Prof. Qihao Weng
Abstract
Driven by improvements in satellite sensor technology and image/data processing techniques, especially due to recent development in Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI), Earth Observation (EO) has become an essential tool for understanding the Earth surface processes and managing human-environment interactions. Urbanization studies are vital in improving the understanding of the relationship between urban growth, global change, and human well-being. Such studies are crucial for the mitigation of adverse effects of urban warming and the examination of heat hazards and related health issues. Three key science questions arise, including: (1) How can EO and GeoAI be combined to better characterize urbanization processes at the local, regional, and global scale? (2) How can quality EO data be generated and used to characterize and quantify the changes in land cover and land use from urbanization that affect the sustainability of natural and human ecosystems? And (3) how can we characterize the urbanization effect to help mitigate its impacts on human health concerns and well-being? This lecture examines the state-of-the-art methodologies in EO and GeoAI for generating quality EO data and using them to analyze heat risks in the North America and Asia for the present and future times and to examine the dynamics of urban risks under different population growth and climate change scenarios for various vulnerability groups of people. The lecture is followed by discussion on future opportunities in international collaboration and cooperation to advance use of open Earth observations to support urban resilience and sustainable urban development.
Biography
Dr. Qihao Weng has been a Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence and Global STEM Scholar at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University since July 2021, where he also directs Jockey Club STEM Lab of Earth Observations and Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics. Before that, he worked as the Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Change and a Professor of Geography at Indiana State University, USA, for 20 years, and visited the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center from Dec. 2008 to Dec. 2009 as a Senior Fellow. Prof. Weng also serves as an Editor-in-Chief of ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, and the Lead of GEO’s Global Urban Observation and Information Initiative since 2012. Dr. Weng is a Foreign Member of Academia Europaea and an elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Association of Geographers (AAG), American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), and Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA). He has been honored with distinguished career awards that include NASA senior fellowship, AAG Distinguished Scholarship Honors Award, Taylor & Francis Lifetime Achievements Award, and a fellowship from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Short-term S[E], formerly known as “JSPS Award for Eminent Scientists”). He is the author of 277 articles, 14 books, and 5 conference proceedings, with over 30,000 citations and H-index of 77.
Contact Information
Qihao Weng, Ph.D., MAE, AAAS/IEEE/AAG/ASPRS/AAIA Fellow
Editor-in-Chief, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing
Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence & Global STEM Scholar
Director, JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations
Director, Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics
Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Phone +852-2766-5959
https://qihaoweng.net
https://weng-poleis.com/