Magali Barba, expertise in hazards research, mentoring, and service

Magali Barba, a Ph.D. student in Geological Sciences who works with CIRES Fellow Kristy Tiampo, is the recipient of the 2019 George C. and Joan A. Reid Award. Barba was nominated by her advisor, Tiampo, and another CIRES Fellow and colleague, Mike Willis, who describe her as extremely intelligent and innovative, “focused on her own research but with a broader vision that leads to new and interesting projects and collaborations.”

At CIRES and CU Boulder, Barba’s research includes the use of DInSAR techniques to evaluate hazards such earthquakes, induced seismicity, avalanches and mudslides. She excels at satellite data processing and analysis, has recently first-authored a paper in Remote Sensing and has another draft paper nearly ready for submission to AGU’s Earth and Space Science. Barba also independently formulated a proposal under consideration at NASA’s Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) program: “Rapid earthquake characterization using iterative FEM slip inversions of GPS, DInSAR, and optical data.” Her nominators called it “a fine example of both her excellent command of the field and her impressive technical ability.”

Barba’s record of service is as admirable as her scientific expertise. Not only has she mentored several graduate students at CU Boulder and worked with an undergraduate STEM outreach program at UNAVCO, she also founded the first national Latinx geoscience organization, SOLESS. The Society of Latinx/Hispanic Earth and Space Sciences’ mission is to increase and reinforce the representation of Latinx/Hispanics in those fields.