Negin Katal

Negin Katal is a Doctoral Researcher and PhD candidate since April 2021 at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany, where she works in the Biogeochemical Integration department and the Biod.AI.versity Observation & Integration research group.

Her academic background includes:

• M.Sc. in Geo-Ecology/Landscape Ecology from Bayreuth University, Germany
• B.Sc. in Biology/Botany from University of Tehran, Iran

Negin's research focuses on applying machine learning techniques to plant phenology monitoring using citizen science data. She investigates whether opportunistic observations from AI-based plant identification apps can meaningfully contribute to phenological studies compared to targeted scientific observations. Her work bridges biogeochemical integration with biodiversity observation, developing deep learning approaches to analyze ecological patterns.

She has presented her research at numerous international conferences including the GfÖ Annual Meetings (2022-2024), EGU2024, and the Biogeography and Macroecology Meeting 2024, with presentation topics centered on leveraging citizen science data and machine learning for ecological insights.

Her scientific contributions have been recognized with:

• Best poster award at 52nd GfÖ annual meeting 2023, Leipzig
• Best poster award at iDiv annual conference 2022
• Student Travel Award for ECBC Amsterdam, 2020

Negin serves as the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion officer of her institute and is an active member of the International Society of Non-Binary Scientists, demonstrating her commitment to inclusive scientific practices.