Dr Vahid Akbari

Lect in Artificial Intelligence/Data Sci

Computing Science and Mathematics - Division 4X6, Cottrell Building, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

Dr Vahid Akbari

Contact details

About me

I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Data Science/Artificial Intelligence at the University of Stirling. I received the Ph.D. degree in physics with a specialisation in radar remote sensing and data analytics from the UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway, in 2013.

Since 2014, I continued my research in radar remote sensing and machine learning as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, and the University of Stirling.

I have been a Visiting Scientist with the Signal Processing and Telecommunications Laboratory, Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy, in 2011, and a Visiting Researcher with the German Geoscience Center (GFZ), Potsdom, Germany, in 2008.

I am also a Council Member of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc), U.K.

My primary research interests revolve around the intersection of radar remote sensing and statistical modelling/machine learning, with a particular focus on the applications in environmental monitoring.

My research interests lie at the intersection between machine learning and Earth Observation for environmental monitoring. Specifically, I have focused on the applications of Interferometric SAR (InSAR) for land subsidence monitoring and Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) for target detection, change detection, and land cover classification. Additionally, my work involves developing novel methods in machine learning, signal and Image processing, and data analytics for multidimensional SAR data. Furthermore, I am actively engaged in the field of big Earth data analytics with SAR for forestry, glaciology, and agriculture monitoring. In summary my research is focused on the following area:

•Artificial intelligence for Earth Observation (AI4EO)

•Big EO data analytics

•Advanced InSAR and PolSAR techniques for environmental monitoring.

I am a member of the Data Science and Intelligent Systems (DAIS) Earth and Planetary Observation Research Groups. I am also a member of the Stirling Vision and Image Processing Group (SVIP).

Award

RSPSoc 2020 - The President's Prize
Awarded for the best oral presentation at RSPSoc2020

RSPSoc 2023- The President's Prize
Awarded for the best oral presentation at RSPSoc2023

Community Contribution

Publication Chair and Board Member
https://www.rspsoc.org.uk/
Publications Committee Convener

Representative Member of the SAGES Research Theme
SAGES Administrator
https://sages.ac.uk/…lligence-esm-ai/

Consultancy

Monitoring biodiversity and soil health with AI and EO

Event / Presentation

Big Data Analytics with SAR for Forestry Applications
SAGES Administrator

Change detection in multilook polarimetric SAR imagery with hoteling lawley trace and determinant ratio test statistics
https://polinsar-biomass2023.esa.int/agenda/

Machine learning-based detection and mapping of water hyacinth growth cycles in Anzali international wetland using Sentinel-2 time series
https://www.rspsoc.org.uk/…er_16_Akbari.jpg

Multimodal remote sensing for monitoring water hyacinth
SAGES Administrator

Professional membership

Senior Member
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

Supervision of Research Assistants

Coherent change detection algorithms in several polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data for deforestation mapping
University of Stirling

Hedgerow mapping and detection using deep learning methods in very high resolution remote sensing imagery
University of Stirling and University College Dublin (UCD)

An AI-based approach for improving brain tumor diagnosis from MRI images
University of Stirling

Deep learning techniques for vegetation mapping in multispectral drone imagery
University of Stirling

Heterogeneous change detection in SAR and optical Imagery
University of Stirling

Iceberg detection and characterisation in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data
University of Stirling

Temporal convolutional neural network for the land cover and crop classification in multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar data
University of Stirling

Research programmes

Research centres/groups