Contact: Bob Ratliff
A just-graduated Mississippi State senior is receiving a fellowship from the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative to map flood-prone areas of the Gulf Coast.
Amanda R. Nelson of Moss Point recently was selected for the $22,000-a-year award that will support her master's degree research in remote sensing at the university.
A Saturday [May 11] magna cum laude graduate in biological engineering, Nelson begins work this summer developing elevation profiles for Mississippi's coastal areas. She is a 1998 Moss Point High School graduate and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Tynes.
Remote sensing refers to the use of satellites or airplanes to collect images that reveal ground features not apparent to the naked eye. It is one of the focus areas of MSCI, a partnership among the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the State of Mississippi and its research universities, and 38 companies that use remote sensing and related technologies.
MSCI is located at the Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.
"The profiles will be used to develop maps of possible coastal flood boundaries that can be used in emergency planning," said Alex Thomasson, her research adviser. "While Amanda's research will concentrate on Mississippi's coastline, the methods she will develop can be applied to other locations."
Thomasson is an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.