Loïc Denis

Loïc Denis is a Professor at Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, teaching at TELECOM Saint-Etienne (Graduate School in electrical engineering and computer science) and conducting research at the Laboratoire Hubert Curien, a joint lab between the University and the CNRS. His research focuses on image restoration and reconstruction with applications spanning from microscopy and optical metrology to SAR imaging and astronomy.

Denis's research interests center on image processing and artificial intelligence, with particular expertise in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging, exoplanet detection and characterization, digital holography, and Earth observation. His work bridges theoretical developments in image restoration with practical applications in remote sensing, astronomy, and biomedical imaging. He has developed innovative algorithms like PACO for exoplanet detection and MERLIN for SAR despeckling that have significantly advanced these fields.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on deep learning approaches for SAR image processing, particularly in multitemporal speckle reduction, polarimetric SAR despeckling, and SAR tomography. His astronomical work centers on high-contrast imaging techniques for exoplanet detection and characterization, with significant contributions to angular and spectral differential imaging. The interdisciplinary nature of his research connects computer vision, signal processing, and domain-specific applications across multiple scientific fields.

• IEEE GRSS Symposium Prize Paper Award 2021 for 'Exploiting multi-temporal information for improved speckle reduction of Sentinel-1 SAR images by deep learning'
• IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society 2016 Transactions Prize Paper Award for 'NL-SAR: A Unified Nonlocal Framework for Resolution-Preserving (Pol)(In)SAR Denoising'

Denis has advised numerous PhD students including Emanuele Dalsasso, Olivier Flasseur, and Sylvain Lobry, whose work has received multiple awards. He has led significant research projects including DIAGHOLO (2018-2023), RESSOURCES (2017-2018), and DETECTION (2015-2018). His research is supported by various grants from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, ANR, and CNRS. At the Laboratoire Hubert Curien, he collaborates with colleagues across multiple disciplines to advance image processing techniques for diverse applications.