Student Member Spotlight: Farzaneh Barzegar

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Student Member Spotlight
Farzaneh Barzegar

Written by: Madeleine Dawson

Farzaneh is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Geodesy at Graz University of Technology in Austria. Her main research focus is on applications of deep learning (DL) in remote sensing, specifically on glacier mapping. Additionally, she teaches informatics and programming in Python, and satellite image processing. She is originally from Tehran, Iran and will graduate in the next two years. During her time as a student member of IEEE GRSS, she has been a part of the initiation of a GRSS chapter in Austria.

When did you join GRSS?

I have worked with IEEE GRSS since my Master’s degree in Remote Sensing at K. N. Toosi University of Technology where I was able to work with a dataset provided by the GRSS community.

Unfortunately, in some countries it is not always easy to access these communities. Nowadays, virtually it is possible, but ten years ago without LinkedIn it was not a possibility for us in Iran. At that time, I did not know that a couple of years later I would be somewhere in Europe attending these workshops. When I experienced it [GRSS] in person, I really understood how helpful it is for students to be a part of the community. I wish that all people who are working in this area can have access to this, because I know how sad it can be when you see something that you cannot attend.

Why did you decide to join GRSS?

I first was able to learn about GRSS when I was a Masters student in Iran. The IGARSS conference is very well known back in my country. It enables researchers to connect to each other…to find each other. It helps to close gaps. Photogrammetry and remote sensing are interdisciplinary, and you can see there are gaps in the methodology, and data. It enables researchers who are working in this area to connect and make greater networks.

Additionally, I did not know we did not have a GRSS chapter in Austria. A few months ago, a colleague from another university contacted me and told me that they are establishing a chapter of Austria. We helped each other establish a new chapter here! I knew there would be a lot of opportunities for us to expand this to the whole of Austria. When we began planning, I wanted to be chair, but at the time I was a student member, therefore, we need to wait until my student GRSS membership expires and then I can step up into a leadership role. Currently, I am helping them out with the LinkedIn and social media page.

At what upcoming GRSS events can people expect to meet you?

IGARSS 2027 in Iceland and the next IADF summer school are what I plan to attend! I will see you there!

What words of encouragement would you offer others who are considering joining GRSS?

Yes, my suggestion would be do it 100% as early as possible! When you do scientific work and you are alone, it is totally different experience compared to when you are a member of a community. This is the most important and big community that you can join in your career when you work in our field. Maybe at the beginning, you can’t distinguish if the community will affect your work, but after a while… after following the LinkedIn of GRSS you can familiarize yourself with the community and new topics. After a while, you can get a lot of ideas and get to know professors who are working in a similar field. And then one day, something good will happen to you as I personally experienced it three times now!

Any other comments?

Thank you so much for providing this opportunity and thank you to IEEE GRSS!

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.”