GRSS President 2023-2024
Leadership Legacy
Dr. Mariko Burgin served as the President of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) for the 2023 and 2024 terms. During her tenure, the society grew into a mid-sized professional organization. She became the youngest President in the society’s history and focused on the following key pillars:
Diversity & Inclusion: Founded the IEEE GRSS IDEA (Inspire, Develop, Empower, Advance) Committee and served as its chair from 2017 to 2019.
Mentorship: Established the Women Mentoring Women (WMW) program to build a supportive community for women in the field.
Global Reach: Prioritized renewing and forging new Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to expand GRSS activity in historically underserved regions, such as Africa.
Executive Leadership: Before her presidency, she served as the Executive Vice President (2021–2022) and the VP of Information Resources (2019–2020).
Professional Career
Dr. Burgin has over a decade of experience in geospatial solutions and R&D leadership:
Blue Origin: Currently serves as a Senior Technical Manager in the Space Resources Program.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): Formerly a Scientist and Systems Engineer focusing on mission formulation. Served as the Break-The-Chain (BTC) Domain Lead for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission.
Technical Expertise: Specialized in applied electromagnetics, microwave modeling, and algorithm development, with significant contributions to NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission.
Education
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2013).
M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2011).
M.S. in Electrical Engineering and IT: ETH Zurich, Switzerland (2008).
Recognition & Honors
- 2024 ECE Alumni Rising Star Award: Recognized by the University of Michigan for early career success and community building.
- NASA Group Achievement Awards: Recipient of two awards for her work on mission teams.
