About
Ben Somers is a Professor at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, affiliated with the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering. He leads the Spatial Applications Division Leuven (SADL) and is a member of institutes including Leuven One Health, Leuven.AI, and the Plant Institute. His research focuses on urban ecology, climate adaptation, remote sensing, and AI-driven environmental analytics. He supervises projects like LEUVEN.COOL, exploring urban heat mitigation via citizen science, and integrates machine learning in land cover mapping. Key areas include biodiversity conservation, policy framing for climate adaptation, and ecosystem resilience under climate change.
Education & Academic Roles: Professor at KU Leuven, coordinating master's theses and courses in urban ecology, remote sensing, and landscape analysis. Teaches modules like 'Urban Ecology and Green Management' and 'Remote Sensing of Vegetation.'
Research Interests: Urban climate modeling, green space planning, AI applications in ecology, and citizen science initiatives. Recent work addresses heat islands in Leuven, Amazon forest stability under droughts, and policy acceptance for climate adaptation measures.
Grants & Projects: Promotor/co-promotor of over 10 projects (2022–2028), including 'Deepfaking ecosystem response to climate extremes' and 'Efficient deep learning workflows for remote sensing.'
Labs & Collaborations: Active in CityLab 3 (health and urban liveability), Earth Observation research, and cross-disciplinary institutes like Leuven.AI for AI-driven environmental solutions.
