Student Member Spotlight: Edwin Valdes

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Student Member Spotlight
Edwin Valdes

Written by: Kevin Corbley

Edwin Valdes’ academic research is literally out of this world, but you can meet him in person at LAGIRS 2025 in Brazil. Edwin is working on his Bachelor’s degree in Physics Engineering at the University of Cauca in Popayán, Colombia. His research focuses on simulations of subsurface salts layers in Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. He attended the GRSS 2025 IADF Summer School on Computer Vision for Earth Observation at The University of Sannio in Benevento, Italy. Edwin aims to pursue a PhD in remote sensing and space exploration. In his free time, he has been studying English and enjoys playing soccer. Edwin joined GRSS in early 2025.

Why did you decide to join GRSS?

When I started my degree, my advisor told me about the GRSS community. She shared with me different opportunities, different events that GRSS could offer me. So, for this reason, I started to read about GRSS. I was already a member of the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society [so] I knew about all the opportunities that IEEE can offer for me as a student. I read the GRSS information, the technical programs, and really liked the different opportunities. For this reason, I said, “OK, I will buy the membership and become part of the community.”

How do you expect your GRSS experiences to assist you in current academic pursuits?

I think GRSS can offer me different opportunities for my field or research. Already it has offered different activities, like IADF Summer School [in Benevento, Italy]. That was, I think the best activity of the year for me, plus there is a long calendar with different presentations about many topics, such as image processing and computer vision.

In addition to Summer School 2025, what other GRSS activities have you participated in?

Summer School was the main one, but I am going to enjoy the different talks and presentations. I also read about the different opportunities for PhDs and scholarships.

What will you pursue after completing your Bachelor’s Degree?

I would like to apply for different scholarships in Europe. Principally, I would like to do my PhD in remote sensing field, continuing my studies in computer vision and apply that to space and planetary exploration.

Looking longer term, how do you think GRSS will help you professionally once you leave university?

I think the principal benefit to GRSS is a big worldwide network. With GRSS, I can find a joint collaboration, all the researchers with the same interests, maybe with different resources and at different institutions.

Has your experience with GRSS so far differed from what you expected?

My first expectation with GRSS was to find little opportunities like attending talks and presentations to learn about different topics. But all the opportunities in GRSS are very big. In only six months, I participated in the Summer School in another country – it was my first time in Europe! I connected with other researchers and shared my work with them. I think this is the best thing about GRSS. It has greatly exceeded all my expectations.

What upcoming GRSS events can readers look forward to meeting you at in person?

Yes, the next conference is in Brazil, [the IEEE Latin America GRSS + ISPRS Remote Sensing Conference], is 10-13 November 2025. I applied with my research project and was accepted for an oral presentation and for publication in the IEEE Xplore Track proceeding of the 2025 IEEE Latin American GRSS & ISPRS Remote Sensing Conference (LAGIRS 2025). So, this will be my next participation in Foz do Iguazu, Brazil. My paper is entitled “Characterization of Subsurface Saline Layers in Jovian Moon Europa Using Radargram Simulations and Data Science Techniques.” And in the future, I am talking with my advisor about applying to IGARSS 2026 in Washington, D.C., for the final presentation about my research project.

What words of encouragement would you offer to other students who are thinking about GRSS but haven’t joined yet?

I would say for young researchers or students in different programs that if they are starting their careers in remote sensing field, GRSS is the best opportunity to have a network, a big worldwide network and to have different opportunities. They can find summer schools, technical talks and other people that maybe have the same interests. All the resources and opportunities you can imagine will be here, helping you grow as a great Remote Sensing Scientist.

Please connect with Edwin on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/edwin-francisco-valdes-arias-16334a227

Do you know an IEEE GRSS Student Member who deserves to be recognized? We invite you to submit a nomination by sending a brief message to ir_pub@grss-ieee.org with the subject: “Student Member Spotlight.”