2012 Thacher Contest Challenges Students

From the massive Gulf oil spill to the continued decline of Arctic sea ice, satellites and other observing instruments have proved crucial this year in monitoring the many environmental changes — both natural and human-induced — occurring on global, regional and local scales.

The 2012 Thacher Environmental Research Contest, sponsored by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, challenges high school students (grades 9-12) to conduct innovative research on our changing planet using the latest geospatial tools and data, which in recent years have become increasingly accessible to the public.

Entries must be received by April 16, 2012!

Eligible geospatial tools and data include satellite remote sensing, aerial photography, geographic information systems (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS). The main focus of the project must be on the application of the geospatial tool(s) or data to study a problem related to Earth’s environment.

The Thacher Environmental Research Contest (formerly the Thacher Scholars Award) was founded in honor of former IGES board member Peter Thacher, who was a leader in promoting the use of satellite remote sensing. Thacher was former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), deputy executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), NASA advisor and, at the time of his death, president of the Earth Council Foundation/U.S. 

Click here to learn more about this year’s contest, including submission guidelines, prizes, resources and more. 

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