Dr. MARTIN ISENBURG received his MSc in 1999 from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and his PhD in 2004 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA – both in Computer Science. Currently, he is an independent scientist, lecturer, and research consultant. Dr. Isenburg has created a popular suite of LiDAR processing software modules called LAStools that is the flagship product of rapidlasso GmbH, the company he founded in 2012. The LAStools software suite has deep market penetration and is heavily used in industry, government agencies, research labs, and educational institutions. These highly efficient LiDAR processing tools are known for their high productivity. They combine robust algorithms with efficient I/O and clever memory management to achieve high throughput for data sets containing billions of points. See http://rapidlasso.com for more information.
Dr. CLAUDIA NOTARNICOLA received the Degree in Physics, summa cum laude, and the PhD in Physics from the University of Bari (Italy) in 1995 and 2002 respectively.
She is presently the vice-head of the EURAC-Institute of Applied Remote Sensing (Bolzano, Italy). Within the same institute she is leader of a group dealing with remote sensing applications in SAR and optical domain for soil and vegetation monitoring as well as integration of remotely sensed observations with models and ground measurements. Her main research interest includes biophysical parameters (soil moisture, vegetation, snow) retrieval by using optical images and SAR images, optical and SAR data processing, data fusion and electromagnetic models. She conducts research on these topics within the frameworks of several national and international projects. Among the others, she is involved in the Cassini-Huygens Project for the application of inversion procedure to the estimation of Titan surface parameters. She is a referee for IEEE and other international journals and since 2006, she serves as Conference Chairs for SPIE International Conference on “SAR Image Analysis, Modeling and Techniques”.
GEOSENSE (Vassilis Polychronos) was founded in 2002 aiming to become one of the major and leading technology providers in the area of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS/GNSS), GIS Data, Geodetic Applications but also applications and solutions in Geoinformatics. Via a network of experienced partners, consultants and specialized scientists, has become one of the major players in Greek market of UAV/UAS, Unmanned Remote Operated Vehicles, Close Mapping and Inspection Systems, Mobile Mapping Systems, SAR Drones, Thermal Mapping, Laser Scanning, GPS/GNSS, Survey Equipment, special GIS & CAD Software Application Developer, special IT hardware like wide format scanners and plotters. It also provides specialized services and support in Surveying, SAR operations, GIS, GPS, Telematics, Fleet Management and LBS. Furthermore, GEOSENSE provides technical support and consulting services in studies related with its activity. GEOSENSE is based in Thessaloniki, GREECE and is accommodated in a space of 120sq.m. The human potential of the company consists of 6 persons with deep knowledge of the object, having postgraduate titles of study and multiannual experience, as well as from 4 special collaborators in the fields of Planning, Telematics, GIS and Geoinformatics. Moreover, the company has contracted collaborations with Greek and foreign companies for the completion of the range of its products. Currently, via its connecting companies apart from Greece, it operates in Cyprus, F.Y.R.O.M., and Bulgaria. GEOSENSE is certified and applies system of guarantee of quality according to model ELOT EN ISO 9001:2008.GEOSENSE can be reached at www.geosense.gr and also operates a specialized e-shop at www.madcow.gr.
INFOREST RESEARCH (Maroulio Chanioti) started as a project, back in 1999, for delivering software for forest mensuration and forest inventory data collection and analysis. As a business unit INFOREST was founded in 2003 aiming in delivering information technology for earth sciences. Geospatial imagery acquisition and analysis, reselling of geospatial software from EXELIS and TRIMBLE, and customization, services, consulting and training in passive and active remote sensing techniques and geoinformatics are core components of its business. INFOREST RESEARCH O.C. is based in Athens, Greece and is accommodated in its own premises comprising of 125 sq.m (offices, training rooms, server rooms). A network of highly skillful personnel with relevant academic qualifications, patience and passion, brought the company to existence, shaped it’s fifteen year course, and guarantee.
Dr SELIM AKSOY received the B.S. degree from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, in 1996, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1998 and 2001, respectively. During 2001-2003, he was a Research Scientist at Insightful Corporation in Seattle, Washington. He joined the Department of Computer Engineering, Bilkent University, Ankara in 2004 where he is currently an Associate Professor. His research interests include computer vision, statistical and structural pattern recognition, and machine learning with applications to remote sensing, medical imaging, and multimedia data analysis. He served as a Guest Editor for the special issues on Pattern Recognition in Remote Sensing of IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Pattern Recognition Letters, and IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing in 2007, 2009, and 2012, respectively. He served as the Vice Chair of the IAPR Technical Committee 7 on Remote Sensing during 2004-2006, and as the Chair of the same committee during 2006-2010. He also served as an Associate Editor of Pattern Recognition Letters during 2009-2013.
Dr. OLGA SYKIOTI obtained her BSc in Geology from the University of Athens in 1988. She obtained her MSc in Remote Sensing (1990), MSc in Hydrology, Geostatistics and Geochemistry (1991) and her PhD in Geosciences and Remote Sensing (December 1994) from Pierre & Marie Curie University (Paris, France). From 1995 to 2000 she worked in as image processing and photogrammetry specialist in the private sector and in parallel as postdoctoral researcher at the National Observatory of Athens (1999-2000). In 2001 she started working as scientific staff till 2006, when she was elected Assistant Researcher in the former Institute for Space Applications and Remote Sensing of NOA. Since 2011, she works as Associate Researcher at the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens (IAASARS/NOA). Her research interests are Remote Sensing applications in the terrestrial and marine environment with emphasis in hyperspectral imaging, including reflectance spectroscopy processing techniques and methods, mineral mapping, land cover/land use mapping, monitoring natural ecosystems and ocean color studies.
Dr. KONSTANTINOS PAPATHEODOROU is a Geologist who received his PhD in Engineering Geology from Civil Engineering Dept. of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Currently, he is Associate Professor at the Civil, Surveying and Geoinformatics Dept. of Technological Educational Institute of Kentriki Makedonia, Greece. His main research interests include Natural Hazard prevention and management, Geographic Information Systems applications (especially in Natural Hazard Mitigation and in Environmental Protection), Groundwater protection and management, Remote Sensing applications in Geology and the Environment, and Applied geophysical research using Ground Penetrating Radar and Seismic Refraction. Moreover, he has participated and/or coordinated of more than 40 Research Projects, and currently he is the Coordinator of the Research Project “A Scientific Network for Earthquake, Landslide and Flood Hazard Prevention” funded by the EU through the Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Programme (2013-2015).
Dr. KYRIACOS THEMISTOCLEOUS is the President of the Cyprus Remote Sensing Society, a member of the Board of Directors of Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber and a senior researcher at the Cyprus University of Technology. He teaches remote sensing and GIS at the Cyprus University of Technology. He has been involved in more than 25 European and national funded projects from 2008 to 2015. He has over 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings in the field of field spectrocopy, aerial and satellite remote sensing, environmental sciences, geophysics, agriculture, water management, geographical information systems (GIS), atmospheric correction, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cultural heritage.
Dr. IOANNIS GITAS is an Associate Professor at the Lab of Forest Management and Remote Sensing, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and an elected fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.
His research has focused on remote sensing and GIS applications in environmental monitoring, with emphasis on forest fire management and land cover/land use mapping and change detection. He has been involved in various national and international projects and has long experience working as a consultant in GIS/RS issues for national and international organisations, as well as for the industry. Also, he has served as project proposal reviewer for a number of national and international research organisations. Dr. Gitas received his PhD and M.Phil. degrees in GIS and Remote Sensing from the Department of Geography, Cambridge University U.K., and a B.Sc. degree in Forestry and Natural Environment from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He is an Associate Editor of Remote Sensing and has edited special issues for a number of high impact factor journals. In addition, he has a good experience in organising international workshops and conferences. Ioannis is currently the Chair of the Special Interest Group on Forest Fires of the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL – FFSIG), the FAO Forest Resources Assessment – Remote Sensing Survey contact point for Greece, and a member of the GOFC-GOLD Fire Implementation Team.
Dr. NICOLAS H. YOUNAN is currently the Department Head and James Worth Bagley Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Mississippi State University. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Mississippi State University, in 1982 and 1984, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from Ohio University in 1988. Dr. Younan’s research interests include signal processing and pattern recognition. He has been involved in the development of advanced image processing and pattern recognition algorithms for remote sensing applications, image/data fusion, feature extraction and classification, automatic target recognition/identification, and image information/data mining. Dr. Younan has published over 200 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings, and book chapters. He has served as the General Chair and Editor for the 4th IASTED International Conference on Signal and Image Processing, Co-Editor for the 3rd International Workshop on the Analysis of Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Images, Guest Editor, Pattern Recognition Letters, and JSTARS, and Co-Chair, Workshop on Pattern Recognition for Remote sensing (2008-2010). He is a senior member of IEEE and a member of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing society, serving on two technical committees: Image Analysis and Data Fusion, and Earth Science Informatics (previously Data Archive and Distribution). He also served as the Vice Chair of the International Association on Pattern Recognition (IAPR) Technical Committee 7 on Remote Sensing (2008-2010), and Executive Committee Member of the International Conference on High Voltage Engineering and Applications (2010-2014).