Teki Sankey

Teki Sankey is a Professor in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems at Northern Arizona University. His research integrates remote sensing, geospatial technologies, and ecological modeling to study landscape dynamics, vegetation, and geomorphological processes, primarily in arid and semi-arid regions of the United States, especially Arizona.

His research interests include:

• Remote sensing using LiDAR and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
• Vegetation monitoring and classification
• Geomorphic change detection
• Landscape ecology
• Environmental informatics and data fusion (hyperspectral, thermal, LiDAR)

Recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward advanced data fusion techniques and deep learning in ecological monitoring, particularly in forest and riparian ecosystems. His work often involves collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey and focuses on practical applications in conservation and land management.

Notable scientific contributions include:

• Over 59 scholarly works
• h-index of 26 with over 2,000 citations
• Multiple open-access datasets in geospatial ecology

Dr. Sankey has advised or collaborated on research involving terrestrial and airborne LiDAR applications, and his team has produced datasets related to ponderosa pine forests, tamarisk invasion, and sandbar dynamics in the Grand Canyon. He is actively involved in advancing UAS-based ecological research and deep learning methods for environmental monitoring.