A New Orleans State of Crime: Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Shifting Homicide Patterns In Post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, LA

Dubbed the most murderous and deadliest city in the United States during 2006, 2007 and 2008, New Orleans has wrestled with crime and murder since its founding in 1718. Following Hurricane Katrina the city saw an increase in the murder rate despite a sharp decrease in population. The focus of this project was to map homicide data trends in the city of New Orleans over a period of seven years, 2002 to 2008, and compare spatial and temporal patterns via GIS. NOPD homicide location data were geocoded and analyzed in ESRI\u27s ArcGIS geospatial software. Methodologies of hotspot detection included point maps, choropleth graduated color maps, and quartic kernel density maps. The project\u27s goal was to not only detect hotspots, but to create a synoptic view of shifting homicide trends throughout the city of New Orleans, highlighting the impact of Hurricane Katrina

NASA Earth Observations Track the Gulf Oil Spill

The NASA Applied Sciences Program created the Gulf of Mexico Initiative (GOMI) in 2007 "to enhance the region s ability to recover from the devastating hurricanes of 2005 and to address its coastal management issues going into the future." The GOMI utilizes NASA Earth science assets to address regional priorities defined by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a partnership formed by the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, along with 13 federal agencies and 4 regional organizations to promote regional collaboration and enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico. NASA's GOMI is managed by the Applied Science and Technology Project Office at Stennis Space Center and has awarded over $18 million in Gulf of Mexico research since 2008. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, GOMI personnel assisted members of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance with obtaining NASA remote sensing data for use in their oil spill response efforts

NASA Applied Sciences' DEVELOP National Program: Training the Next Generation of Remote Sensing Scientists

Since its inception over a decade ago, the DEVELOP National Program has provided students with experience in utilizing and integrating satellite remote sensing data into real world-applications. In 1998, DEVELOP began with three students and has evolved into a nationwide internship program with over 200 students participating each year. DEVELOP is a NASA Applied Sciences training and development program extending NASA Earth science research and technology to society. Part of the NASA Science Mission Directorate s Earth Science Division, the Applied Sciences Program focuses on bridging the gap between NASA technology and the public by conducting projects that innovatively use NASA Earth science resources to research environmental issues. Project outcomes focus on assisting communities to better understand environmental change over time. This is accomplished through research with global, national, and regional partners to identify the widest array of practical uses of NASA data. DEVELOP students conduct research in areas that examine how NASA science can better serve society. Projects focus on practical applications of NASA s Earth science research results. Each project is designed to address at least one of the Applied Sciences focus areas, use NASA s Earth observation sources and meet partners needs. DEVELOP research teams partner with end-users and organizations who use project results for policy analysis and decision support, thereby extending the benefits of NASA science and technology to the public

NASA DEVELOP Students Rev Up Response to Gulf Oil Spill

After the April 20th explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the world witnessed one of the worst oil spill catastrophes in global history. In an effort to mitigate the disaster, the U.S. government moved quickly to establish a unified command for responding to the spill. Some of the command's most immediate needs were to track the movement of the surface oil slick, establish a baseline measurement of pre-oil coastal ecosystem conditions, and assess potential air quality and water hazards related to the spill. To help address these needs and assist the Federal response to the disaster, NASA deployed several of its airborne and satellite research sensors to collect an unprecedented amount of remotely-sensed data over the Gulf of Mexico region. Although some of these data were shared with the public via the media, much of the NASA data on the disaster was not well known to the Gulf Coast community. The need existed to inform the general public about these datasets and help improve understanding about how NASA's science research was contributing to oil spill response and recovery. With its extensive experience conducting community-oriented remote sensing projects and close ties to organizations around Gulf of Mexico, the NASA DEVELOP National Program stood in a unique position to meet this need

Langley's DEVELOP Team Applies NASA's Earth Observations to Address Environmental Issues Across the Country and Around the Globe

The DEVELOP National Program was established over a decade ago to provide students with experience in the practical application of NASA Earth science research results. As part of NASA's Applied Sciences Program, DEVELOP focuses on bridging the gap between NASA technology and the public through projects that innovatively use NASA Earth science resources to address environmental issues. Cultivating a diverse and dynamic group of students and young professionals, the program conducts applied science research projects during three terms each year (spring, summer, and fall) that focus on topics ranging from water resource management to natural disasters