KU student is first to receive multiple scholarships from remote sensing society

LAWRENCE -- A University of Kansas graduate student in geography has become the first student ever to receive multiple scholarships from the nation's premiere society of remote sensing researchers.

L. Monika Moskal, who also is a research assistant in the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program at KU, was chosen among a pool of national students for two scholarships from the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. She also received a scholarship from the ASPRS' Central Region, which includes students from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri and Arkansas.

Moskal is the first student to receive multiple scholarships from the ASPRS in the 18-year history of the society's scholarship program.

Mark Jakubauskas, assistant professor in the KARS program and Moskal's adviser, said he wasn't surprised that Moskal received so many honors from the ASPRS.

"In my recommendation letter, I wrote that she was the most outstanding student I have advised since becoming a professor," he said. "She has a very modest ego, but she is already publishing in professional journals and acting as a catalyst among other students here in starting projects."

As recipient of the ASPRS' William A. Fischer Memorial Scholarship, Moskal was recognized as the top student in the nation in remote sensing. The ASPRS also awarded her with the Ta Liang Memorial Award, which encourages research-related travel for outstanding students in remote sensing. Earlier this year, Moskal was named the central region's recipient of the Francis E. "Gene" Lortz Memorial Scholarship, which recognizes the top student in the five-state area.

All three scholarships, which combined total $3,500, recognized Moskal for her participation in a NASA-sponsored project in Yellowstone National Park. Under the supervision of Jakubauskas, she was one of several KU researchers who spent summers in the park collecting field samples and comparing data to satellite images with the aim of helping forest managers better understand the land they oversee.

Moskal is originally from Poland and completed her undergraduate work at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and her master's degree at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. She said she chose KU because of the reputation of the KARS doctoral program.

"The KARS program and the Yellowstone project have international recognition," she said. "It's definitely one of the top places in North America -- I left Canada because we don't have anything that compares to KARS."

Moskal said she plans to pursue a career in remote sensing research, namely in the fields of forest management and ecology.

While the multiple scholarships are an unprecedented individual accomplishment, Jakubauskas said it reflected highly on the caliber of students currently working in the KARS program.

"Any one of these students could walk right out into a major academic position -- that's how good of a program we have," he said. "It allows us to take on bigger and better projects as a program and continue to attract great students -- success breeds success."

Founded in 1934, the ASPRS is a scientific society with more than 7,000 professional members around the world. The mission of the society, which is based in Bethesda, Md., is to advance knowledge and improve understanding of mapping sciences and to promote the responsible applications of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems and supporting technologies.