Sassan Saatchi

Sassan Saatchi serves as a Senior Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, and holds an Adjunct Professor appointment at the Center for Tropical Research within UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES). His dual roles bridge advanced spaceborne sensor development with critical environmental conservation applications globally.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Electrophysics and Applied Mathematics from George Washington University (1988)

Research Interests: Dr. Saatchi's work centers on remote sensing technologies for environmental monitoring, specializing in tropical and boreal forest ecosystems. His core expertise includes land cover classification, biomass estimation, soil moisture analysis, carbon stock assessment, and conservation applications. He maintains active research in wave propagation theory and electromagnetic scattering in natural media, connecting fundamental physics with practical environmental solutions.

Publication Trends: His 2000-2014 publications reveal a consistent trajectory applying satellite remote sensing to biodiversity conservation and climate challenges. Key patterns include spatial conservation planning in critical biomes (Atlantic Forest, Congo Basin), disease ecology mapping (monkeypox, avian malaria), and cross-disciplinary integration of ecological genetics with satellite data. His work consistently emphasizes African and South American rainforest-savanna ecotones as conservation priorities.

Professional Leadership: Dr. Saatchi develops and teaches specialized courses on remote sensing for environmental problem-solving. His research receives significant funding from organizations like the National Geographic Society, as evidenced by recent projects indexing tropical rainforest vulnerability and creating high-resolution maps for the Democratic Republic of Congo's conservation efforts.

Research Infrastructure: He operates within JPL's Earth Science Division and UCLA's Center for Tropical Research, leading teams that translate satellite data into actionable conservation strategies. Current initiatives focus on high-tech rainforest mapping to simultaneously address climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection.