OpenTopography Seeks New Members for Advisory Committees

Nov 8, 2024

OpenTopography is happy to announce that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has renewed support for the Facility for another four years.

OpenTopography is a science gateway that provides online access to Earth science oriented high resolution topography data, processing tools, and educational resources to support advancing our understanding of the Earth’s surface, vegetation, and built environment.

OpenTopography is guided by three advisory committees (AC) that represent OpenTopography’s users and ensure that the facility’s activities are aligned with the needs and initiatives of the scientific and educational communities. The roles of the ACs are defined in our governance charter.

We are recruiting new members to serve on the following OpenTopography ACs:

Research Communities Advisory Committee: This AC provides guidance on feature development, data ingestion, and technical training.

  • Graduate student (M.S. or Ph.D. student)
  • Postdoctoral scholar (at a US university or other research institution)
  • A state- or federally-employed scientist
  • Other members of the U.S.-based academic community


Inclusive Education, Training, and Workforce Development Advisory Committee: The AC provides feedback on our efforts to develop and promote educational and training materials for students and early career researchers.

  • Graduate student (M.S. or Ph.D.) or postdoctoral scholar
  • Other members of the U.S.-based educational community working at secondary schools, community colleges, small-liberal arts colleges, 4-yr universities, and museums


Sustainability and Technology Advisory Committee: This AC guides OpenTopography’s sustainability planning, helps engage with non-academic groups, fosters new collaborations, and ensures that OT efforts are aligned with emerging cyberinfrastructure and high resolution topography technologies.

  • Members work at different organization types including government, academia, start-ups, consulting companies, and larger commercial organizations. Members may be based in the US or internationally.


The OpenTopography leadership team will select members based on the nominations, with the goal of selecting advisory committees that represent the broad diversity of the OpenTopography user community.

Members serve two-year terms. Responsibilities include participation in quarterly conference calls and occasional activities focused on providing feedback to OpenTopography.

To nominate yourself for an Advisory Committee, please complete this Google Form by January 6, 2025 . Please send any questions to the OpenTopography team (info@opentopography.org).