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Dr. Vasit Sagan, Associate Professor of GIScience, Faculty Director of Geospatial Institute at Saint Louis University (SLU). He directs M.S. in Geographic Information Science (GIScience) degree, Integrated Applied Science PhD degree and graduate and undergraduate Certificate programs in GIScience. He teaches an array of courses in GIS, remote sensing, geospatial methods, and GIS programming. His research focuses on developing state-of-the-art remote sensing and GIS tools, AI/machine learning, sensor/information fusion, and geospatial methods to study food and water security, bioenergy, and power grid sustainability from regional to global scales.
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Current Faculty and Postdocs
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Kristen Rhodes is a Remote Sensing and Imagery Scientist with Remote Sensing Lab at Saint Louis University. Her research focuses on geospatial computer vision applied to seed composition estimation using AI, crop growth modeling, and imagery analysis.
She is also pursuing her PhD in imaging science focusing predicting locust outbreaks globally. |
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Dr. Rohit Pathak is a Postdoctoral Fellow with Remote Sensing Lab at Saint Louis University. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Agricultural and Life Sciences in April 2021 with a major in agricultural science and engineering technology. His current work focuses on remote sensing of crop nutrient and water use efficiencies using soil and acoustic signals with the goal of improving food security. His Ph.D. work involved remote sensing application in crop production, nutrient management, correlating zonal maps with harvest yield data, analysis and visualization of soil, sensor, and weather data and other geospatial and temporal data to develop site specific crop management plans.
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Current Graduate Students
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Justin Vilbig is a PhD student in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. He earned his B.S. in Anthropology and Political Science from Truman State University in 2010 and his M.S. in Sustainability with a Graduate Certificate in GIS Technology from SLU in 2017. His research focus is on the application of geospatial technology to archaeological exploration in North America. The use of multispectral data and drone imagery have been valuable methods for his research with archaeological mapping and feature detection.
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Bethany Marshall is a PhD student in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. She earned her B.S. in Geography from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, IL (2015) and M.S. in Geographic Information Science from Saint Louis University (2017). Her research focuses on a UAS surveying for engineering applications.
Thesis topic: TBD |
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Sourav Bhadra is a PhD student in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. He completed Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (2015), Bangladesh and MSc in Geography and Environmental Resources from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2019), United States. His current research interest includes remote sensing, unmanned aerial system, machine learning and computer vision for monitoring crop biophysical parameters and productivity.
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Kristen Rhodes is a PhD student in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. She earned her B.S. in Geography and Environmental Resources from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL (2005) and M.S. in Engineering Management from Missouri S&T Rolla, MO (2010). Her research interests focus on geospatial and remote sensing applications for monitoring food security threats caused by locust outbreaks.
Dissertation title: Enhanced forecasting of locust outbreaks: integrative social-environmental modeling to contend global food insecurity |
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Canh Nguyen is a PhD student in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. He earned his B.S. in Aviation Business from Vietnam Aviation Academy (2013), M.B.A. in Aviation Management from Lynn University-Florida (2017), and A.B.D. in Aviation Sciences from Florida Tech (FIT) (2019). His research interest includes remote sensing, geospatial analytics, UAV/UAS programming, embedded AI.
Mr. Nguyen has received a tenure-track Assistant Professor position from Central Missouri University in the third year of his Ph.D. program and currently working toward his dissertation as a part time student. |
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Kevin Wells is a PhD student in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Public Health (2014) and a Master of Public Health (2020), concentrating in Biosecurity and Disaster Preparedness at Saint Louis University. His current research interests include using machine learning and artificial intelligence applications to geospatially identify and analyze trends in wildlife trafficking and natural resource extraction.
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Supria Sarkar is a PhD student in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. She completed her BS degree in Soil, Water, and Environment from the University of Dhaka (2016), Bangladesh and MSc in Geography and Environmental Resources from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2021), United States. Her current research interest includes remote sensing, unmanned aerial system, machine learning and computer vision for monitoring crop biophysical parameters and yield. She joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Summer 2021.
Dissertation topic: TBD. |
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Matt Arndt is an M.S. student in GIScience. He earned a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences from the University of Missouri – Columbia (2006), along with minors in Math, Biology, and Computer Science. Matt is a Consulting Forester / Arborist, and owner of Matt’s Healthy Woods & Wildlife. He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2019. Matt’s research focuses on mapping the distribution of invasive bush honeysuckle throughout the state of Missouri as the first step in developing a budget and strategic plan for an eventual control and eradication effort.
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Roberto Coral is a M.S. student in GIScience. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Computer Engineering from University of Padua, Italy (2017) and Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy (2019). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Summer 2020.
Thesis title: Hyperfidelis: A novel software ecosystem for agricultural innovations. |
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Jim Molloy is a M.S. student in Geographic Information Science program. He earned his B.S. in Geology from Saint Louis University (2016). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2020. His research focuses on early sensing of COVI-19 using remote sensing and mobile location data. Thesis topic: TBD
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Aviskar Giri earned his undergraduate degree from Concordia College in 2019 with major in Environmental Studies and minors in Mathematics and Political Science. He worked as a project manager at Fargo Consultants, a Texas-based firm that provides geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing services. Aviskar also recently finished a summer long project with Facilities Management and University of North Dakota Geography Department to create UND campus Web GIS applications. His thesis research is focused on geospatial computer vision for seed composition estimation from standing crops using multi-sensor data fusion.
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Past Postdocs and Research Faculty
Dr. Maitiniyazi Maimaitijiang was a postdoc, then a Remote Sensing and Imagery Scientist with Remote Sensing Lab at Saint Louis University from 1 July 2020 to 13 August 2021. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Integrated Applied Sciences program in June 2020. His postdoc and imagery scientist research focuses on UAV emote sensing and seed composition estimation. Starting Fall 2021, he has been with South Dakota State University as an Assistant Professor.
Dr. Nichole Gosselin, Postdoctoral Fellow in geospatial data science in the Remote Sensing Lab from January 2019 to June 2020. Her research focused on the ozone effects agriculture and plant phenotyping and yield prediction using remote sensing integrated with machine learning and modeling (WRF and DSSAT).
Dr. Patrick Paheding (2/2017 - 8/2019), PostDoc Research Associate and Assistant Research Professor in the Remote Sensing Lab from 2017 - 2019. While he was in the lab, his research focused on Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Deep Learning and Remote Sensing. Dr. Paheding earned his Ph.D. degree (2016) in Electrical Engineering from University of Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Dr. Matthew Maimaitiyiming (08/2018-12/2020), was a visiting PostDoc Fellow in Remote Sensing Lab. His research focused on remote sensing of grapevine biophysical variables for characterizing tipping points of abiotic stress.
Dr. Maria Librada Chu, post-doctoral fellow (2011-2013). Dr. Chu's research focused on a project examining the potential influence of climate change on hydrologic aspects of human and natural systems in the Midwestern U.S.
Dr. Nichole Gosselin, Postdoctoral Fellow in geospatial data science in the Remote Sensing Lab from January 2019 to June 2020. Her research focused on the ozone effects agriculture and plant phenotyping and yield prediction using remote sensing integrated with machine learning and modeling (WRF and DSSAT).
Dr. Patrick Paheding (2/2017 - 8/2019), PostDoc Research Associate and Assistant Research Professor in the Remote Sensing Lab from 2017 - 2019. While he was in the lab, his research focused on Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Deep Learning and Remote Sensing. Dr. Paheding earned his Ph.D. degree (2016) in Electrical Engineering from University of Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Dr. Matthew Maimaitiyiming (08/2018-12/2020), was a visiting PostDoc Fellow in Remote Sensing Lab. His research focused on remote sensing of grapevine biophysical variables for characterizing tipping points of abiotic stress.
Dr. Maria Librada Chu, post-doctoral fellow (2011-2013). Dr. Chu's research focused on a project examining the potential influence of climate change on hydrologic aspects of human and natural systems in the Midwestern U.S.
Past Graduate Students
Caleb Buffa is a M.S. student in Geographic Information Science. He completed his B.A. in Political Science and Security & Intelligence at Saint Louis University (2020) and MS in GISciene degree from SLU in Summer 2021. His thesis research focused on the application of geospatial analytics and machine learning to understand and predict the spatial patterns of and relationships between international security events, specifically concentrating on the prediction of terrorism.
Thesis title: Predicting terrorism in Western Europe with remote sensing, machine learning and spatial statistics.
Gizelle Cota (2018-2021) earned her M.S. degree in GIScience (2021) from Saint Louis University after completing her B.S. in Geology degree at the University of Mumbai in 2018. Her work at Saint Louis University focused on GeoAI for conservation.
Thesis title: Forest Conservation with deep learning: A deeper understanding of the Human Geography around Betampona Nature Reserve, Madagascar
Sean Hartling (2013-2020) earned his PhD degree in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of IAS PhD program (2020) from Saint Louis University. After completing his B.A degree in Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis, he joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Spring 2011 to pursue Graduate Certificate in GIScience, which was followed by a PhD study. Dissertation Title: Urban tree species classification for utility outage forecasting using multi-sensor data fusion with machine learning and spatial statistics.
Mason Maitiniyazi (2016-2020) earned his PhD degree in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. He earned his B.S. in Urban and Rural Planning & Resource Management from Peking University (2005), and M.S. in Geography from Zhongshan University (2007), China. His joined Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2016 as a masters student, which was followed a PhD study focusing on computer vision, machine learning, remote sensing and modeling for crop growth monitoring and food security. Dissertation Title: Multimodal remote sensing data fusion and machine learning for crop monitoring and food security.
Kyle Peterson (2016-2018) earned his M.S. degree in Geographic Information Science (2018) and PhD in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences (2019) both from Saint Louis University. His B.S. was in Geography from University of Missouri in Columbia (2016). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Summer 2016. Thesis Title: Machine learning based ensemble prediction of water quality variables with proximal remote sensing using feature-level and decision-level fusion. Dissertation Title: Machine learning, data fusion, and cloud computing for the evaluation of water quality.
Aishanjiang Yasen was a M.S. student in Geographic Information Science program from June 2018 - May 2021. He earned his M.S. in GIScience degree in May 2021, which followed his B.S. in Environmental Science from Nanjing University, China (2009) and MS in Geosciences from the University of Camerino, Italy (2016). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Summer 2018. His research focuses on remote sensing applications in bioenergy. Thesis title: UAS-based sorghum growth monitoring using LiDAR, photogrammetry, and machine learning.
Stephen Leard (2017-2019) earned his M.S. degree in Geographic Information Science program in December 2019. He earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park (2008). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2017. His research focused on conservation technology, immersive interfaces for remote sensing data visualization, and human factors affecting zoonotic spillover risk.
Kevin Eblimit (2017-2018) earned his M.S. degree in Geographic Information Science program. He earned his B.S. in Geographic Information Systems and Technology from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas (2017). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2017. His research focuses on remote sensing applications in engineering and oil exploration. Thesis topic: UAV-based high resolution thermal imaging: comparison of ICI 8640 p, FLIR Vue Pro R 640 and thermoMap sensors for vegetation monitoring and plant phenotyping.
David Ridge earned his M.S. in Geographic Information Science in 2019. He earned his B.S. in Aeronautics with a Minor in Strategic Intelligence from Saint Louis University (2017). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2017. His research focuses on multi-modality remote sensing using multiple remote sensors using UAS photogrammetry, Airborne LiDAR, and InSAR.
Matthew Maimaitiyiming (2013-2018) earned his PhD degree in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. He earned his B.S. in Geographic Information System from Xinjiang University (2009), and M.S. in Geospatial Technology from Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2013). He utilizes field, airborne, and satellite based imaging and crop biophysical variables for characterizing tipping points of abiotic stress, which is critical to develop stress-resistant crops under changing climate. Dissertation topic: Multiscale Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Improved Grapevine Productivity.
Elizabeth Loesch (2015-2018) earned her PhD degree in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. She received her B.S. in Earth Sciences from University of California, Santa Cruz (1997), and M.S. in Geosciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2004). Dissertation title: Using Remote Sensing and Spatial Statistics to Characterize Seismicity in Oklahoma.
Mark Grzovic (2013-2017) earned his PhD degree in Geophysics in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at Saint Louis University. Mark received his B.S. in Geology and B.S. in Mathematics, respectively, from Lamar University (2007), and M.S. in Geology from the University of Missouri, Columbia (2013). Dissertation topic: Monitoring land subsidence in Midwestern U.S. using multi-temporal InSAR.
Thesis title: Predicting terrorism in Western Europe with remote sensing, machine learning and spatial statistics.
Gizelle Cota (2018-2021) earned her M.S. degree in GIScience (2021) from Saint Louis University after completing her B.S. in Geology degree at the University of Mumbai in 2018. Her work at Saint Louis University focused on GeoAI for conservation.
Thesis title: Forest Conservation with deep learning: A deeper understanding of the Human Geography around Betampona Nature Reserve, Madagascar
Sean Hartling (2013-2020) earned his PhD degree in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of IAS PhD program (2020) from Saint Louis University. After completing his B.A degree in Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis, he joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Spring 2011 to pursue Graduate Certificate in GIScience, which was followed by a PhD study. Dissertation Title: Urban tree species classification for utility outage forecasting using multi-sensor data fusion with machine learning and spatial statistics.
Mason Maitiniyazi (2016-2020) earned his PhD degree in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. He earned his B.S. in Urban and Rural Planning & Resource Management from Peking University (2005), and M.S. in Geography from Zhongshan University (2007), China. His joined Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2016 as a masters student, which was followed a PhD study focusing on computer vision, machine learning, remote sensing and modeling for crop growth monitoring and food security. Dissertation Title: Multimodal remote sensing data fusion and machine learning for crop monitoring and food security.
Kyle Peterson (2016-2018) earned his M.S. degree in Geographic Information Science (2018) and PhD in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences (2019) both from Saint Louis University. His B.S. was in Geography from University of Missouri in Columbia (2016). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Summer 2016. Thesis Title: Machine learning based ensemble prediction of water quality variables with proximal remote sensing using feature-level and decision-level fusion. Dissertation Title: Machine learning, data fusion, and cloud computing for the evaluation of water quality.
Aishanjiang Yasen was a M.S. student in Geographic Information Science program from June 2018 - May 2021. He earned his M.S. in GIScience degree in May 2021, which followed his B.S. in Environmental Science from Nanjing University, China (2009) and MS in Geosciences from the University of Camerino, Italy (2016). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Summer 2018. His research focuses on remote sensing applications in bioenergy. Thesis title: UAS-based sorghum growth monitoring using LiDAR, photogrammetry, and machine learning.
Stephen Leard (2017-2019) earned his M.S. degree in Geographic Information Science program in December 2019. He earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park (2008). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2017. His research focused on conservation technology, immersive interfaces for remote sensing data visualization, and human factors affecting zoonotic spillover risk.
Kevin Eblimit (2017-2018) earned his M.S. degree in Geographic Information Science program. He earned his B.S. in Geographic Information Systems and Technology from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas (2017). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2017. His research focuses on remote sensing applications in engineering and oil exploration. Thesis topic: UAV-based high resolution thermal imaging: comparison of ICI 8640 p, FLIR Vue Pro R 640 and thermoMap sensors for vegetation monitoring and plant phenotyping.
David Ridge earned his M.S. in Geographic Information Science in 2019. He earned his B.S. in Aeronautics with a Minor in Strategic Intelligence from Saint Louis University (2017). He joined the Remote Sensing Lab in Fall 2017. His research focuses on multi-modality remote sensing using multiple remote sensors using UAS photogrammetry, Airborne LiDAR, and InSAR.
Matthew Maimaitiyiming (2013-2018) earned his PhD degree in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. He earned his B.S. in Geographic Information System from Xinjiang University (2009), and M.S. in Geospatial Technology from Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2013). He utilizes field, airborne, and satellite based imaging and crop biophysical variables for characterizing tipping points of abiotic stress, which is critical to develop stress-resistant crops under changing climate. Dissertation topic: Multiscale Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Improved Grapevine Productivity.
Elizabeth Loesch (2015-2018) earned her PhD degree in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. She received her B.S. in Earth Sciences from University of California, Santa Cruz (1997), and M.S. in Geosciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2004). Dissertation title: Using Remote Sensing and Spatial Statistics to Characterize Seismicity in Oklahoma.
Mark Grzovic (2013-2017) earned his PhD degree in Geophysics in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at Saint Louis University. Mark received his B.S. in Geology and B.S. in Mathematics, respectively, from Lamar University (2007), and M.S. in Geology from the University of Missouri, Columbia (2013). Dissertation topic: Monitoring land subsidence in Midwestern U.S. using multi-temporal InSAR.
Ethan J. Shavers (2013-2017) earned a PhD in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program in May 2017. His research focused on integrating remote sensing and economic geology. Dissertation topic: Geochemistry and Multiscale Remote Sensing of Carbonatite-ultramafic Intrusive Lithologies. Dr. Shavers' PhD work has yielded 3 peer-review journal papers published in Lithos (2016), Tectonophysics (2017) and Ore Geology Reviews (2018).
Bethany Marshall (2015-2017) was awarded a M.S. in Geographic Information Science from Saint Louis University in May 2017. She earned her B.S. in Geography from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, IL (2015). Her research focused on a NASA funded project to characterize land surface albedo for TEMPO using Geo-TASO observations. Thesis topic: The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo Analysis for Various Land-Cover Types in the Midwestern United States for the TEMPO Satellite
Ben Bira is a M.S. student in Sustainability program. He earned his B.S. in Biochemistry from Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO (2012). He earned MS in Sustainability in May 2016.
Guzhaliayi Sataer (2015-2016) was a PhD student in Environmental Sciences and GIS track of Integrated Applied Sciences program. She worked as research assistant in Remote Sensing Lab during 2015-2016 academic year, and joined Western Michigan University to pursue a PhD in Geosciences in Fall 2016. Her work at Saint Louis University involved an NSF funded research on multiscale remote sensing and model based approaches for crop growth monitoring and management.
Yuyan C. Jordan (2010 - 2013), Ph.D., Saint Louis University; Dissertation title: Surface water quality under climate and land use changes derived from remote sensing data integrated with SWAT hydrological modeling. Dr. Jordan's PhD work has yielded 3 peer-review journal papers published in Landscape Ecology (2012), Earth Science Reviews (2014) and Journal of Environmental Inforamtics (2014).
Undergraduate Researchers (2012 - )
- Kahaer Alafate (Spring & Summer, 2015), Undergrad researcher from Computer Sciences program. Kahaer is involved with a NASA funded project, working on compiling and entering field data and developing IDL/Matlab programs to read and process spectral and imagery data, as well as implementing statistical algorithms.
- Laura L. Bernett (Spring 2015), Undergrad researcher from Environmental Sciences program of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. Laura's research focuses on quantifying the impact of ambient ozone on ion/nutrient concentrations of soybean plants using field based spectroscopy and hyperspectral imager.
- Liyang Yu (Spring 2015), Undergrad researcher from Environmental Sciences program of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. Liyang's is working on mineral resources mapping in Midwestern US using field and satellite remote sensing.
- Kirsten Butcher (Spring 2013), Undergrad student from Environmental Sciences program of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. Her research (GIS Capstone) study focused on sustainable agriculture.
- Timothy Barbeau (06/2013 - 09/2013), Undergrad student from Environmental Sciences program of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. His research/independent study focused on Changes in Leaf Area Index attributed to aerosols.
Visiting Scholars
Mason Maitiniyazi (August 20, 2013- August 19, 2014), visiting faculty from Xinjiang Agricultural Univeristy, China. Mr. Mathew's research focuses on GIS and remote sensing based modeling of socio-economic drivers of land-cover/land-use change and urbanization in post industrial US cities.
Dr. Mason Sawut (April 20 - July 20, 2013), visiting faculty from Xinjiang Univeristy, China. Dr. Sawut's research focused on remote sensing estimation of soil sand content, soil quality and its environmental impacts.
Dr. Tao Zeng (June 24 - December 31, 2013), visiting faculty from Chengdu University of Technology, China. Dr. Zeng's research focused on estimating the volume and spatial extent of loose deposits, and its contribution to potential geological hazards over Wenchuan Earthquake zone, China using airborne and space borne optical remote sensing and InSAR coherence approach.
Dr. Mason Sawut (April 20 - July 20, 2013), visiting faculty from Xinjiang Univeristy, China. Dr. Sawut's research focused on remote sensing estimation of soil sand content, soil quality and its environmental impacts.
Dr. Tao Zeng (June 24 - December 31, 2013), visiting faculty from Chengdu University of Technology, China. Dr. Zeng's research focused on estimating the volume and spatial extent of loose deposits, and its contribution to potential geological hazards over Wenchuan Earthquake zone, China using airborne and space borne optical remote sensing and InSAR coherence approach.
