
Networking Friday Special Thematic Session on Sensors with Matthew Mowlem (NOC), Frank Muller-Karger (USF / GEO MBON), Eric Delory (PLOCAN), and Marcelo Pias (FURG)
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Continuing with the Networking Fridays series, on June 26th, 1-3 PM UTC we had our first 2-hour long Thematic Special Session, which takes place every last Friday of the month. This first session focused on Sensors and we had a fantastic group of speakers: Matthew Mowlen (NOC, UK), Frank Muller-Karger (USF / GEO MBON, USA), Eric Delory (PLOCAN, Spain) and Marcelo Pias (FURG, Brazil). The moderator will be Elisa Ravagnan (NORCE, Norway).

Networking Friday with Suleiman Sadiku (FUTMINNA, Nigeria)
On June 19th, 1-2 PM UTC, we met Suleiman Sadiku, Professor at FUTMINNA - Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria. The title of his presentation is "Towards a Viable Blue Economy for Sustainable Development: Floating Aquafeed and Allied Advances in Research and Development - The Case of Nigeria". The session was moderated by Asma Ibrahim, acting Director of the AIR Center | Nigeria and former Deputy Director and head of the Climate Change Division at NASRDA - Nigerian National Space Research and Development Agency.

Networking Friday with Sheila Heymans (European Marine Board)
On June 12th, 1-2 PM TC, Sheila Heymans used the the EMB - European Marine Board timeline to look at the larger marine science policy landscape in Europe and share her experience with people from other backgrounds and geographies. Sheila is the Executive Director of EMB, Co-chair of the Steering Group and member of the Advisory Committee of EOOS – European Ocean Observation System and Professor in Ecosystem Modelling at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) in Scotland. The moderator was Wendy Watson Wright, inaugural CEO of the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI). Headquartered in Atlantic Canada, former Executive Secretary and Assistant Director General of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO) and Founder and CEO of 7 Mile Bay, which is a consulting practice on ocean governance, science, policy, literacy, and other ocean-related issues.

Networking Friday with Yasser Omar (IST – University of Lisbon)
On June 5th, always at 1-2 PM UTC, we will meet Yasser Omar, Professor at Instituto Superior Tecnico, University of Lisbon. He will present LEA – Listening to the Earth under the Atlantic, a pioneering project aiming at developing real-time sensing at the bottom of the Atlantic, namely to monitor the oceanic environment and its relation to climate change, as well as to sense submarine earthquakes live, opening way to novel and more reliable solutions for the early-warning of tsunamis, civil protection, and coastal resilience. The session will be moderated by Jose Barros, Director of External Affairs of ANACOM, which is the Portuguese National Regulatory Authority for communications.

Networking Friday with Olivia Oliveira (IGEO / UFBA)
In the last session of the month of May, on the 29th, always at 1-2 PM UTC, we went back to Brazil, this time to Salvador, Bahia, to listen to Olivia Oliveira, Director of IGEO, and her colleagues from UFBA, Antonio Fernando de Souza Queiroz and Icaro Thiago Andrade Moreira. They presented current research programmes and flagship projects developed at IGEO. Samuel Djavidnia, from GEO Blue Planet Initiative was the moderator of this session. This session will be conducted in Portuguese Language with Remote Simultaneous Interpretation to English.

Networking Friday with Isabel Sousa Pinto (CIIMAR / GEO MBON)
On May 22nd, 1-2 PM UTC, we will have Isabel Sousa Pinto (CIIMAR - GEO MBON) presenting CIIMAR's most interesting projects and also showing how GEO MBON is helping us to understand how and why life in the ocean is changing and how local changes relate to changes taking place over larger regions. This session will be moderated by Sheila Heymans (European Marine Board / EOOS)

Networking Friday with Milton Kampel (INPE)
On May 15th, 1-2 pm UTC, we had Milton Kampel, Lab Leader of MOceanS – Monitoring Oceans from Space Lab, from INPE – Brazilian National Space Research Institute. From his laboratory, located in Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Milton presented his work on use of satellite images and metocean modelling for studying land-ocean interactions and monitoring corals and mangroves. This session was moderated by Sofia Cordeiro, Head of the Ocean Office at FCT – Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology.

Networking Friday with Samuel Mafwila (SANUMARC, University of Namibia)
On May 8th, 2020, 1-2 pm UTC, we met Samuel Mafwila, Director of SANUMARC, which is a multidisciplinary research centre of the University of Namibia, located at Henties Bay, Namibia. The main themes discussed were the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture sectors in Southern Africa, desert and coastal agriculture in Namibia and the importance of and indigenous knowledge. Stewart Bernard, Principal Researcher from CSIR – South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Chief Scientific Officer of the AIR Centre, moderated the session.

Networking Friday with Gregory Jenkins (Penn State’s AESEDA)
The Networking Fridays Webinar series started on April 24th with with Gregory Jenkins, Professor of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Penn State University and Director of AESEDA - Penn State’s Alliance for Education, Science, Engineering & Design with Africa, will share with the audience his work to improve observations and predictions on air pollution in West Africa by bringing together Earth observation, numerical modelling and innovative low cost sensors. The session will be moderated by Jerry Miller, President of Science for Decisions, a consulting practice founded to ensure that solid science is available to inform decisions that impact people and places around the globe.