Taylor Geospatial Institute and ICEYE US Announce New Technology Training Opportunities, Marking Launch of Industry Partners Program

St. Louis & Irvine,  March 28, 2024 - The Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI), a consortium of institutions working to fuel a revolution in geospatial research, and ICEYE US, builder and operator of ICEYE’s growing constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites in the United States, announced today that TGI will deliver workshops to expose academic, industry, and government researchers in the TGI community to a vital geospatial technology such as SAR. The partnership with ICEYE US is a powerful example of the collaborations TGI is building through the newly launched Taylor Geospatial Institute Industry Partners Program. 

Registration is open for the first event, “Fundamentals of SAR Workshop”, through the ICEYE-TGI partnership, happening May 14-15, 2024 on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. Foremost SAR and remote sensing expert Tom Ager will lead the workshop. Sessions will showcase the remarkable capabilities of SAR data to current and future geospatial researchers and will make the unique information more accessible to the St. Louis geospatial community.

SAR offers a distinct advantage over traditional optical imagery. Unlike traditional Earth observation satellites, SAR satellites can collect high-value datasets of areas of the Earth in daylight, at night, and through cloud cover. SAR data from the ICEYE US constellation can be produced over wide areas, such as glacial regions or coastlines, with frequent revisits to optimize scientific value and support novel research applications.

 “Commercial SAR is a powerful tool for advancing academic research,” said Eric Jensen, CEO of ICEYE US. “By putting knowledge of SAR in the hands of students and scientists through this partnership, we will accelerate the pace of innovation and further catalyze the burgeoning geospatial ecosystem in St. Louis.”

The first ICEYE US-TGI SAR training module signals the launch of the Taylor Geospatial Institute Industry Partners Program. Designed to foster cooperation between researchers across TGI’s eight consortium institutions and the commercial companies leading geospatial innovation, the TGI Industry Partners Program creates a framework and mechanism for industry to expose TGI researchers to their data and tools, train faculty and students on their platforms, and build structured agreements for product sharing and fellowships.

“The Taylor Geospatial Institute is sparking research and innovation that will help geospatial science and technology make the next great leap,” said TGI Executive Director Nadine Alameh. “Forward-thinking companies like ICEYE US will use the TGI Industry Partners Program to put their data and technologies in the hands of the researchers who are growing fundamental geospatial knowledge and shaping its application to global challenges. We deeply appreciate our partnership with ICEYE US and their support for the geospatial science community.”

Since its founding in April 2022, TGI has built partnerships for data, tools, training, and joint research with leading geospatial companies, including AgileView, Cesium, Esri, Headwall, Planet, SafeGraph, and others. Starting with the ICEYE US partnership, the TGI Industry Partners Program provides an expedited pathway for industry-academic collaboration, which will expand the universe of data and training available to TGI-associated researchers.

Companies interested in the Taylor Geospatial Institute Industry Partners Program can find more information and get involved at taylorgeospatial.org/partnerships.

Registration and information on the Fundamentals of SAR Workshop is available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fundamentals-of-sar-workshop-tickets-841952210727?aff=oddtdtcreator