Michael Humber

Michael Humber is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park. He holds a B.S. (2011), M.P.S. (2013), and Ph.D. (2019) in Geography from the same institution. His research focuses on remote sensing, spatial statistics, and geospatial data management with applications to agriculture and wildfire detection.

• Deputy Director for NASA's ACRES consortium
• Data Lead for NASA Harvest
• Lead Scientist for UMD Climate Resilience Network's Climate-Smart Agriculture
• Member of UMD-NASA Fire Science Team

His work develops satellite-based data products for agricultural decision-making, including web/mobile apps and HPC/cloud systems. He also leads the transition of NASA's fire products (MODIS/VIIRS) to cloud-native architectures to reduce latency and costs. Recent efforts include real-time Landsat fire detection systems and collaborative frameworks engaging local stakeholders in research design.

Publications emphasize global burned area mapping validation, crop monitoring frameworks in Africa and Latin America, and integrating Earth observations into food security policies. His contributions include the NASA Harvest platforms for in-situ data collection and the Crop Monitor for Early Warning.

Grants and partnerships span NASA initiatives, international organizations (e.g., GEOGLAM), and state-level projects in Maryland. He collaborates with institutions across the Americas, Africa, and Asia to strengthen agricultural resilience through geospatial innovation.