Vasit Sagan

Vasit Sagan is a Professor of Geospatial Science and Computer Science at Saint Louis University's School of Science and Engineering. He directs the Remote Sensing Lab, serves as Deputy Director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute, and holds the role of Associate Vice President for Geospatial Science in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnership.

• Education: Ph.D. from Peking University (2006)
• Leadership: Director of Remote Sensing Lab; Deputy Director, Taylor Geospatial Institute

Research Interests center on geospatial computer vision, integrating remote sensing, photogrammetry, machine learning/AI, and imagery analysis. His work addresses critical challenges in food and water security, ecosystem monitoring, and social instability at scales ranging from local to global. He has secured over $50M in grants as PI/Co-PI and authored 150+ peer-reviewed publications.

Recent Publications highlight his interdisciplinary approach, with studies on crop yield prediction via satellite/UAV imagery, disease detection in wheat, urban tree species classification, and deep learning applications for water quality monitoring. These works span agricultural technology, environmental science, and security informatics, emphasizing data fusion and AI-driven geospatial analysis.

Scientific Awards include:

• 2021 Best Paper Award (Remote Sensing)
• Best Paper Award (International Archives of Photogrammetry)

Advising and Grants: He has mentored numerous doctoral, master's, and postdoc researchers, and led major funded projects focused on geospatial AI and environmental sustainability.

Labs and Facilities: Remote Sensing Lab at Saint Louis University and collaborative work with the Taylor Geospatial Institute.