Huang receives funding as PI for grant to develop Python toolkit named "CoAST"

Stacey Huang (61A/UMBC) recently had her NASA ROSES proposal "CoAST: An open-source SAR coastline mapping tookit for Python" selected for funding from 2026 - 2029. Dr. Huang is the Principal Investigator, and her team includes GESTAR II colleague MinJeong Jo (618/UMBC) as Co-Investigator plus Scott Staniewicz (Capella Space), Sean Vitousek (USGS), and Kilian Vos (OHB) as Collaborators.

According to Dr. Huang, "The goal of the project is to develop a validated and optimized open-source coastline mapping Python toolkit known as “CoAST” (CoastSat Active Sensor Toolkit) that directly expands the capabilities of the popular optical-based CoastSat package for global coastline mapping to include satellite SAR data, with a focus on NISAR data." Dr. Huang explained, "These additions will improve NASA modeling capabilities to forecast future sea level change and expands existing capabilities to track how coastlines are changing worldwide, particularly its implications for the 40% of the world’s population living within 100 km of a coast."