Sander Varbla

Sander Varbla is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, School of Engineering, Tallinn University of Technology, and concurrently holds a postdoctoral fellowship at the Chair of Astronomical and Physical Geodesy, Technical University of Munich (2025–2027). His research spans geodesy, remote sensing, and civil engineering, with a focus on marine geoid modeling, satellite altimetry, and construction surveying technologies.

His research interests include marine geoid refinement, satellite gravimetry, terrestrial and drone-based surveying, GNSS-UWB positioning, and the application of machine learning in geodetic data processing. He actively contributes to international geodetic standardization through memberships in EUREF, NKG, and the Baltic Sea Hydrographic Commission.

His recent publications show a strong trend in integrating satellite data (e.g., SWOT mission) with in-situ measurements to improve marine geoid models, assess vertical land motion, and develop dynamic height references. He also investigates the quality of industrial-scale laser scanning for BIM applications and advances in underground utility mapping using low-cost sensors.

• Researcher of the Year, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, TalTech (2024)
• Best Research Article 2022, TalTech (2023)
• First Prize, National Contest for University Students (2023)
• ESRI Young Scholar Award (2017)
• CLGE Students' Contest Winner (2017)

Varbla has supervised multiple Master’s theses at TalTech, focusing on drone photogrammetry, point cloud analysis, and construction surveying. He has been a lecturer in courses such as Construction Surveying and Theory of Processing Geodetic Measurements, and has led continuing education courses on UAV photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning. He is the principal investigator of the MarGeoid project and has participated in numerous national and EU-funded projects, including DYNAREF, BalMarGrav, and ESA initiatives. He has also contributed to major collaborative efforts such as the Baltic Sea Chart Datum 2000 and FAMOS Odin.