptions. Multiple scenario situations (e.g., hurricane impacts, flooding, and power outages) were seated in a regional context to reveal how satellite data and knowledge of earth and social systems could be effectively used. Over 100 local and international participants were able to assess the capabilities and needs of policy leads, regional, and on-the-ground decision makers, public media outlets, and learn what information products from the International Disasters Charter could be produced, and when and how they were available.
    • NASA’s Black Marble product suite (GSFC/619) was featured in the Bloomberg Businessweek article titled “All the Things Satellites Can Now See From Space” published on July 26, 2018. The article aimed to highlight some of the recent remote sensing applications by companies, government agencies, and NGO’s enabled by a new generation of satellites. The specific piece, written by Andre Tarar, featured a NASA study on measuring the effects of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico using the Black Marble product. The article (available in print and online: https://t.co/InPt3Fv6rK) accentuated the significance of the effort by the GSFC team to understand and measure the accuracy of Suomi NPP imagery through in situ measurements in producing the Black Marble product to capture the nighttime image more accurately. With improvements such as filtering out the nonelectric light, the result produced a powerful set of before-and-after images that revealed the devastating extent of power outages and other infrastructure damages post-hurricane Maria.
    • NASA’s Black Marble (GSFC/619) was featured in the released draft Recovery plan titled “Transformation and Innovation in the Wake of Devastation: An Economic and Disaster Recovery Plan for Puerto Rico” produced by the Puerto Rico government. This recovery plan was developed in response to the “Further Additional Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2018” (Public Law No. 115-123) after the catastrophic damages by Hurricane Irma and Maria in 2017; and the devastating effects on people’s health, safety, and critical infrastructure. The document considered the loss of power and destruction to the electricity grid the most damaging consequences for critical infrastructure resulting in the failure of the entire network and communication systems. Through the Black Marble, areas with significant and prolonged power disturbance were identified and the emergency response as well as short- and long-term recovery plans were staged to restore the power.
    • On 27 June 2018, Miguel Román (GSFC/619) was an invited speaker at the 2018 World-Wide Human Geography Data (WWHGD) Working Group Symposium on Human Geography Dimensions of Energy Access and Use. The Symposium, sponsored by NGA and ORNL, was held at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
    • On June 20, 2018, representatives from the White House OSTP Subcommittee for Disaster Reduction (SDR) co-organized the Scientific and Geographic Leaders session at FEMA’s National Emergency Training Center. Miguel Román, GSFC/619, represented this effort for NASA. The Executive Academy included participants from 45 local and state emergency management agencies.
    • Miguel Román (619) attended to the 2nd Ambassador Dialogue on Disaster Risk Reduction Across the Americas. The meeting was hosted by the Ambassador of Colombia, Camilo Reyes, in partnership with NASA’s Disasters Program. The dialogue focused on regional opportunities for harnessing earth science to reduce economic impacts.
    • Miguel Román (619) attended the 2018 Understanding Risk (UR) Forum in Mexico City. UR is a global community of experts and practitioners with interest in the field of disaster risk identification, specifically risk assessment and risk communication. Román participated in multiple sessions and gave two Hyperwall talks that highlighted the NASA Black Marble Science Team work during the 2017 Hurricane Season.
    • A contributing article between BBC Arabia and NASA’s Black Marble science team (619), entitled “Syria from Space”, was recently nominated for the prestigious One World Media award under their ‘Best Media’ category - https://www.oneworldmedia.org.uk/awards/longlist/ . Established in 1988, the One World Media awards recognize the best media coverage of the developing world, reflecting the social, political and cultural life of people around the globe. The awards, to be announced at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) later in June, highlight the unique role of journalists and filmmakers in bridging the divide between cultures worldwide and raising awareness of underreported issues and stories.

    < April 2018

    1 / 1 / 2018
    • An article in The Economist magazine (April, 2018) featured work from NASA’s Black Marble Science Team (619) following the recovery of Puerto Rico’s energy sector six months after Hurricane Maria struck the US Territory: https://bit.ly/2IXJmfs
    • On April 13, Miguel Román (619) served on Eleanor Stokes PhD dissertation defense at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Eleanor’s dissertation work, entitled “Urban Land Patterns and Sustainability” and sponsored under NASA’s Harriett G. Jenkins Graduate Fellowship Program, explores new ways of understanding existing and emerging urban land patterns and their impacts on social and environmental sustainability. The work included novel uses of NASA’s Black Marble product suite and open-source GIS data to expand the information available for understanding the internal structure, activities, and change within urban areas.
    • On April 12, Miguel Román (619) presented a “STEAM Day” lesson on NASA Earth Science to 4th grade students from Thunder Hill Elementary School in Columbia, Maryland.
    • Miguel Román (619) attended the 2018 Land Product Validation and Evolution Workshop (LPVE 2018) from Feb 27 to March 1, 2018, and the CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) Land Product Validation (LPV) Subgroup Plenary on March 2, 2018 at ESA/ESRIN, Frascati Italy. At the LPVE 2018 workshop, Román co-chaired the session on “Land Product Harmonization and Consistency” and gave a keynote presentation entitled “Overview and Status of CEOS Land Product Validation Subgroup”. As the chair of CEOS LPV subgroup, Román presided over the CEOS-WGCV-LPV plenary. The subgroup is represented by 26 internationally independent co-chairs who have been actively involved in validation activities and are respected community members. 
    • As part of the 2018 Latinos@NOAA Distinguished Lecturer Series, Miguel Román (GSFC/619) presented a seminar talk entitled “Seeing Nighttime Lights from Space and What They Tell Us About Humanity’s Tenure on Earth”. The series of yearlong mentoring lectures, open to all NOAA employees, recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans as the agency continues its efforts to develop a diverse and inclusive workforce. The 2018 events are sponsored by the NOAA Civil Rights Office, the Line Office EEO/Diversity Program Managers, and the Department of Commerce Office of Civil Rights.
    • Miguel Román (619) gave a presentation to visitors from the Howard County Legacy Leadership Institute for the Environment.
    • The January 2018 section of NASA Science Mission Directorate’s commemorative calendar (https://goo.gl/1nJtJT), features NASA’s Black Marble visualization; a joint effort between NASA’s Earth Observatory (Joshua Stevens – GSFC/613) and the Black Marble Science team (Miguel Román, Zhuosen Wang, Virginia Kalb, and Qingsong Song – GSFC/619).
    • On Thursday, December 8, Miguel Román (GSFC/619) gave a seminar talk entitled "Holiday Lights Show Culture from Space," at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The event, which was ranked as #17 by Washingtonian Magazine’s “37 Things to Do Around DC This December”, was sponsored by NASA-PAO and the Library of Congress Science, Technology and Business Division.
    • On Friday, December 1, Miguel Román (GSFC/619) participated in a Facebook Live event about the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Román discussed various interagency coordination activities surrounding the use of NASA’s Black Marble product suite during impact assessments and longer-term recovery efforts surrounding Hurricane Maria. The event has received more than 75,000 individual page views: https://goo.gl/E8U5mm
    • On Friday, November 17, 2017, Edil Sepulveda (SSAI/618) and Miguel Román (GSFC/619) participated in a forum entitled “Energy Future of Puerto Rico: Rebuilding the Electric Grid of the Island”. The purpose of the forum, which was held at George Washington University’s Environmental and Energy Management Institute, was to discuss the disaster response of federal and state government agencies, and analyze policies, initiatives, and solutions from the perspective of different stakeholders, inside and outside the US territory, to build a resilient and smart electric grid.
    • Ed Masuoka (619) and Miguel Román (619) attended the NASA-LANCE (Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS) User Working Group (UWG) meeting at Goddard on October 3. The meeting provided UWG members with the opportunity to review LANCE progress, discuss key issues and identify topics that require more attention. Users were asked to consider the addition of ISS Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) data to LANCE. Masuoka presented a status on Suomi-NPP VIIRS Land and MODIS Land products, while Román gave a summary on NASA Disaster Response Activities (including lessons learned for LANCE) and an update on NASA’s Black Marble product suite.
    • Miguel Román (619) and Shanna McClain (DK000) participated at the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR) and the International Disaster Risk Reduction (IDRR) Working Group meetings held at the White House Conference Center’s Lincoln Room on October 5. The SDR and IDRR advises the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) about relevant risk reduction resources and the related work of member agencies. The briefs included a readout of the NASA/CONAE Argentina Summit – a meeting which provided a platform for dialogue and work planning between representatives of the scientific Earth observation (EO) and DRR communities from 20 countries in the Americas; including stakeholders in regional preparedness and planning, disaster mitigation, emergency response, and recovery.
    • Miguel Román (619) met with Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, to discuss ongoing disaster response and recovery activities in Puerto Rico, following Hurricane Maria. Román and Zurbuchen participated in a #ScienceinSeconds video describing the latest suite of near-real time products known as NASA’s Black Marble High Definition (HDF) Product Suite: https://twitter.com/Dr_ThomasZ/status/916043516794380288
    • The MALIBU project (Multi AngLe Imaging Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function small UAS) (PI: Zhuosen Wang (619/UMD); Co-Is: M. Román (619), N. Pahlevan (619/SSAI), J. McCorkel (618) and G. Bland, (610W)) completed its validation flights at the Irrigation Research Foundation (IRF) agricultural field (Yuma, Colorado) on Sep 13 and 20. IRF develops extensive studies on a variety of soil types, water and fertilizer applications to test important factors that affect the region's agricultural producers. Validations studies have shown that airborne observations are critical to overcome errors of scale and spatial heterogeneity in the in-situ measurements. The multi-angular high spatial resolution (<1m) MALIBU observations cover a much larger area than ground measurements and provide high quality datasets to validate multi-spatial resolution satellite products; such as those derived from MODIS, VIIRS, and Landsat OLI. MALIBU is a pathfinder activity whose purpose is to develop a high-frequency multi-angle reflectance measurement techniques for global land product calibration and validation using small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). This work is funded under the NASA/GSFC IRAD and SBIR programs and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS).
    • Miguel Román (619) attended the Strengthening Disaster Risk Reduction across the Americas Summit, which was held in Buenos Aires Argentina on September 3-8. As part of NASA’s Disaster Response Program, Román and NASA colleagues facilitated a fictional disaster scenario focusing on regional needs. The goal of the exercise, prepared in coordination with CONAE (Argentina’s space agency), was: (1) to provide participants with the opportunity to experience the unique roles of different stakeholder groups, (2) to discover interdependencies, (3) test collaborations, and (4) validate assumptions. Multiple scenario situations (e.g., flooding, wildfires, volcanic eruption, and earthquakes) were seated in a regional context to reveal how EO data and knowledge of earth and social systems could be effectively used. Participants were also able to assess the capabilities and needs of policy leads, regional, and on-the-ground decision makers, and learn what information products could be produced, and when and how they were available.
    • The NOAA STAR JPSS Science Team Meeting was held in College Park, MD, August 14 – 18. Terrestrial Information Systems Lab contributed the following presentations: Miguel Román (619) made two presentations on CEOS Land Product Validation and NASA Science Team Land/Cryosphere Algorithms

    Year 2017

    2017
    • During a site visit from 20 graduate level science writing students from Johns Hopkins University, Miguel Román (GSFC/619) gave a Hyperwall presentation on NASA’s Black Marble product suite.
    • Miguel Román (619) participated in daily routine national disaster response and training exercises held at the Department of Energy’s HQ Office Emergency Operations. Román gave a brief summary of NASA’s Disasters Program structure, capabilities, partners, and applications; as well as a technical brief on NASA’s Black Marble product suite. Román also met with senior staff from the National Nuclear Security Administration and Emergency Support Function #12 (Energy) program staff to discuss LANCE NRT product offerings.
    • Miguel Román (619), Dalia Kirschbaum (617), and Kelvin Brentzel (606.3/GST) participated in NASA’s Earth Science Disasters Coordinator’s Annual Meeting on June 19 - 20. The main focus of the meeting, which included participation from HQ, GSFC, LaRC, JSC, MSFC, and JPL coordinators and program staff, was on sharing knowledge and building capacity to promote the use of Earth observations, and to improve the prediction of, preparation for, response to, and recovery from natural and technological disasters.
    • During a congressional staff visit from Mr. Trent Bauseman (Senior Policy Advisor to the Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer’s, whose portfolio includes NASA), Miguel Román (619) and Jeff Masek 618) gave Hyperwall presentations on behalf of GSFC’s Earth Sciences Division. Masek presented an overview of the Landsat program and related science activities, while Román presented a brief on Disasters response activities and NASA’s Black Marble product suite.
    • Nighttime satellite imagery generated from the Suomi-NPP VIIRS instrument was featured on a news article covering the Syrian conflict produced by BBC World News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/syria_from_space_english. Six years of war in Syria have had a devastating effect on millions of its people. One of the most catastrophic impacts has been on the country’s electricity network. Images from NASA’s Black Marble, produced by GSFC team members, Miguel Román (619), Zhuosen Wang (619/UMD), Virginia Kalb (619), and Qingsong Sun, showed clearly how the lights have gone out during the course of the conflict, leaving people to survive with little to no power. The article has received more than 1.3 million unique visits in social media sites: https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews/videos/10154681140042217/
    • At the 42nd Plenary of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV), May 16-18 in Sioux Falls, Miguel Román (619) presented a status report on the CEOS-WGCV Land Product Validation (LPV) sub-group (http://lpvs.gsfc.nasa.gov/) and provided an overview report on CEOS Carbon Actions for WGCV (http://ceos.org/home-2/the-ceos-carbon-strategy-space-satellites/).
    • As part of NASA and Texas Instruments’ The Search for STEMnauts contest, NASA is providing live, behind-the-scenes access to field centers and a chance to interact with various mission teams. Each week, a new “virtual field trip” takes place at a different NASA location, corresponding to that week’s #STEMnauts challenge. NASA Goddard’s “Down to Earth” activity featured a presentation by Miguel Román (619) entitled “The World of Lights: Earth at Night”, based on the widely successful series of nighttime lights products known as NASA’s Black Marble: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/102684280.
    • Miguel Román (619) and Zhuosen Wang (619/UMD) met with Professor Ranga Myneni and Yuri Knyazikhin’s team, Professor Robert Kaufmann, and Pontus Olofsson at Boston University to discuss the status of the VIIRS Land Science product suite. Román presented a briefing entitled “Nighttime Environmental Products from Suomi-NPP VIIRS: Science Rationale” and “VIIRS (Land SIPS) Processing, Code Delivery and Integration Status”. They also visited Professor Crystal Schaaf and Dr. Qingsong Sun at University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) to discuss the operational Suomi-NPP nighttime light products processing. Román was invited to participate in Edward Saenz‘s PhD dissertation defense at UMB as an external committee member.
    • Miguel Román (619) participated at the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR) status meeting held at the White House Conference Center’s Lincoln Room on March 2. The SDR advises the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) about relevant risk reduction resources and the related work of SDR member agencies. The meeting included a briefing from the US Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG) and a roundtable discussion focusing on recent California Severe Weather and Flood events. Key NASA capabilities highlighted during this discussion included the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals (IMERG) from the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission, which was used by the Global Flood Monitoring System to detect potential flooding conditions and estimate intensity near the Oroville Dam. This system also used the GEOS-5 model forecast to estimate streamflow within the affected areas, which was valuable for improving situational awareness of floods. NASA’s global landslide “nowcast” model also provided situational awareness of landslide hazards in the affected areas for a wide range of users. The model uses IMERG near real-time data to generate a global susceptibility map to identify locations with landslide potential.

     Recent Meetings, Interviews, and Presentations (2015-2016)

    2016
    • Miguel Roman (619) won the remarkably competitive Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. The awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.
    • Miguel Román (619) and Zhuosen Wang (619/UMD) met with scientists at NASA’s Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) (located at the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in Columbia University) to discuss the application of Suomi-NPP nighttime observations to generate global population distribution products. These products are a deliverable to the Group on Earth Observations (GEO)’s Human Planet and other international initiatives. Román presented a briefing entitled “Nighttime Environmental Products from Suomi-NPP VIIRS: Science Rationale” and “VIIRS (Land SIPS) Processing, Code Delivery and Integration Status”.
    • Miguel Román (619) attended the Fall Meeting of the AGU and presented an oral paper entitled: "Nighttime Environmental Products from Suomi-NPP VIIRS: Science Rationale”. Román also chaired a session focusing on the CEOS Land Product Validation subgroup entitled: “Assessment of Satellite-Derived Essential Climate Variables in the Terrestrial Domain”, and a Hyperwall talk entitled: “Improved Detection of Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing using Suomi-NPP VIIRS”.
    • The MALIBU project (Multi AngLe Imaging Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function small UAS) (PI: Zhuosen Wang (619/UMD); Co-Is: M. Román (619), N. Pahlevan (619/SSAI), J. McCorkel (618), G. Bland, (610W)) completed its second series of validation flights at the NOAA Table Mountain Facility (Boulder, Colorado) on Nov 30. NOAA Table Mountain is one of seven stations of the Surface Radiation (SURFRAD) network; a component of the World Climate Research Programs (WCRP) Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN). Tower-based surface radiation datasets, combined with MALIBU overflights are being used to validate a number of EOS and Suomi-NPP standard products, including Surface Reflectance, Albedo, and Reflectance Anisotropy. Validations studies have shown that airborne observations are critical to overcome errors of scale and spatial heterogeneity in the in-situ measurements. The multi-angular high spatial resolution (<1m) MALIBU observations cover a much larger area than ground measurements and provide high quality datasets to validate multi-spatial resolution satellite products; such as those derived from MODIS, VIIRS, and Landsat OLI. MALIBU is a pathfinder activity whose purpose is to develop a multi-angle reflectance measurement technique for global land product calibration and validation using small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). This work is funded under the NASA/GSFC IRAD and SBIR programs and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS).
    • Miguel Román (619) gave an oral talk entitled “Nighttime Environmental Products from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite: Science Rationale” and Zhuosen Wang (619/ESSIC) presented an oral talk entitled “Lunar BRDF Correction of Suomi-NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band Time Series Product” at Middle-Atlantic American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting in Fairfax, Virginia, Nov 18-19.
    • Miguel Román (619) participated at the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR) status meeting held at the White House Conference Center’s Lincoln Room on October 6. The SDR advises the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) about relevant risk reduction resources and the related work of SDR member agencies. The meeting included agency status reports on Hurricane Matthew and a roundtable discussion focusing on agency priorities for administration transition.
    • Miguel Román (619) was recognized during Hispanic Heritage Month activities by the US Geological Survey’s Office of Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity in a themed presentation entitled “Embracing Our Hispanic Role Models”. Román, who is a native of Puerto Rico and a former USGS physical science technician, presented a plenary talk entitled “New Perspective: Seeing Nighttime Lights from Space and What it Tells Us About Humanity’s Tenure on Earth”.

    • Miguel Román (619) and Kelvin Brentzel (606.3/GST) supported NASA’s disaster response activities surrounding the power outage in Puerto Rico (September 21, 2016). The team produced the first time series of low-light visible images of the event, which knocked out power to nearly 1.5 million customers and is being described as the largest power outage in Puerto Rico in 36 years. A NASA Earth Observatory “Image of the Day” feature (produced by Adam Voiland – 613/SSAI) received wide coverage in major new outlets and social media: http://go.nasa.gov/2dl0Bsw.

    • The Earth Observing System, Science Program Support Office (Winnie Humberson and Steven Graham, GSFC/610) helped organized and coordinate NASA’s Hyperwall presence at the 2016 Our Ocean Conference, Sept. 15-16, hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Department of State Headquarters in Washington DC. President Barack Obama delivered the keynote address, followed by a special message by guest speaker – Leonardo DiCaprio. Several of NASA’s senior-level managers used the Hyperwall to deliver presentations that highlighted NASA’s role in studying Earth’s Ocean from space. The talks were well attended, including appearances by John Kerry, his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry, and Norway's Foreign Minister, Mr. Børge Brende. A Safe Ocean Network Pilot Project, led by Miguel Román (GSFC/619), was highlighted during the conference. Román’s project, entitled: “Improved Detection of Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing from Space”, uses data from the Suomi-National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) Satellite for IUU detection. The satellite uses the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to identify vessels that may be illegally fishing in marine protected areas at night through the use of low-light detection. This technology is being further developed using radiative transfer modeling combined with measurements acquired from ship-based and airborne platforms.

    • At the 41st Plenary of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV), September 5 - 7 in Tokyo, Miguel Román (619) presented a status report on the CEOS-WGCV Land Product Validation (LPV) sub-group (http://lpvs.gsfc.nasa.gov/) and Eric Vermote (619) presented a status report on the CEOS Atmospheric Correction Intercomparison Exercise (ACIX).

    • The STAR JPSS Science Team Meeting was held in College Park, MD, August 8 – 12. Terrestrial Information Systems Lab contributed the following presentations: Miguel Román (GSFC/619) made two presentations on CEOS Land Product Validation and NASA Science Team Land/Cryosphere Algorithms.

    • The MALIBU project (Multi AngLe Imaging Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function small UAS) (PI: M. Román, 619; Instrument-PI: N. Pahlevan, 619/SSAI; Co-Is: Z. Wang, 619/UMD, J. McCorkel, 618, G. Bland, 610W) completed the first series of test flights at Pawnee National Grasslands, Colorado (June 28-30, 2016; link to video brief: https://youtu.be/Vd8c-4rXQOo). MALIBU is a pathfinder series of missions to develop a multi-angle reflectance measurement technique for global land product calibration and validation using small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). The instrument package includes two multispectral imagers oriented at two different viewing angles to capture vegetation structure and spectral characteristics. The series of test flights were collocated with NIST-traceable measurements of calibration tarps, and supported by a ground surveying crew for post-process geolocation. The last test flight, Flight #003 on 30 June 2016, was successfully completed during a Landsat-8 overpass. These measurements will assist in evaluating OLI-derived surface reflectance and biogeophysical products at unprecedented scales (i.e., high spatial (<20 cm) and multi-angular (< 0.5 degree) resolutions). The MALIBU team would like to thank Christy Hansen (610), Barbara Justis (840), and Gerrit Everson (830) for their assistance during the MALIBU Airworthiness and Flight Safety Review Board (AFSRB), and for their guidance in processing the FAA Certificates of Authorization (COA-G) for the Pawnee field site. This work was funded under the NASA/GSFC IRAD and SBIR programs.

    • Miguel Román (619) presented two invited talks entitled “Global Observations and Role of Near Real-Time/Direct Readout in NASA Applied Sciences” and “Suomi-NPP VIIRS Nighttime Environmental Products for Land Science and Disaster Response Applications” at NASA Direct Readout Conference (NDRC-9) in Valladolid, Spain, June 21-24.

    • Miguel Román (619) presented an invited talk entitled “MALIBU (Multi AngLe Imaging Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function sUAS) Field Campaign at Pawnee National Grasslands” at Colorado State University’s Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Fort Collins

    Recent Meetings, Interviews, and Presentations (< 2014)

    2015
    • M. Román and E. Stokes talked about their research analyzing holiday lights as measured by the Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Visible sensor. Over 250 publications have covered the press release, including major US and international outlets such as CNN, The Washington Post, Wired, CNET, The Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Smithsonian Magazine, USA Today, The Huffington Post, Science, BBC, Daily Mail, Sky News, The Guardian, El País, El Nuevo Día, and MTV.com. A YouTube feature, prepared by Jefferson Beck (USRA/130), was released in both English and Spanish versions and has registered more than 500,000 views. Román also served as chair of AGU sessions IN11B and IN14A: Assessment of Satellite-Derived Essential Climate Variables in the Terrestrial Domain (Oral and Poster).
    • M. Román presided over the 1st Suomi-NPP Land Workshop at GSFC on December 3-4, 2014. All Suomi-NPP Land PIs, as well as DAACs, JPSS, and SIPS representatives, were in attendance and provided briefs on their projects for this proposal cycle. A major highlight was the afternoon session on Day 2, in which the team established priorities and phasing regarding the production of Suomi NPP Land Science Products.
    • M. Román attended the 38th CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation Plenary (WGCV-36) at NOAA’s Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (CWCP) in College Park, MD, Sept 30 – Oct 2nd, 2014. The WGCV-38 plenary provided a forum for the exchange of information on calibration and validation and international cooperative activities between CEOS member agencies. Román participated in his role as elected officer (vice-chair) of the CEOS-WGCV Land Product Validation (LPV) sub-group (http://lpvs.gsfc.nasa.gov/).
    • M. Román gave the combined EOSDIS (GSFC Code 610.2/619) seminar entitled: Science Rationale for NASA/GSFC’s MALIBU (Multi Angle Imaging Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Unmanned Aerial Vehicle).
    • M. Román’s Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (Sammies) finalist profile was featured in the Washington Post. The August 28, 2014 article by Lisa Rein focused on various highlights from projects at GSFC Code 619, including MODIS Rapid Response and the Suomi-NPP and JPSS missions. The article also mentioned Román's recent work using the Suomi-NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band in Global Land Change Science and Applications.
    • M Román was the primary author on the following paper presented at the 2014 International Geosciences and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) in Quebec City, Canada: 'Land, Cryosphere, and Nighttime Environmental Products from Suomi NPP VIIRS: Overview and Status'. Román was also the Chair of Oral Session TH3.03: Land Use and Land Cover Change I.
    • M. Román's Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (Sammies) finalist profile was featured in El Nuevo Día (the most widely read newspaper in Puerto Rico, with a daily circulation of 155,000: link: http://tinyurl.com/nshn2un). The June 22, 2014 article focused on various highlights from projects at GSFC Code 619; including MODAPS, MODIS Rapid Response, and the Suomi-NPP and JPSS missions. The article also mentioned Román's recent work using the Suomi-NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band in Global Land Change Science and Applications.
    • M. Román was interviewed on a national broadcast of “Zona Política con Helen Aguirre Ferre” on Univision America Radio (http://tinyurl.com/keb6v4s). The live interview on June 13, 2014 focused on impacts of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean.
    • M. Román "CEOS Working Group on Cal/Val Land Product Validation (LPV) Sub Group: Essential Climate Variables and the Sustainable Land Imaging Program”. 4th Annual HyspIRI Product Symposium, June 4-5. The HyspIRI Symposium included 42 talks, 6 posters, and 2 demonstration sessions on the HyspIRI Mission and new approaches and potential products for land and coastal imaging (http://hyspiri.jpl.nasa.gov).
    • M. Román was interviewed on ABC7 (WJLA) by Capital Insider’s Morris Jones. The interview, released on May 29, 2014 (link: http://wj.la/1hku6uh), focused on the use of Suomi-NPP data and products in satellite research and policy.
    • M. Román was interviewed on a live broadcast on Federal News Radio conducted by Federal Drive’s Tom Temin and Emily Kopp. The broadcast, conducted on May 19, 2014, focused on innovative techniques, using data from Suomi-NPP, in a variety of global land change science and applications (Radio podcast).
    • M. Román was interviewed by the Washington Post's Joe Davidson for a news article focusing on Public Service Recognition Week (URL: http://goo.gl/1AGV85).
    • M. Román attended the STAR JPSS Annual Meeting at the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP) in College Park, Maryland. The goals for the meeting were to present the accomplishments of the JPSS program over the past year and to highlight the transitions in algorithms, management, and the algorithm change process that are planned as NASA and NOAA advance towards the launch of JPSS-1. Román co-chaired the VIIRS Land Products breakout session, and gave a talk entitled: "An Overview of Innovative Approaches using Suomi-NPP Data for Global Land Change Science and Applications" during the closing plenary session.
    • M. Román attended the Global Vegetation Monitoring and Modeling International Conference (GV2M) in Avignon, France, February 3-7, 2014. The primary goal of this meeting was to bring researchers together to discuss new developments in the use of remote sensing observations and Earth system modeling with emphasis on applications related to water, carbon and nitrogen cycles, climate processes and change, agriculture and forest monitoring over large spatial domains using possibly long time series of satellite observations. Román presented a plenary talk entitled: "Assessment of Satellite-Derived Terrestrial Essential Climate Variables: An Overview of the Land Product Validation (LPV) sub-group of the CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV)."
    • M. Román attended the ESA/ESRIN Land Product Validation and Evolution Workshop in Frascati Italy (Jan 28-30, 2014). The primary goal of this workshop was to foster continued coordination between scientists, national space agencies, national research programmes, and ESA with respect to global land product algorithm development and calibration/validation activities. Román presented a talk entitled: "Land, Cryosphere, and Nighttime Environmental Products from Suomi NPP VIIRS: Overview and Status". Following the ESA/ESRIN workshop, the Land Product Validation Subgroup of the CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation convened their 2nd subgroup leads workshop at ESA/ESRIN (Jan 30-31, 2014). During this workshop, Román (LPV co-chair) led the discussion panel on exchange on validation methods used for Land Essential Climate Variables (ECVs).
    • M. Román attended the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union and presented the following poster: Román, M. (NASA/619), J. Nickeson (Sigma/619), G. Schaepman-Strub (U. Zurich), "Assessment of Satellite-Derived Essential Climate Variables in the Terrestrial Domain: An Overview of the CEOS LPV Subgroup". Román also presented a talk entitled: "Land and Cryosphere Products from Suomi NPP VIIRS: Overview and Status", coauthors (various institutions): C. Justice; I. Csiszar; L. Giglio; W. Schroeder; J. Coen; E. Vermote; R. Wolfe; S. Hook; M. Friedl; C. Schaaf; T. Miura; M. Vargas, M. Tschudi; G. Riggs; D. Hall; A. Lyapustin; R. Myneni; S. Devadiga; C. Davidson; E. Masuoka.
    • M. Román presented an invited seminar entitled “Land, Cryosphere, and Nighttime Environmental Monitoring Capabilities from Suomi NPP VIIRS” at George Mason University’s (GMU) Earth System & Geoinformation Sciences Colloquium, September 11, 2013. Román also met with GMU colleagues, Drs. Donglian Sun and Wei Zheng, to discuss progress of their NASA Earth Science Applications funded project entitled “Multi-sensor Approach for Analysis and Mapping of Hurricane Flooding using Suomi-NPP”.
    • M. Román served as distinguished speaker for the 10th anniversary celebration of PROMISE: Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), celebrated at the University of Maryland Baltimore SMC Campus Center. PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP is an alliance of UMBC, the University of Maryland College Park, and the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB, the Founding Campus), dedicated to the increasing the number and diversity of Ph.D. graduates in the sciences and engineering who go on to academic careers. AGEP is a program of the National Science Foundation.
    • M. Román attended the 36th CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation Plenary (WGCV-36) in Shanghai, China, May 13-17, 2013. The ultimate goal of the WGCV is to ensure long-term confidence in the accuracy and quality of Earth observation data and products through (1) sensor-specific calibration and validation and (2) geophysical parameter and derived-product validation. The WGCV-36 plenary provided a forum for the exchange of information on calibration and validation and international cooperative activities between CEOS member agencies. Román presented a status report on the CEOS-WGCV Land Product Validation (LPV) sub-group (http://lpvs.gsfc.nasa.gov/) of which he now serves as vice-chair. Román also presented the NASA agency report. Xiong, who is an standing member of

    Publications

    Refereed

    Li, T., Z. Zhu, Z. Wang, et al. M. O. Román, V. L. Kalb, and Y. Zhao. 2022. "Continuous monitoring of nighttime light changes based on daily NASA's Black Marble product suite." Remote Sensing of Environment, 282: 113269 [10.1016/j.rse.2022.113269]

    Wang, Z., R. M. Shrestha, M. O. Roman, and V. L. Kalb. 2022. "NASA’s Black Marble Multiangle Nighttime Lights Temporal Composites." IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 19: 1-5 [10.1109/lgrs.2022.3176616]

    Stokes, E. C., M. O. Román, Z. Wang, et al. C. C. Kyba, S. D. Miller, T. Storch, and K. R. Gurney. 2021. "Retired satellites: A chance to shed light." Science, 373 (6562): 1451-1452 [10.1126/science.abl9965]

    Wang, Z., M. O. Román, V. L. Kalb, et al. S. D. Miller, J. Zhang, and R. M. Shrestha. 2021. "Quantifying uncertainties in nighttime light retrievals from Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band data." Remote Sensing of Environment, 263: 112557 [10.1016/j.rse.2021.112557]

    Duncanson, L., J. Armston, M. Disney, et al. V. Avitable, V. Barbier, K. Calders, S. Carter, J. Chave, M. Herold, N. MacBean, R. McRoberts, D. Minor, M. Réjou-Méchain, S. Roxburgh, M. Williams, C. Albinet, T. Baker, H. Bartholomeus, J. Bastin, D. Coomes, T. Crowther, S. Davies, S. de Bruin, M. De Kauwe, G. Domke, R. Dubayah, M. Falkowski, L. E. Fatoyinbo Agueh, S. Goetz, P. Jantz, I. Jonckheere, T. Jucker, H. Kay, J. Kellner, N. Labriere, R. Lucas, E. Mitchard, F. Morsdorf, E. Næsset, T. Park, O. Philips, P. Ploton, S. Puliti, S. Quegan, S. Saatchi, C. Schaaf, D. Schepaschenko, K. Scipal, A. Stoval, C. Thiel, M. Wulder, F. Camacho, J. E. Nickeson, M. O. Román, and H. Margolis. 2021. "Aboveground Woody Biomass Product Validation Good Practices Protocol." Good Practices for Satellite Derived Land Product Validation, 236 [Full Text (Link)] [10.5067/doc/ceoswgcv/lpv/agb.001]

    Enenkel, M., R. M. Shrestha, E. Stokes, et al. M. Roman, Z. Wang, M. T. Espinosa, I. Hajzmanova, J. Ginnetti, and P. Vinck. 2019. "Emergencies do not stop at night: Advanced analysis of displacement based on satellite-derived nighttime light observations." IBM Journal of Research and Development, 1-1 [10.1147/jrd.2019.2954404]

    Román, M. O., E. C. Stokes, R. Shrestha, et al. Z. Wang, L. Schultz, E. A. Carlo, Q. Sun, J. Bell, A. Molthan, V. Kalb, C. Ji, K. C. Seto, S. N. McClain, and M. Enenkel. 2019. "Satellite-based assessment of electricity restoration efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria." PLOS ONE, 14 (6): e0218883 [10.1371/journal.pone.0218883]

    Jiao, Z., X. Zhang, F.-M. Bréon, et al. Y. Dong, C. B. Schaaf, M. Román, Z. Wang, L. Cui, S. Yin, A. Ding, and J. Wang. 2018. "The influence of spatial resolution on the angular variation patterns of optical reflectance as retrieved from MODIS and POLDER measurements." Remote Sensing of Environment, 215: 371-385 [10.1016/j.rse.2018.06.025]

    Román, M. O., Z. Wang, Q. Sun, et al. V. Kalb, S. D. Miller, A. Molthan, L. Schultz, J. Bell, E. C. Stokes, B. Pandey, K. C. Seto, D. Hall, T. Oda, R. E. Wolfe, G. Lin, N. Golpayegani, S. Devadiga, C. Davidson, S. Sarkar, C. Praderas, J. Schmaltz, R. Boller, J. Stevens, O. M. Ramos González, E. Padilla, J. Alonso, Y. Detrés, R. Armstrong, I. Miranda, Y. Conte, N. Marrero, K. MacManus, T. Esch, and E. J. Masuoka. 2018. "NASA's Black Marble nighttime lights product suite." Remote Sensing of Environment, 210: 113-143 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1016/j.rse.2018.03.017]

    Wang, Z., M. O. Román, Q. Sun, et al. A. L. Molthan, L. A. Schultz, and V. L. Kalb. 2018. "MONITORING DISASTER-RELATED POWER OUTAGES USING NASA BLACK MARBLE NIGHTTIME LIGHT PRODUCT." ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLII-3: 1853-1856 [10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-3-1853-2018]

    Jiao, Z., Y. Dong, C. B. Schaaf, et al. J. M. Chen, M. Román, Z. Wang, H. Zhang, A. Ding, A. Erb, M. J. Hill, X. Zhang, and A. Strahler. 2018. "An algorithm for the retrieval of the clumping index (CI) from the MODIS BRDF product using an adjusted version of the kernel-driven BRDF model." Remote Sensing of Environment, 209: 594-611 [10.1016/j.rse.2018.02.041]

    Wang, Z., C. B. Schaaf, Q. Sun, Y. Shuai, and M. O. Román. 2018. "Capturing rapid land surface dynamics with Collection V006 MODIS BRDF/NBAR/Albedo (MCD43) products." Remote Sensing of Environment, 207: 50-64 [10.1016/j.rse.2018.02.001]

    Guillevic, P., F. Göttsche, J. E. Nickeson, et al. G. Hulley, D. Ghent, Y. Yu, I. Trigo, S. Hook, J. A. Sobrino, J. Remedios, M. O. Román, and F. Camacho. 2018. "Land Surface Temperature Product Validation Best Practice Protocol." Good Practices for Satellite-Derived Land Product Validation,, 58 [10.5067/doc/ceoswgcv/lpv/lst.001]

    Guillevic, P., F. Göttsche, J. E. Nickeson, and M. O. Roman. 2018. "Land Surface Temperature Product Validation Best Practice Protocol. Version 1.0. ." CEOS-LPV Best Practice for Satellite-Derived Land Product Validation, [doi:10.5067/doc/ceoswgcv/lpv/lst.001]

    Liu, Y., Z. Wang, Q. Sun, et al. A. M. Erb, Z. Li, C. B. Schaaf, X. Zhang, M. O. Román, R. L. Scott, Q. Zhang, K. A. Novick, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte, S. Petroy, and M. SanClements. 2017. "Evaluation of the VIIRS BRDF, Albedo and NBAR products suite and an assessment of continuity with the long term MODIS record." Remote Sensing of Environment, 201: 256-274 [10.1016/j.rse.2017.09.020]

    Moustafa, S. E., A. K. Rennermalm, M. O. Román, et al. Z. Wang, C. B. Schaaf, L. C. Smith, L. S. Koenig, and A. Erb. 2017. "Evaluation of satellite remote sensing albedo retrievals over the ablation area of the southwestern Greenland ice sheet." Remote Sensing of Environment, 198: 115-125 [10.1016/j.rse.2017.05.030]

    Wang, Z., C. B. Schaaf, Q. Sun, et al. J. Kim, A. M. Erb, F. Gao, M. O. Román, Y. Yang, S. Petroy, J. R. Taylor, J. G. Masek, J. T. Morisette, X. Zhang, and S. A. Papuga. 2017. "Monitoring land surface albedo and vegetation dynamics using high spatial and temporal resolution synthetic time series from Landsat and the MODIS BRDF/NBAR/albedo product." International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 59: 104-117 [10.1016/j.jag.2017.03.008]

    Riggs, G. A., D. K. Hall, and M. O. Román. 2017. "Overview of NASA's MODIS and VIIRS Snow-Cover Earth SystemData Records." Earth System Science Data Discussions, 1-30 [10.5194/essd-2017-25]

    Cole, T., D. Wanik, A. Molthan, M. Román, and R. Griffin. 2017. "Synergistic Use of Nighttime Satellite Data, Electric Utility Infrastructure, and Ambient Population to Improve Power Outage Detections in Urban Areas." Remote Sensing, 9 (3): 286 [10.3390/rs9030286]

    Pahlevan, N., S. Sarkar, S. Devadiga, et al. R. E. Wolfe, M. Roman, E. Vermote, G. Lin, and X. Xiong. 2017. "Impact of Spatial Sampling on Continuity of MODIS–VIIRS Land Surface Reflectance Products: A Simulation Approach." IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 55 (1): 183-196 [10.1109/tgrs.2016.2604214]

    Jiao, Z., C. B. Schaaf, Y. Dong, et al. M. Román, M. J. Hill, J. M. Chen, Z. Wang, H. Zhang, E. Saenz, R. Poudyal, C. Gatebe, F.-M. Bréon, X. Li, and A. Strahler. 2016. "A method for improving hotspot directional signatures in BRDF models used for MODIS." Remote Sensing of Environment, 186: 135-151 [10.1016/j.rse.2016.08.007]

    Kang, Y., M. Özdoğan, S. Zipper, et al. M. Román, J. Walker, S. Hong, M. Marshall, V. Magliulo, J. Moreno, L. Alonso, A. Miyata, B. Kimball, and S. Loheide. 2016. "How Universal Is the Relationship between Remotely Sensed Vegetation Indices and Crop Leaf Area Index? A Global Assessment." Remote Sensing, 8 (7): 597 [Full Text (Link)] [10.3390/rs8070597]

    Wang, Z., A. M. Erb, C. B. Schaaf, et al. Q. Sun, Y. Liu, Y. Yang, Y. Shuai, K. A. Casey, and M. O. Román. 2016. "Early spring post-fire snow albedo dynamics in high latitude boreal forests using Landsat-8 OLI data." Remote Sensing of Environment, [10.1016/j.rse.2016.02.059]

    Campagnolo, M. L., Q. Sun, Y. Liu, et al. C. Schaaf, Z. Wang, and M. O. Román. 2016. "Estimating the effective spatial resolution of the operational BRDF, albedo, and nadir reflectance products from MODIS and VIIRS." Remote Sensing of Environment, 175: 52-64 [10.1016/j.rse.2015.12.033]

    Román, M. O., and E. C. Stokes. 2015. "Holidays in lights: Tracking cultural patterns in demand for energy services." Earth's Future, 3 (6): 182-205 [10.1002/2014ef000285]

    Guillevic, P. C., J. C. Biard, G. C. Hulley, et al. J. L. Privette, S. J. Hook, A. Olioso, F. M. Göttsche, R. Radocinski, M. O. Roman, Y. Yu, and I. Csiszar. 2014. "Validation of Land Surface Temperature products derived from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) using ground-based and heritage satellite measurements." Remote Sensing of Environment, 154: 19-37 [10.1016/j.rse.2014.08.013]

    Gatebe, C., C. Ichoku, R. Poudyal, M. O. Roman, and E. Wilcox. 2014. "Surface albedo darkening from wildfires in northern sub-Saharan Africa." Environ. Res. Lett., 9 (6): 065003 [10.1088/1748-9326/9/6/065003]

    Wang, Z., C. B. Schaaf, A. H. Strahler, et al. M. J. Chopping, M. O. Roman, Y. Shuai, C. E. Woodcock, D. Y. Hollinger, and D. R. Fitzjarrald. 2014. "Evaluation of MODIS albedo product (MCD43A) over grassland, agriculture and forest surface types during dormant and snow-covered periods." Remote Sensing of Environment, 140: 60-77 [10.1016/j.rse.2013.08.025]

    Justice, C., M. O. Roman, I. Csiszar, et al. E. Vermote, R. E. Wolfe, S. J. Hook, M. Friedl, Z. Wang, C. B. Schaaf, T. Miura, M. Tschudi, G. Riggs, D. K. Hall, A. I. Lyapustin, S. Devadiga, C. C. Davidson, and E. J. Masuoka. 2013. "Land and cryosphere products from Suomi NPP VIIRS: Overview and status." J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 118 (17): 9753-9765 [10.1002/jgrd.50771]

    Roman, M. O., C. K. Gatebe, Y. Shuai, et al. Z. Wang, F. Gao, J. Masek, T. He, S. Liang, and C. L. Schaaf. 2013. "Use of In Situ and Airborne Multiangle Data to Assess MODIS- and Landsat-Based Estimates of Directional Reflectance and Albedo." IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 51 (3): 1393-1404 [10.1109/TGRS.2013.2243457]

    Zhao, F., X. Yang, A. Strahler, et al. C. Schaaf, T. Yao, Z. Wang, M. Román, C. Woodcock, W. Ni-Meister, D. L. Jupp, J. Lovell, D. Culvenor, G. Newnham, H. Tang, and R. Dubayah. 2013. "A comparison of foliage profiles in the Sierra National Forest obtained with a full-waveform under-canopy EVI lidar system with the foliage profiles obtained with an airborne full-waveform LVIS lidar system." Remote Sensing of Environment, 136: 330–341 [10.1016/j.rse.2013.05.020]

    Zhuosen, W., C. B. Schaaf, M. J. Chopping, et al. A. H. Strahler, J. Wang, M. O. Roman, A. V. Rocha, C. E. Woodcock, and Y. Shuai. 2012. "Evaluation of Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow albedo product (MCD43A) over tundra." Remote Sensing of Environment, 117: 264–280 [10.1016/j.rse.2011.10.002]

    Hill, M. J., M. O. Roman, and C. B. Schaaf. 2012. "Dynamics of vegetation indices in tropical and subtropical savannas defined by ecoregions and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover." Geocarto International, 27 (2): 153-191 [10.1080/10106049.2011.626529]

    Roman, M. O., I. Csiszar, C. Justice, et al. J. Key, J. Privette, S. Devadiga, C. Davidson, R. E. Wolfe, and E. J. Masuoka. 2012. "Status of the Suomi NPP visible/infrared imager radiometer suite's (VIIRS) land environmental data records (EDRs) after early evaluation of on-orbit performance." Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2012 IEEE International, 1084-1087 [10.1109/IGARSS.2012.6351360]

    Cescatti, A., B. Marcolla, S. K. Vannan, et al. J. Y. Pan, M. O. Roman, X. Yang, P. Ciais, R. B. Cook, B. E. Law, G. Matteucci, M. Migliavacca, E. Moors, A. D. Richardson, G. Seufert, and C. B. Schaaf. 2012. "Intercomparison of MODIS albedo retrievals and in situ measurements across the global FLUXNET network." Remote Sensing of Environment, 121: 323–334 [10.1016/j.rse.2012.02.019]

    Roman, M. O., C. Justice, I. Csiszar, et al. J. Y. Key, S. Devadiga, C. Davidson, R. E. Wolfe, and J. Privette. 2011. "Pre-launch evaluation of the NPP VIIRS Land and Cryosphere EDRs to meet NASA's science requirements." Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) 2011 IEEE International, Vancouver, BC: 154-157 [10.1109/IGARSS.2011.6048921]

    Zhao, F., X. Yang, M. A. Schull, et al. M. O. Roman, T. Yao, Z. Wang, Q. Zhang, D. L. Jupp, J. L. Lovell, D. S. Culvenor, G. J. Newnham, A. D. Richardson, W. Ni-Meister, C. B. Schaaf, C. E. Woodcock, and A. H. Strahler. 2011. "Measuring effective leaf area index, foliage profile, and stand height in New England forest stands using a full-waveform ground-based lidar." Remote Sensing of Environment, 115 (11): 2954-2964 [10.1016/j.rse.2010.08.030]

    Hill, M. J., M. O. Roman, C. B. Schaaf, et al. L. Hutley, C. Brannstrom, A. Etter, and N. P. Hanan. 2011. "Characterizing vegetation cover in global savannas with an annual foliage clumping index derived from the MODIS BRDF product." Remote Sensing of Environment, 115 (8): 2008-2024 [10.1016/j.rse.2011.04.003]

    Román, M., C. K. Gatebe, C. Schaaf, et al. R. Poudyal, Z. Wang, and M. D. King. 2011. "Variability in surface BRDF at different spatial scales (30m–500m) over a mixed agricultural landscape as retrieved from airborne and satellite spectral measurements." Remote Sensing of Environment, 115 (9): 2184-2203 [10.1016/j.rse.2011.04.012]

    Hill, M. J., M. O. Román, and C. B. Schaaf. 2010. "Biogeography, Ecology and Dynamics of Global Savanna: A Geospatial View." Ecosystem Function in Savannas: Measurement and Modeling at Landscape to Global Scales, ISBN: 9781439804704.

    Román, M. O., C. Schaaf, P. Lewis, et al. F. Gao, G. Anderson, J. Privette, A. Strahler, C. Woodcock, and M. Barnsley. 2010. "Assessing the coupling between surface albedo derived from MODIS and the fraction of diffuse skylight over spatially-characterized landscapes." Remote Sensing of Environment, 114 (4): 738-760 [10.1016/j.rse.2009.11.014]

    Román, M. O., C. Schaaf, C. Woodcock, et al. A. Strahler, X. Yang, R. Braswell, P. Curtis, K. Davis, D. Dragoni, L. Gu, M. Goulden, D. Hollinger, T. Kolb, T. Meyers, J. Munger, J. Privette, A. Richardson, T. Wilson, and S. Wofsy. 2009. "The MODIS (Collection V005) BRDF/albedo product: Assessment of spatial representativeness over forested landscapes." Remote Sensing of Environment, 113 (11): 2476-2498 [10.1016/j.rse.2009.07.009]

    Rutan, D., F. Rose, M. O. Román, et al. N. Manalo-Smith, C. Schaaf, and T. Charlock. 2009. "Development and assessment of broadband surface albedo from Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Clouds and Radiation Swath data product." J. Geophys. Res., 114 (D8): D08125 [10.1029/2008JD010669]

    Liu, J., C. Schaaf, A. Strahler, et al. Z. Jiao, Y. Shuai, Q. Zhang, M. O. Román, J. Augustine, and E. Dutton. 2009. "Validation of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) albedo retrieval algorithm: Dependence of albedo on solar zenith angle." J. Geophys. Res., 114 (D1): D01106 [10.1029/2008JD009969]

    Lewis, P. E., G. P. Anderson, S. S. Shen, et al. J. Chetwynd, M. O. Roman, C. B. Schaaf, D. D. Turner, D. A. Rutan, A. Berk, D. P. Miller, and R. Kroutil. 2009. "MODTRAN5 analysis of clear-sky, co-located space- and ground-based infrared atmospheric measurements: AERI, AIRS, CERES, MODIS." Proc. SPIE 7334, Algorithms and Technologies for Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery XV, 7334: 733410 [10.1117/12.819920]

    Knobelspiesse, K. D., B. Cairns, B. Schmid, M. O. Román, and C. B. Schaaf. 2008. "Surface BRDF estimation from an aircraft compared to MODIS and ground estimates at the Southern Great Plains site." J. Geophys. Res., 113 (D20): D20105 [10.1029/2008JD010062]

    Coddington, O., K. Schmidt, P. Pilewskie, et al. W. Gore, R. Bergstrom, M. O. Román, J. Redemann, P. Russell, J. Liu, and C. Schaaf. 2008. "Aircraft measurements of spectral surface albedo and its consistency with ground-based and space-borne observations." J. Geophys. Res., 113 (D17): D17209 [10.1029/2008JD010089]

    Stone, R., G. Anderson, E. Shettle, et al. E. Andrews, K. Loukachine, E. Dutton, C. Schaaf, and M. O. Román. 2008. "Radiative impact of boreal smoke in the Arctic: Observed and modeled." J. Geophys. Res., 113 (D14): D14S16 [10.1029/2007JD009657]

    Anderson, G., C. Schaaf, K. Loukachine, et al. R. Stone, E. Andrews, E. Shettle, E. Dutton, M. O. Roman, A. Stohl, and A. Berk. 2008. "Assessing the radiative impact of aerosol smoke using MODTRAN5." Algorithms and Technologies for Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery XIV, 6966: 696617 [10.1117/12.782364]

    Non-Refereed

    Kostis, H.-N., M. O. Román, V. Kalb, et al. E. C. Stokes, R. M. Shrestha, Z. Wang, L. Schultz, Q. Sun, J. Bell, A. Molthan, R. Boller, and A. Anyamba. 2020. "Reaching Broad Audiences from a Large Agency Setting." Foundations of Data Visualization Switzerland: 319-340, ISBN: 978-3-030-34443-6. [10.1007/978-3-030-34444-3_18]

    Roman, M. O. 2018. "After the Hurricane." The Economist (April 14 Issue): 18-20 [Full Text (Link)]

    Roman, M. O., C. Justice, and I. Csiszar. 2014. "Land, Cryosphere, and nighttime enviromental products from Suomi NPP VIIRS: Overview and status ." Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2014 IEEE International 3530 - 3533 [10.1109/IGARSS.2014.6947244]

    Fatoyinbo Agueh, L. E., R. F. Rincon, D. J. Harding, et al. C. K. Gatebe, K. J. Ranson, G. Sun, and M. O. Román. 2012. "The 2011 Eco3D flight campaign: Vegetation structure and biomass estimation from simultaneous SAR, lidar and radiometer measurements." 2012 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) 3387–3390 [10.1109/IGARSS.2012.6350694]

    Brief Bio

    SummaryMiguel O. Román (WaPo Profile; Google Scholar Profile) is a Research Physical Scientist in the Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory  at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. A major focus of Román's work is the development and applied use of nighttime visible imagery from polar-orbiting satellites. He pioneered and oversees production of NASA's Black Marble, a product suite that enables monitoring of power failures during major disasters and the assessment of underserved and vulnerable communities worldwide.

    At the agency level, Román serves as NASA's Terra, Aqua, and Suomi NPP's Land discipline lead, helping manage a team of 22 competitively-selected investigators in charge of generating long-term data records from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). He has been principal investigator on over $5 million of external funding for the development and use of operational products from MODIS and VIIRS. As a Disaster Coordinator with NASA's Disasters Program, Román has strengthened engagement with stakeholders from across industry, academia, civil society groups, and NGOs to improve decision-making in disaster scenarios and risk reduction strategies.

    At the international level, Román is currently assigned as an agency representative to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). His contributions to inter-agency and inter-governmental initiatives, and the wealth of satellite measurements available from his work, are providing stakeholders with the fundamental data sets and strengthened capacity required to better understand and mitigate disaster risks, promote sustainable and resilient urban infrastructure, while addressing the immediate energy needs of historically-disadvantaged communities.

    Román is the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.

    Publications

    Refereed

    Li, T., Z. Zhu, Z. Wang, et al. M. O. Román, V. L. Kalb, and Y. Zhao. 2022. "Continuous monitoring of nighttime light changes based on daily NASA's Black Marble product suite." Remote Sensing of Environment 282 113269 [10.1016/j.rse.2022.113269]

    Wang, Z., R. M. Shrestha, M. O. Roman, and V. L. Kalb. 2022. "NASA’s Black Marble Multiangle Nighttime Lights Temporal Composites." IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters 19 1-5 [10.1109/lgrs.2022.3176616]

    Stokes, E. C., M. O. Román, Z. Wang, et al. C. C. Kyba, S. D. Miller, T. Storch, and K. R. Gurney. 2021. "Retired satellites: A chance to shed light." Science 373 (6562): 1451-1452 [10.1126/science.abl9965]

    Wang, Z., M. O. Román, V. L. Kalb, et al. S. D. Miller, J. Zhang, and R. M. Shrestha. 2021. "Quantifying uncertainties in nighttime light retrievals from Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band data." Remote Sensing of Environment 263 112557 [10.1016/j.rse.2021.112557]

    Duncanson, L., J. Armston, M. Disney, et al. V. Avitable, V. Barbier, K. Calders, S. Carter, J. Chave, M. Herold, N. MacBean, R. McRoberts, D. Minor, M. Réjou-Méchain, S. Roxburgh, M. Williams, C. Albinet, T. Baker, H. Bartholomeus, J. Bastin, D. Coomes, T. Crowther, S. Davies, S. de Bruin, M. De Kauwe, G. Domke, R. Dubayah, M. Falkowski, L. E. Fatoyinbo Agueh, S. Goetz, P. Jantz, I. Jonckheere, T. Jucker, H. Kay, J. Kellner, N. Labriere, R. Lucas, E. Mitchard, F. Morsdorf, E. Næsset, T. Park, O. Philips, P. Ploton, S. Puliti, S. Quegan, S. Saatchi, C. Schaaf, D. Schepaschenko, K. Scipal, A. Stoval, C. Thiel, M. Wulder, F. Camacho, J. E. Nickeson, M. O. Román, and H. Margolis. 2021. "Aboveground Woody Biomass Product Validation Good Practices Protocol." Good Practices for Satellite Derived Land Product Validation 236 [Full Text (Link)] [10.5067/doc/ceoswgcv/lpv/agb.001]

    Enenkel, M., R. M. Shrestha, E. Stokes, et al. M. Roman, Z. Wang, M. T. Espinosa, I. Hajzmanova, J. Ginnetti, and P. Vinck. 2019. "Emergencies do not stop at night: Advanced analysis of displacement based on satellite-derived nighttime light observations." IBM Journal of Research and Development 1-1 [10.1147/jrd.2019.2954404]

    Román, M. O., E. C. Stokes, R. Shrestha, et al. Z. Wang, L. Schultz, E. A. Carlo, Q. Sun, J. Bell, A. Molthan, V. Kalb, C. Ji, K. C. Seto, S. N. McClain, and M. Enenkel. 2019. "Satellite-based assessment of electricity restoration efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria." PLOS ONE 14 (6): e0218883 [10.1371/journal.pone.0218883]

    Jiao, Z., X. Zhang, F.-M. Bréon, et al. Y. Dong, C. B. Schaaf, M. Román, Z. Wang, L. Cui, S. Yin, A. Ding, and J. Wang. 2018. "The influence of spatial resolution on the angular variation patterns of optical reflectance as retrieved from MODIS and POLDER measurements." Remote Sensing of Environment 215 371-385 [10.1016/j.rse.2018.06.025]

    Román, M. O., Z. Wang, Q. Sun, et al. V. Kalb, S. D. Miller, A. Molthan, L. Schultz, J. Bell, E. C. Stokes, B. Pandey, K. C. Seto, D. Hall, T. Oda, R. E. Wolfe, G. Lin, N. Golpayegani, S. Devadiga, C. Davidson, S. Sarkar, C. Praderas, J. Schmaltz, R. Boller, J. Stevens, O. M. Ramos González, E. Padilla, J. Alonso, Y. Detrés, R. Armstrong, I. Miranda, Y. Conte, N. Marrero, K. MacManus, T. Esch, and E. J. Masuoka. 2018. "NASA's Black Marble nighttime lights product suite." Remote Sensing of Environment 210 113-143 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1016/j.rse.2018.03.017]

    Wang, Z., M. O. Román, Q. Sun, et al. A. L. Molthan, L. A. Schultz, and V. L. Kalb. 2018. "MONITORING DISASTER-RELATED POWER OUTAGES USING NASA BLACK MARBLE NIGHTTIME LIGHT PRODUCT." ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLII-3 1853-1856 [10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-3-1853-2018]

    Jiao, Z., Y. Dong, C. B. Schaaf, et al. J. M. Chen, M. Román, Z. Wang, H. Zhang, A. Ding, A. Erb, M. J. Hill, X. Zhang, and A. Strahler. 2018. "An algorithm for the retrieval of the clumping index (CI) from the MODIS BRDF product using an adjusted version of the kernel-driven BRDF model." Remote Sensing of Environment 209 594-611 [10.1016/j.rse.2018.02.041]

    Wang, Z., C. B. Schaaf, Q. Sun, Y. Shuai, and M. O. Román. 2018. "Capturing rapid land surface dynamics with Collection V006 MODIS BRDF/NBAR/Albedo (MCD43) products." Remote Sensing of Environment 207 50-64 [10.1016/j.rse.2018.02.001]

    Guillevic, P., F. Göttsche, J. E. Nickeson, et al. G. Hulley, D. Ghent, Y. Yu, I. Trigo, S. Hook, J. A. Sobrino, J. Remedios, M. O. Román, and F. Camacho. 2018. "Land Surface Temperature Product Validation Best Practice Protocol." Good Practices for Satellite-Derived Land Product Validation, 58 [10.5067/doc/ceoswgcv/lpv/lst.001]

    Guillevic, P., F. Göttsche, J. E. Nickeson, and M. O. Roman. 2018. "Land Surface Temperature Product Validation Best Practice Protocol. Version 1.0. ." CEOS-LPV Best Practice for Satellite-Derived Land Product Validation [doi:10.5067/doc/ceoswgcv/lpv/lst.001]

    Liu, Y., Z. Wang, Q. Sun, et al. A. M. Erb, Z. Li, C. B. Schaaf, X. Zhang, M. O. Román, R. L. Scott, Q. Zhang, K. A. Novick, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte, S. Petroy, and M. SanClements. 2017. "Evaluation of the VIIRS BRDF, Albedo and NBAR products suite and an assessment of continuity with the long term MODIS record." Remote Sensing of Environment 201 256-274 [10.1016/j.rse.2017.09.020]

    Moustafa, S. E., A. K. Rennermalm, M. O. Román, et al. Z. Wang, C. B. Schaaf, L. C. Smith, L. S. Koenig, and A. Erb. 2017. "Evaluation of satellite remote sensing albedo retrievals over the ablation area of the southwestern Greenland ice sheet." Remote Sensing of Environment 198 115-125 [10.1016/j.rse.2017.05.030]

    Wang, Z., C. B. Schaaf, Q. Sun, et al. J. Kim, A. M. Erb, F. Gao, M. O. Román, Y. Yang, S. Petroy, J. R. Taylor, J. G. Masek, J. T. Morisette, X. Zhang, and S. A. Papuga. 2017. "Monitoring land surface albedo and vegetation dynamics using high spatial and temporal resolution synthetic time series from Landsat and the MODIS BRDF/NBAR/albedo product." International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 59 104-117 [10.1016/j.jag.2017.03.008]

    Riggs, G. A., D. K. Hall, and M. O. Román. 2017. "Overview of NASA's MODIS and VIIRS Snow-Cover Earth SystemData Records." Earth System Science Data Discussions 1-30 [10.5194/essd-2017-25]

    Cole, T., D. Wanik, A. Molthan, M. Román, and R. Griffin. 2017. "Synergistic Use of Nighttime Satellite Data, Electric Utility Infrastructure, and Ambient Population to Improve Power Outage Detections in Urban Areas." Remote Sensing 9 (3): 286 [10.3390/rs9030286]

    Pahlevan, N., S. Sarkar, S. Devadiga, et al. R. E. Wolfe, M. Roman, E. Vermote, G. Lin, and X. Xiong. 2017. "Impact of Spatial Sampling on Continuity of MODIS–VIIRS Land Surface Reflectance Products: A Simulation Approach." IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 55 (1): 183-196 [10.1109/tgrs.2016.2604214]

    Jiao, Z., C. B. Schaaf, Y. Dong, et al. M. Román, M. J. Hill, J. M. Chen, Z. Wang, H. Zhang, E. Saenz, R. Poudyal, C. Gatebe, F.-M. Bréon, X. Li, and A. Strahler. 2016. "A method for improving hotspot directional signatures in BRDF models used for MODIS." Remote Sensing of Environment 186 135-151 [10.1016/j.rse.2016.08.007]

    Kang, Y., M. Özdoğan, S. Zipper, et al. M. Román, J. Walker, S. Hong, M. Marshall, V. Magliulo, J. Moreno, L. Alonso, A. Miyata, B. Kimball, and S. Loheide. 2016. "How Universal Is the Relationship between Remotely Sensed Vegetation Indices and Crop Leaf Area Index? A Global Assessment." Remote Sensing 8 (7): 597 [Full Text (Link)] [10.3390/rs8070597]

    Wang, Z., A. M. Erb, C. B. Schaaf, et al. Q. Sun, Y. Liu, Y. Yang, Y. Shuai, K. A. Casey, and M. O. Román. 2016. "Early spring post-fire snow albedo dynamics in high latitude boreal forests using Landsat-8 OLI data." Remote Sensing of Environment [10.1016/j.rse.2016.02.059]

    Campagnolo, M. L., Q. Sun, Y. Liu, et al. C. Schaaf, Z. Wang, and M. O. Román. 2016. "Estimating the effective spatial resolution of the operational BRDF, albedo, and nadir reflectance products from MODIS and VIIRS." Remote Sensing of Environment 175 52-64 [10.1016/j.rse.2015.12.033]

    Román, M. O., and E. C. Stokes. 2015. "Holidays in lights: Tracking cultural patterns in demand for energy services." Earth's Future 3 (6): 182-205 [10.1002/2014ef000285]

    Guillevic, P. C., J. C. Biard, G. C. Hulley, et al. J. L. Privette, S. J. Hook, A. Olioso, F. M. Göttsche, R. Radocinski, M. O. Roman, Y. Yu, and I. Csiszar. 2014. "Validation of Land Surface Temperature products derived from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) using ground-based and heritage satellite measurements." Remote Sensing of Environment 154 19-37 [10.1016/j.rse.2014.08.013]

    Gatebe, C., C. Ichoku, R. Poudyal, M. O. Roman, and E. Wilcox. 2014. "Surface albedo darkening from wildfires in northern sub-Saharan Africa." Environ. Res. Lett. 9 (6): 065003 [10.1088/1748-9326/9/6/065003]

    Wang, Z., C. B. Schaaf, A. H. Strahler, et al. M. J. Chopping, M. O. Roman, Y. Shuai, C. E. Woodcock, D. Y. Hollinger, and D. R. Fitzjarrald. 2014. "Evaluation of MODIS albedo product (MCD43A) over grassland, agriculture and forest surface types during dormant and snow-covered periods." Remote Sensing of Environment 140 60-77 [10.1016/j.rse.2013.08.025]

    Justice, C., M. O. Roman, I. Csiszar, et al. E. Vermote, R. E. Wolfe, S. J. Hook, M. Friedl, Z. Wang, C. B. Schaaf, T. Miura, M. Tschudi, G. Riggs, D. K. Hall, A. I. Lyapustin, S. Devadiga, C. C. Davidson, and E. J. Masuoka. 2013. "Land and cryosphere products from Suomi NPP VIIRS: Overview and status." J. Geophys. Res. Atmos. 118 (17): 9753-9765 [10.1002/jgrd.50771]

    Roman, M. O., C. K. Gatebe, Y. Shuai, et al. Z. Wang, F. Gao, J. Masek, T. He, S. Liang, and C. L. Schaaf. 2013. "Use of In Situ and Airborne Multiangle Data to Assess MODIS- and Landsat-Based Estimates of Directional Reflectance and Albedo." IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 51 (3): 1393-1404 [10.1109/TGRS.2013.2243457]

    Zhao, F., X. Yang, A. Strahler, et al. C. Schaaf, T. Yao, Z. Wang, M. Román, C. Woodcock, W. Ni-Meister, D. L. Jupp, J. Lovell, D. Culvenor, G. Newnham, H. Tang, and R. Dubayah. 2013. "A comparison of foliage profiles in the Sierra National Forest obtained with a full-waveform under-canopy EVI lidar system with the foliage profiles obtained with an airborne full-waveform LVIS lidar system." Remote Sensing of Environment 136 330–341 [10.1016/j.rse.2013.05.020]

    Zhuosen, W., C. B. Schaaf, M. J. Chopping, et al. A. H. Strahler, J. Wang, M. O. Roman, A. V. Rocha, C. E. Woodcock, and Y. Shuai. 2012. "Evaluation of Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow albedo product (MCD43A) over tundra." Remote Sensing of Environment 117 264–280 [10.1016/j.rse.2011.10.002]

    Hill, M. J., M. O. Roman, and C. B. Schaaf. 2012. "Dynamics of vegetation indices in tropical and subtropical savannas defined by ecoregions and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover." Geocarto International 27 (2): 153-191 [10.1080/10106049.2011.626529]

    Roman, M. O., I. Csiszar, C. Justice, et al. J. Key, J. Privette, S. Devadiga, C. Davidson, R. E. Wolfe, and E. J. Masuoka. 2012. "Status of the Suomi NPP visible/infrared imager radiometer suite's (VIIRS) land environmental data records (EDRs) after early evaluation of on-orbit performance." Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2012 IEEE International 1084-1087 [10.1109/IGARSS.2012.6351360]

    Cescatti, A., B. Marcolla, S. K. Vannan, et al. J. Y. Pan, M. O. Roman, X. Yang, P. Ciais, R. B. Cook, B. E. Law, G. Matteucci, M. Migliavacca, E. Moors, A. D. Richardson, G. Seufert, and C. B. Schaaf. 2012. "Intercomparison of MODIS albedo retrievals and in situ measurements across the global FLUXNET network." Remote Sensing of Environment 121 323–334 [10.1016/j.rse.2012.02.019]

    Roman, M. O., C. Justice, I. Csiszar, et al. J. Y. Key, S. Devadiga, C. Davidson, R. E. Wolfe, and J. Privette. 2011. "Pre-launch evaluation of the NPP VIIRS Land and Cryosphere EDRs to meet NASA's science requirements." Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) 2011 IEEE International 154-157 [10.1109/IGARSS.2011.6048921]

    Zhao, F., X. Yang, M. A. Schull, et al. M. O. Roman, T. Yao, Z. Wang, Q. Zhang, D. L. Jupp, J. L. Lovell, D. S. Culvenor, G. J. Newnham, A. D. Richardson, W. Ni-Meister, C. B. Schaaf, C. E. Woodcock, and A. H. Strahler. 2011. "Measuring effective leaf area index, foliage profile, and stand height in New England forest stands using a full-waveform ground-based lidar." Remote Sensing of Environment 115 (11): 2954-2964 [10.1016/j.rse.2010.08.030]

    Hill, M. J., M. O. Roman, C. B. Schaaf, et al. L. Hutley, C. Brannstrom, A. Etter, and N. P. Hanan. 2011. "Characterizing vegetation cover in global savannas with an annual foliage clumping index derived from the MODIS BRDF product." Remote Sensing of Environment 115 (8): 2008-2024 [10.1016/j.rse.2011.04.003]

    Román, M., C. K. Gatebe, C. Schaaf, et al. R. Poudyal, Z. Wang, and M. D. King. 2011. "Variability in surface BRDF at different spatial scales (30m–500m) over a mixed agricultural landscape as retrieved from airborne and satellite spectral measurements." Remote Sensing of Environment 115 (9): 2184-2203 [10.1016/j.rse.2011.04.012]

    Hill, M. J., M. O. Román, and C. B. Schaaf. 2010. "Biogeography, Ecology and Dynamics of Global Savanna: A Geospatial View." Ecosystem Function in Savannas: Measurement and Modeling at Landscape to Global Scales

    Román, M. O., C. Schaaf, P. Lewis, et al. F. Gao, G. Anderson, J. Privette, A. Strahler, C. Woodcock, and M. Barnsley. 2010. "Assessing the coupling between surface albedo derived from MODIS and the fraction of diffuse skylight over spatially-characterized landscapes." Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (4): 738-760 [10.1016/j.rse.2009.11.014]

    Román, M. O., C. Schaaf, C. Woodcock, et al. A. Strahler, X. Yang, R. Braswell, P. Curtis, K. Davis, D. Dragoni, L. Gu, M. Goulden, D. Hollinger, T. Kolb, T. Meyers, J. Munger, J. Privette, A. Richardson, T. Wilson, and S. Wofsy. 2009. "The MODIS (Collection V005) BRDF/albedo product: Assessment of spatial representativeness over forested landscapes." Remote Sensing of Environment 113 (11): 2476-2498 [10.1016/j.rse.2009.07.009]

    Rutan, D., F. Rose, M. O. Román, et al. N. Manalo-Smith, C. Schaaf, and T. Charlock. 2009. "Development and assessment of broadband surface albedo from Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Clouds and Radiation Swath data product." J. Geophys. Res. 114 (D8): D08125 [10.1029/2008JD010669]

    Liu, J., C. Schaaf, A. Strahler, et al. Z. Jiao, Y. Shuai, Q. Zhang, M. O. Román, J. Augustine, and E. Dutton. 2009. "Validation of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) albedo retrieval algorithm: Dependence of albedo on solar zenith angle." J. Geophys. Res. 114 (D1): D01106 [10.1029/2008JD009969]

    Lewis, P. E., G. P. Anderson, S. S. Shen, et al. J. Chetwynd, M. O. Roman, C. B. Schaaf, D. D. Turner, D. A. Rutan, A. Berk, D. P. Miller, and R. Kroutil. 2009. "MODTRAN5 analysis of clear-sky, co-located space- and ground-based infrared atmospheric measurements: AERI, AIRS, CERES, MODIS." Proc. SPIE 7334, Algorithms and Technologies for Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery XV 7334 733410 [10.1117/12.819920]

    Knobelspiesse, K. D., B. Cairns, B. Schmid, M. O. Román, and C. B. Schaaf. 2008. "Surface BRDF estimation from an aircraft compared to MODIS and ground estimates at the Southern Great Plains site." J. Geophys. Res. 113 (D20): D20105 [10.1029/2008JD010062]

    Coddington, O., K. Schmidt, P. Pilewskie, et al. W. Gore, R. Bergstrom, M. O. Román, J. Redemann, P. Russell, J. Liu, and C. Schaaf. 2008. "Aircraft measurements of spectral surface albedo and its consistency with ground-based and space-borne observations." J. Geophys. Res. 113 (D17): D17209 [10.1029/2008JD010089]

    Stone, R., G. Anderson, E. Shettle, et al. E. Andrews, K. Loukachine, E. Dutton, C. Schaaf, and M. O. Román. 2008. "Radiative impact of boreal smoke in the Arctic: Observed and modeled." J. Geophys. Res. 113 (D14): D14S16 [10.1029/2007JD009657]

    Anderson, G., C. Schaaf, K. Loukachine, et al. R. Stone, E. Andrews, E. Shettle, E. Dutton, M. O. Roman, A. Stohl, and A. Berk. 2008. "Assessing the radiative impact of aerosol smoke using MODTRAN5." Algorithms and Technologies for Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery XIV 6966 696617 [10.1117/12.782364]

    Non-Refereed

    Kostis, H.-N., M. O. Román, V. Kalb, et al. E. C. Stokes, R. M. Shrestha, Z. Wang, L. Schultz, Q. Sun, J. Bell, A. Molthan, R. Boller, and A. Anyamba. 2020. "Reaching Broad Audiences from a Large Agency Setting." Foundations of Data Visualization 319-340 [10.1007/978-3-030-34444-3_18]

    Roman, M. O. 2018. "After the Hurricane." The Economist 18-20 [Full Text (Link)]

    Roman, M. O., C. Justice, and I. Csiszar. 2014. "Land, Cryosphere, and nighttime enviromental products from Suomi NPP VIIRS: Overview and status ." Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2014 IEEE International 3530 - 3533 [10.1109/IGARSS.2014.6947244]

    Fatoyinbo Agueh, L. E., R. F. Rincon, D. J. Harding, et al. C. K. Gatebe, K. J. Ranson, G. Sun, and M. O. Román. 2012. "The 2011 Eco3D flight campaign: Vegetation structure and biomass estimation from simultaneous SAR, lidar and radiometer measurements." 2012 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) 3387–3390 [10.1109/IGARSS.2012.6350694]

                                                                                                                                                                                            
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