Principal Investigator

The Shallow Water Earth Observation Laboratory is led by Anders Knudby.

Photo of Anders Knudby
Professor

Anders Knudby does remote sensing research mostly in aquatic environments, and with a main focus on satellite-derived bathymetry. He also supports a very wide variety of other research projects for which spatial information derived from satellite imagery can be useful.

Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows

Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working across our four main research themes.

Photo of Galen Richardson
PhD student

The Landsat archive includes imagery collected by multiple sensors, each with differences that can introduce errors in change-detection analyses. Galen Richardson’s research focuses on developing sensor-harmonization algorithms to enable more accurate change detection and to support the monitoring of lichen cover in the Hudson Bay Lowlands.

Photo of Mohsen Ansari
PhD student

Mohsen works on applying Earth observation and modeling approaches to study coastal and inland waters, with an emphasis on improving the retrieval of water quality parameters using machine learning models.

Photo of Lakmal Nawarathnage
PhD student

Lakmal studies how pretext-task-based pre-training on unlabeled Earth Observation data can improve geospatial deep learning, boosting accuracy and label-efficiency.

Photo of Gabrielle Ednie
PhD student

Gabrielle is interested in UAV-based mapping, thermal remote sensing, and using those technologies to develop novel microclimate assessment tools.

Photo of Matus Hodul
PhD student

Matus's PhD research has developed a whale detection algorithm for WorldView satellite imagery, and an innovative methods for using aerial photography for training of such algorithms.

Photo of Neve Foreman
MSc student

Neve’s thesis focuses on differentiating eelgrass and submerged kelps using hyperspectral satellite imagery near Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia. Her methods include a drop camera survey and applying machine learning models.

Photo of Kaiqi Jiang
MSc student

Kaiqi is working on extraction of bathymetry information from NASA's ICESat-2 space-based lidar, with a specific focus on automation and application in the Canadian Arctic.

Photo of Kyle Kuthe
MSc student

Kyle’s MSc research is focused on development of whale detection algorithms and integration of those into an operational detection system for the North Atlantic right whale.

Photo of Wendian Lai
PhD student

Wendian is a PhD student at Xiamen University, working in the lab for 2025-26. Wendian’s research focuses on developing high-spatial-resolution satellite-derived bathymetry algorithms to improve depth-retrieval accuracy in complex coastal environments and enable global-scale optically shallow water mapping.

Alumni

Former students and collaborators and where they went next. Replace these placeholders with degrees, years, and current positions.

Yulun Wu
Former MSc and PhD student – Postdoc at University of Toronto

Adjacency effect correction for inland and coastal aquatic remote sensing.

Kutalmis Saylam
Former PhD student – Research Science Associate V at University of Texas

Airborne lidar bathymetry in complex environments.

Christopher Ilori
Former PhD student – Senior Remote Sensing Scientist at TCarta

Satellite-derived bathymetry.

Mehdi Aminipouri
Former PhD student – Business Development Manager, Green Trail Team

Modeling outdoor thermal comfort.

Derrick Ho
Former PhD student – Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong

Mapping health impacts of the urban heat island.

Claudia Sauro
Former MSc student – Data Scientist at ECCC

Mapping lava flows.

Yiwen Lin
Former MSc student – Developer at Raythink Technology

Mapping retrogressive thaw slumps and extraction of bathymetry photons from ICESat-2.

Andrew Newall
Former MSc student – GIS Analyst at Parks Canada

Tracking the Gulf Stream with radar data.

Genevieve George
Former MSc student – Remote Sensing and Geomatics Specialist at DFO

Investigating long-term lake dynamics across Canada.

Fiona Davidson
Former MSc student – PhD student at University of Alberta

Species distribution modeling.

Edmar Miglhorance
Former MSc student – GIS Analyst at Clearlight Energy

Mapping wild leek with drones and satellite imagery.

Kiyomi Holman
Former MSc student – Spatial Data Analyst at Ocean Networks Canada

Satellite-derived bathymetry in the Canadian Arctic.

Andrew McMillan
Former MSc student – Aquatic Science Biologist at DFO

Species distribution modeling.