NDMC Welcomes Data Miner Zhang

Zhang attended the 2007 Summer Assembly of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. He was one of a handful of students selected to present papers and receive awards.

The National Drought Mitigation Center was pleased to welcome Bo Zhang to the staff in October. He is working on developing and investigating new data mining algorithms that can be integrated into new drought monitoring tools and approaches. He will also be designing and mplementing an SQL database system to more effectively manage and analyze the large volumes of climate, oceanic, and satellite data used in various NDMC projects. This will allow the NDMC to better utilize a vast array of information for a wide range of drought monitoring, planning, and mitigation activities.

Bo expects to complete a PhD in Environmental Science from Ohio State University in March 2008. His topic is “Statistics, GIS and Remote Sensing in Exploration of Changes of Prairie Potholes by Climatic Variability.” He has previously earned a Master of Applied Statistics in December 2006 from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio; a Master of Science in June 2002 from the Institute of Nuclear Energy, Tsinghua University, Beijing; and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering in June 2000 from Tsinghua University.

Dr. Brian Wardlow, who will be working closely with Zhang, said, “Bo will be a valuable addition to the NDMC. His experience in areas of applied statistics, remote sensing, GIS, application development for environmental analysis, and data base design and implementation complements the existing skill sets of other NDMC faculty and staff. We will be able to continue to expand the Center’s scope to better understand the drought phenomenon and its impacts on the environment and society using new geospatial and geostatistical analysis techniques. The goal is to provide the public with more effective drought monitoring tools and decision support systems that can be used to improve drought planning, preparedness, and mitigation activities.” Specifically, Bo’s technical expertise will aid the NDMC’s exploration of complex ocean-climatevegetation interactions and help it develop more effective drought monitoring and prediction tools.

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