As a Geographic Information Systems Scientist, she has worked for almost 20 years in the field, 15 of those at the NCI Agency and one of its predecessor organizations. She is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and brings this valuable expertise to the Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance team of the NCI Agency. She also conducts regular trainings for software users in her community at the NCI Academy in Oeiras, Portugal.
To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we caught up with Pinheiro to discuss her career, and what made her choose this exciting field.
What do you do?
I have a big project going already for a few years, which is the NATO-Designated Geospatial Information Project. We are supporting Allied Command Operations to put together national and commercial geospatial data for NATO baseline activities, emerging crises and the NATO Response Force.
This is a huge effort to support the principle of operating off the same map. As you can imagine, all NATO Nations going into an operation need to have the same map for the same area. If they are looking at different data we would risk running into seriously dangerous situations.
We need to assess all the data available for a certain area of interest in order to support the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe's decision on what to officially designate as the best unique data for use in that area. In support of the NATO Response Force, we prepare geographic information for the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force so it feels quite exciting to be working on this as my main project.
As an expert, how has the technology in your field changed over time and how do you see that change in your work for the Agency?
I've worked almost for 20 years in the field and of course the software has changed a lot. So has the data itself – we have now access to much more detailed data and can visualize it much more effectively. Just think about satellite imagery, for example, or GPS. All of these things have evolved so much that we have now access to much more information.
Much of the data became digital and everything became more accurate, so we can provide much better geospatial information, I would say, than when I started 20 years ago. We also have much more information that we can process in a much nicer way.
And one great thing about working at the Agency is that we can have access to the latest technology. This is super exciting for someone who works with GIS to work with the newest software available and the best tools at your fingertips.
What has been the most impactful moment of your career so far?
Certainly going to Afghanistan myself to support the Geo community there.
That really made me feel how important the work that I do here behind the computer in an office is. And this is not easy to get all the time. We easily forget the impact that we have being far from the users we support. Going there and actually feeling that the work I was doing had a direct impact and helped the troops to do their daily job was very motivating.
What was your "aha!" moment? When was the moment you decided you wanted to pursue a STEM career?
I don't think it was a single moment. I was actually a very indecisive teenager. While I was studying, I followed my friends into economics because I didn't want to go to a different school. At the time in my town, you would have two schools and depending on the subjects you chose you would go for one or the other. So I kind of followed them, but I was not happy. I always liked mathematics. So for me it always made sense that I would be doing something related with it. But only just before entering university I started thinking exactly what I wanted to study, because I was not too happy with economics.
One thing I was always interested in was the Earth and the universe and I always liked to solve problems. So when looking into available courses I chose Surveying Engineering. It put together two of my favourite subjects: geography and mathematics. I think it was not an "aha!" moment, I don't have that in my mind, it was more like a process of wanting to follow my main interests.
When we went into the specifics, the more geographic parts, it all got super interesting. I was learning how to measure the Earth, I was learning how to create a map, and then how to put that onto paper. These are all mathematic questions so I was like 'yeah this is really cool.' This was what kept me going, to be motivated to finish the degree and work in the field.
What advice would you give to girls and women looking to pursue careers in STEM?
I would say go for it. No fear, no doubt that they can do it. If they have the passion for mathematics, engineering, if they like to solve problems, they can do it! Find what inspires you, what drives you because if you are passionate about what you do you can only thrive.
Career Opportunities: The Agency takes diversity seriously and is actively seeking more women to support its work. If you would like the challenge of supporting NATO's mission to protect nearly 1 billion citizens, please bookmark our Vacancies page here. We would love to have you on board!