Heather McNairn

Heather McNairn, is a federal research scientist at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. She specializes in remote sensing technology, and her research focuses on the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites (SARs) to monitor the condition of crops and soils.

Biography McNairn received a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, in 1987, a Masters in Soil Science from the University of Guelph, in 1991, and a Ph.D. in Geography from Université Laval in 1999. The Toolkit is freely available and is used by remote sensing practitioners around the world.

McNairn collaborates with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, as well as many Canadian and international research institutions.

McNairn is using data from the RADARSAT Constellation Mission launched in June 2019 to refine her methods to determine crop type, crop health and soil moisture from remote sensing.

McNairn is the co-chair of the Inspire, Develop, Empower, Advance (IDEA) Program, an international leadership initiative. Their mission is to Inspire, Develop, Empower, and Advance (IDEA) members of the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) and affiliates of accredited societies who are interested in the fields of interest of the GRSS. The committee plans and organizes activities to advance engineers and scientists around the world and to inspire future generations by working with students at all academic levels. 2016 OECD Fellowship from the Co-operative Research Program

Interests

McNairn has a second degree black belt in Karate, and for many years competed in point sparring. In 2009 she won a bronze medal in sparring at the World Karate and Kickboxing Council World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. She has since retired, and is now a certified fitness instructor teaching fitness classes at AAFC, and for the City of Ottawa.