Mark Friedl

Mark Friedl is a Professor of Earth & Environment at Boston University's College of Arts & Sciences and an Affiliated Faculty member of the Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS). He serves as Director of the Center for Remote Sensing. His research focuses on land-atmosphere interactions, land cover dynamics, and remote sensing applications. He holds a PhD in Remote Sensing and Microclimatology from UC Santa Barbara and a BSc in Physical Geography and Computer Science from McGill University.

Key research areas include global land cover mapping, vegetation phenology monitoring, and ecosystem responses to climate change. He leads NASA's MODIS Land Science Team and the Multi-Source Land Imaging Science Team. Notable contributions include developing the MODIS land cover product and advancing satellite-based phenology analysis.

• Awards: Bullard Fellow at Harvard University, Erasmus Mundus Visiting Scholar
• Editorial Roles: Associate Editor for Remote Sensing of Environment, Journal of Geophysical Research, Biogeosciences
• Scientific Leadership: Co-Chair of the Land Process Validation Working Group (CEOS)

His work bridges satellite data analysis with ecological modeling, addressing challenges in global sustainability and environmental monitoring. Active in international science collaborations, he emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to understanding Earth system processes.