Felimon Gayanilo Candidate Statement 2022

From Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)

Felimon Gayanilo, Information Systems Architect and Enterprise IT Specialist with the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Candidate for Partnership Committee Chair

Felimon Gayanilo


I am Felimon Gayanilo, Information Systems Architect and Enterprise IT Specialist with the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) since 2012. As the Data Management and Cyberinfrastructure (DMAC) Coordinator of the largest Regional Association of NOAA’s Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), the Gulf of Mexico Coastal and Ocean Observing System (GCOOS), and System Architect for several regional information systems, I have first-hand experience on the importance of partnership to accelerate research and development. Prior to joining TAMUCC, I was with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the Center for Computational Science (now, Institute for Data Science and Computing), University of Miami, FL, working on medical-related information systems, coral reef ecology, and oceanography (2003-2012). Before that, I worked with the University of British Colombia, Canada (1999-2002) on multi-species multi-fleet yield-stock prediction models for fisheries management.

I am an evangelist and an advocate for open science, open data, and the Data FAIR principles. We have started to experience a paradigm shift in data sharing, but much still needs to be done, to sustain this change. ESIP is one of many possible venues to promote the data FAIR principles, the natural base for earth science data, and partnership is essential to expedite the shift. ‘Partnership’ with various research groups is fundamental to improving research and evidence-based decision-making processes.

I have been a member of the ESIP Partnership Committee for two years, and I can say that I have the front-row experience to carry on the leadership legacy that the previous chair (Mike Daniels) endowed to the committee if elected chair of this committee. I am also an active member of the EnvironSensing, the Public-Private-Partnership clusters, and the team that developed and deployed the Community Ontology Repository (http://cor.esipfed.org/).