Google Earth Engine Boot Camp: Methods for Using Satellite and Geospatial Data for Environmental Exposure Science

May 20-21, 2024 | Subscribe to hear about the next training

The most recent Google Earth Engine Boot Camp was on May 20-21, 2024. Sign up below to hear about the next training!

The Google Earth Engine Booth Camp is a two-day intensive training workshop that includes seminars and hands-on case studies to provide an overview of concepts, techniques, applications, and data analysis methods for using the Google Earth Engine to estimate environmental exposures for health research.

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Google Earth Engine Boot Camp Overview

Summer 2024 dates: Livestream, online training May 20-21, 2024; 10:00am - ~4:15pm EDT

The Google Earth Engine (https://earthengine.google.com/) combines a multi-petabyte catalog of satellite imagery and geospatial datasets with planetary-scale analysis capabilities to estimate environmental measures at fine spatial and temporal resolutions. To-date, this resource has yet to be fully applied to environmental exposure science and health research. This two-day intensive boot camp provides an overview of concepts, techniques, applications, and data analysis methods for applying the Google Earth Engine to estimate environmental exposures for health research. Lectures will introduce participants to cutting-edge geospatial exposure assessment methods and example case studies will use the Google Earth Engine to estimate air pollution, green space, built environment, temperature, climate, and natural system-related exposures (e.g. drought, flooding, forest change, etc.). This boot camp is led by experts in the field of environmental exposure science and epidemiology, data science, and geography.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be familiar with the following topics:

Capabilities of the Google Earth Engine
Datasets available for environmental exposure science
Data analysis methods within the Google Earth Engine
Applications for air pollution, green space, built environment, temperature, and climate exposure research
Applications for planetary and human health research
Emerging satellite data and exposure science opportunities

Audience and Requirements

Investigators from any institution and from all career stages are welcome to attend, and we particularly encourage trainees and early-stage investigators to participate. There are three requirements to attend this training:

Basic familiarity with coding and GIS is highly recommended (but not required) to get the most out of the Boot Camp. While there are several APIs to access the Google Earth Engine, we will be using the JavaScript Earth Engine Code Editor.
Each participant is required to sign up for a Google Earth Engine account prior to the boot camp. It is recommended that you sign up during registration so you can work through the pre-boot camp materials that will be provided.
Each participant must have a laptop with Zoom installed. To get the most out of breakout groups, we also recommend a working microphone and webcam. Participants may also wish to share their screen with instructors during one-on-one questions.

Instructors

Perry Hystad, PhD, Associate Professor, College of Health, Oregon State University.

Andrew Larkin, PhD, Assistant Professor, College of Health, Oregon State University.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for the Google Earth Engine Boot Camp.

Locations

Summer 2024: The Google Earth Engine Boot Camp is a livestream, remote training that takes place over live, online video on May 20-21, 2024 from 10am - ~4:15pm EDT. Please note this training is not a self-paced, pre-recorded online training.

Testimonials

"This Boot Camp opened a whole new world of Google Earth Engine (GEE) for environmental epidemiology studies, providing a wealth of resources on environmental exposures. I am excited to incorporate the insights and tools from this program into future research projects." - Researcher at the University of Chicago, 2024

"This was a fantastic crash course in using Google Earth Engine. With no prior GEE experience, I now feel like I could very easily start incorporating GEE into my research." - Graduate Student Researcher at Boston University School of Public Health, 2024

"Excellent boot camp. Being able to follow along on screen while the boot camp was being conducted in real-time was very helpful. It was helpful to pay attention while also being able to code simultaneously. The workshops/group sessions were most helpful and fun to do." - Doctoral Student at Boston University School of Public Health, 2024

Additional Testimonials

"An excellent boot camp to introduce learners to the powerful world of GEE! I really enjoy learning about application examples in different environmental fields." - Recent PhD graduate at Drexel University, 2023

"A lot of information packed into a small time frame, but lessons are built on what the previous ones taught. Knowledgeable instructors helped keep learning on the right track." - Research assistant at Baylor College of Medicine, 2023

"Opened my mind to the vast and exciting possibilities in GEE. Would love to use in future research projects." - PhD student at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 2023

"Fantastic boot camp! I learned everything from the basics of accessing data to working through complete workflows where exposures from satellite data are assigned to administrative units. I actually feel like I could now use Google Earth Engine in an analysis!" - Student at Columbia University, 2022

"Great course for people to add to their GIS toolbox." - Staff member at Resources for the Future, 2022

"I learned so much in this workshop! I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in environmental health." - Anonymous faculty member, 2022

"Amazing boot camp - the overall amount of information was great and I think the instructors did a fantastic job of introducing JavaScript in an hour and teaching the framework of how to use GEE - from understanding the dataset homepages to the overall workflow of how to code and explore data/maps." - Anonymous academic staff member, 2022

"Very exciting to learn the potential of google earth for health research." - Faculty member at University of Toronto, 2022

"If you're a novice like me, you come away from the training excited and more confident." - Government scientist, US EPA, 2021

"The Google Earth Engine Bootcamp far exceeded my expectations - can't wait to try some of these new methods in my own work!" - Mary S., Postdoc at University of Pittsburgh, Dept of Epidemiology, 2021

"This was a wonderful course! I enjoyed the variety of lecture versus labs, having multiple instructors and activities to keep attendees engaged. The instructors obviously knew this subject well and were excited to pass on their experience and knowledge." - Postdoc at Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane, 2021

"This boot camp was a fun and interesting crash course on using GEE for public health applications. The labs and instruction were very useful and I now feel comfortable about knowing where to start if I wanted to use GEE in my research." - Anonymous Postdoc, 2021

"I found the presentations super interesting/engaging and they perfectly set up/made me excited for the labs. The labs were very helpful. I feel so much more prepared to further take on the steep learning curve that is GEE." - Student at Columbia University, 2021

Registration Fees

	Early-Bird Rate (through 4/10/24)	Regular Rate (4/11/24 - 5/13/24)	Columbia/OSU Discount*
Student/Postdoc/Trainee	$995	$1,195	10%
Faculty/Academic Staff/Non-Profit Organizations/Government Agencies	$1,195	$1,395	10%
Corporate/For-Profit Organizations	$1,395	$1,595	NA

*Columbia Discount/OSU: This discount is valid for any active student, postdoc, staff, or faculty at Columbia University and Oregon State University. If paying by credit card, use your Columbia or OSU email address during the registration process to automatically have the discount applied. If paying by internal transfer within Columbia, submit this Columbia Internal Transfer Request form to receive further instructions. Please note: filling out this form is not the same as registering for a training and does not guarantee a training seat.

Invoice Payment: If you would prefer to pay by invoice/check, please submit this Invoice Request form to receive further instructions. Please note: filling out this form is not the same as registering for a training and does not guarantee a training seat.

Registration Fee: This fee includes course material, which will be made available to all participants both during and after the conclusion of the training.

Cancellations: Cancellation notices must be received via email at least 30 days prior to the training start date in order to receive a full refund, minus a $75 administrative fee. Cancellation notices received via email 14-29 days prior to the training will receive a 75% refund, minus a $75 administrative fee. Please email your cancellation notice to ColumbiaSHARP.GEE@gmail.com. Due to workshop capacity and preparation, we regret that we are unable to refund registration fees for cancellations <14days prior to the training.

If you are unable to attend the training, we encourage you to send a substitute within the same registration category. Please inform us of the substitute via email at least one week prior to the training to include them on attendee communications, updated registration forms, and materials. Should the substitute fall within a different registration category your credit card will be credited/charged respectively. Please email substitute inquiries to ColumbiaSHARP.GEE@gmail.com. In the event Columbia must cancel the event, your registration fee will be fully refunded.

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Additional Information

The Google Earth Engine Boot Camp is hosted by Columbia University's SHARP Program in the Mailman School of Public Health and Oregon State University's College of Health.