Professional Statement

My name is Ignatius Kweku Williams a graduate student from the University of Ghana, and currently pursuing a Master of Philosophy Degree (M.Phil.) in Oceanography. In 2009, i acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Oceanography and Fisheries. My final dissertation centered around the catch assessment of certain fish stocks and the possible effects of environmental variables such as temperature on the growth and recruitment of Marine Fisheries.

During the summer of 2011 I was a member of the Groundtruthing team at Elizabeth City State University, Undergraduate Research Experience for Ocean Marine and Polar Science. I have been provided the opportunity to work on the development of an algorithm using satellite sea surface temperatures from the CERSER Ground Station to predict NOAA North Carolina Coastal Sea Buoy Temperatures.  This is important in bridging the gap between the two data sets, which directly enhances the reliability of satellite acquired sea surface temperature data sets. This would make satellite datasets more suitable for regional and global scale analysis due to their large temporal and spatial coverage.  This knowledge as well as skills when acquired would be key to reducing the cost and frequency of carrying out ground measurement. Also, this can be applied to the identification of potential fishing areas and management of fishery stocks sensitive to certain isotherms like Tunas.

I am hoping to further develop this research in my masters thesis to cover related environmental variables and later further my research in a Doctoral program. I hope to acquire much knowledge, skills, contact, from this program and serve as an international ambassador. In this capacity we can impact developing countries affected by the digital divide where knowledge and expertise in this area is very minimal. This will also arouse the interest of other students about the limitless possibilities and applications of Remote Sensing.