April 22, 2026

Earth Observation Symposium

A day-long exploration of satellite-based research and innovation for Earth Day
Register

Join MIT AeroAstro and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) for the Earth Observation Symposium, a day-long exploration of satellite-based research and innovation for Earth Day on April 22 2026. 

This symposium will convene researchers from across MIT and affiliated networks to highlight how satellites allow us to monitor weather systems, track climate change, study ecosystems, and better understand the patterns shaping our planet. 

The program features a keynote address by Susan Solomon, Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies and Chemistry, internationally recognized for her leadership in atmospheric science. The day will also include faculty talks and panels, lightning talks and poster sessions from students and researchers, and opportunities to connect with colleagues working across this interdisciplinary field.

Celebrate MIT’s pioneering role in Earth observation, a field first explored right here in Boston, and join us in exploring how satellite science continues to advance research, technology, and society.

Program

Part 1

EAPS Atrium, Building 55

10:00–10:05 | Welcome and introduction | Prof. Olivier de Weck and Prof. Arlene Fiore

10:05–10:10 | Symposium overview | Prof. Daniel Varon and Dr. Afreen Siddiqi

10:10–10:40 | Keynote 

Susan Solomon, Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies and Chemistry

Interpreting Earth observation regarding ozone, detection and attribution of climate change, and future challenges.

11:00–11:50 | Panel 

Earth observation for environmental science and society: emerging technologies and applications

Sherrie Wang, Assistant Professor, MIT MechE, IDSS, and LIDS; PI of the Earth Intelligence Lab at MIT

Taylor Perron, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

Dava Newman, Apollo Program Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics

Daniel Varon, Boeing Career Development Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics

12:00–1:00 | Lunch + networking 

1:00–2:00 | Lightning Talks

  • Frederick Ajisafe, “Use of methane point-source commercial satellite data to supplement local greenhouse gas inventories at a landfill in Rio de Janeiro”
  • Shahine Bouabid, “Can real-world alignement of Earth System Model emulators project future lived conditions?”
  • Allegra Farrar, “CYGNSS”
  • Kevin Gauld, “Quantifying Nitrogen Oxide Point Sources with the EMIT Satellite Imaging Spectrometer”
  • Joe Palmo, “Aerosol-Corrected Geostationary Nitrogen Dioxide Retrievals over Biomass Burning Plumes”
  • Anna Papp, “Open Dumps and the Global Trade in Garbage”
  • Eric Saboya, “AGAGE: 48 years of measuring and monitoring global atmospheric trace gases”

2:00–3:30 | Featured Speakers

Xiong Liu, Senior physicist, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian
TEMPO Mission: The Smithsonian/NASA TEMPO observatory measures the atmosphere over North America from a geostationary satellite, specifically tracking air quality in unprecedented detail.

Dara Entekhabi, Bacardi And Stockholm Water Foundations Professor, MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Mission: Launched in 2015, the SMAP satellite measured high-resolution global measurements of near-surface soil moisture and its freeze-thaw state. These measurements allow significantly improved estimates of water, energy and carbon transfers between the land and atmosphere.

Vincent Leslie, Technical Staff, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
The NASA TROPICS CubeSat constellation mission is currently providing wide-swath microwave observations of tropical cyclones in twelve channels spanning 90-205 GHz at unprecedented revisit rates to improve our basic scientific understanding of how storms form and evolve and to improve our ability to forecast storm track and intensity.

Part 2

3:30–5:00: Poster session

  • Jian Guan, “Human Influence on the Ozone Layer Detectable by the 1960s”
  • Landon Hering, “Physics-Informed Scale Separation for High-Resolution Sea Surface Height Inpainting”
  • Horim Kim, “Long-term monitoring of oceanic N2O emissions from the Eastern Tropical Pacific at the Galapagos Emission Monitoring Station”
  • Yuki Murota, “Understanding SAR Data Utilization through an Absorptive Capacity Framework”
  • Maddie Sowinski, “Utility of SWOT for Determining Floe-Scale Thickness and Morphology of Antarctic Sea Ice”
  • Shim Yook, “Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (Hunga) volcanic eruption”
  • Selena Zhang, “Record-High Ozone in the Austral Mid-Latitude Tropopause Region Driven by Dynamical and Chemical Effects of the 2019 Sudden Stratospheric Warming”