Jaden Palmer
MIT Department: Media Arts and Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Dava Newman
Research Supervisors: Rachel Connolly, Minoo
Rathnasabathy, Phillip Cherner
Undergraduate Institution: Idaho State University
Hometown: Idaho Falls, Idaho
Website: LinkedIn
Biography
Jaden Palmer is a rising senior at Idaho State University (ISU) dual majoring in Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering. Motivated by living in multiple rural areas, Jaden is committed to making clean energy accessible to all. At his home institution, Jaden is a digital twin analytics intern at Idaho National Laboratory, where he contributes to advanced nuclear proliferation detection methods by using reactor physics and machine learning simulations. Additionally, he holds two research positions at ISU, one directed at utilizing augmented reality for prosthesis rehabilitation and the other aimed at creating a novel radiation detection method. During the MIT Summer Research Program, Jaden is contributing to the Earth Mission Control project under Dr. Dava Newman, which aims to create a virtual reality scene to dynamically display Earth Observation data to actively engage individuals in understanding the climate crisis. These experiences culminate in Jaden’s ultimate goal of tackling some of the largest issues in climate change, nuclear safety, and energy accessibility.
Abstract
Earth Mission Control: Climate Change Intelligence through
Advanced Data Visualizations
Jaden Palmer1, Rachel Connolly2, Phillip Cherner2,
Minoo Rathnasabapathy2, Dava Newman3
1Department of Nuclear Engineering, Idaho State University
2Future Worlds – MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3Department of Aerospace Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Climate change presents numerous global challenges, including sea level rise and air quality
degradation. Despite the availability of tangible Earth observation (EO) data demonstrating these impacts, public and policy responses remain insufficient. Traditional data visualizations, often static and two-dimensional, fail to effectively engage users or facilitate a comprehensive understanding of EO data. This research explores the use of virtual reality (VR) to enhance the interactivity of climate-related data visualizations. The Earth Mission Control (EMC) platform was developed to create an immersive experience, allowing users to interact with climate-related data through various multimodal experiences: hyperwalls displaying multiple data panels, a global manager for location-specific data, map visualizations, and EarthBot for AI-driven inquiries. Findings from external VR research suggest that virtual immersion can significantly improve data comprehension and engagement. Current improvements to EMC include adding user customization of which visuals are present on hyperwalls, additional case studies of local climate change impacts, and critical software updates to expand functionality and user-interface design. The location-based case studies provide a compelling data visualizations of climate-change impacts to a specific region/city, such as sea-level rise in Venice, Italy. This project aims to facilitate better-informed climate decisions for diverse stakeholders including individuals, government, and industry.
