Dr Vahid Akbari

Lect in Artificial Intelligence/Data Sci

Computing Science and Mathematics - Division Stirling

Dr Vahid Akbari

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About me

About me

I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Data Science/Artificial Intelligence at the University of Stirling. I received the Ph.D. degree in physics with a specialisation in radar remote sensing and data analytics from the UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway, in 2013.

I receieved a MSc. degree (with Honors) in Earth Observation at University of Tehran, 2006-2009.

Since 2014, I continued my research in radar remote sensing and machine learning as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, and the University of Stirling.

I have been a Visiting Scientist with the Signal Processing and Telecommunications Laboratory, Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy, in 2011, and a Visiting Researcher with the German Geoscience Center (GFZ), Potsdom, Germany, in 2008. I was an Assistant Professor with the University of Tehran in 2015.

My primary research interests revolve around the intersection of radar remote sensing and statistical modelling/machine learning, with a particular focus on the applications in environmental monitoring.

Award

RSPSoc 2020 - The President's Prize
Awarded for the best oral presentation at RSPSoc2020

RSPSoc 2023- The President's Prize
Awarded for the best oral presentation at RSPSoc2023


Consultancy

Monitoring biodiversity and soil health with AI and EO


Event / Presentation

Change detection in multilook polarimetric SAR imagery with hoteling lawley trace and determinant ratio test statistics
https://polinsar-biomass2023.esa.int/agenda/

Machine learning-based detection and mapping of water hyacinth growth cycles in Anzali international wetland using Sentinel-2 time series
https://www.rspsoc.org.uk/…er_16_Akbari.jpg


Supervision of Research Assistants

An AI-based approach for improving brain tumor diagnosis from MRI images
University of Stirling

Coherent change detection algoritms in several polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data for deforestation mapping
University of Stirling

Deep learning techniques for vegetation mapping in multispectral drone imagery
University of Stirling

Hedgerow mapping and detection using deep learning methods in very high resolution remote sensing imagery
University College Dublin (UCD)

Heterogeneous Change Detection in SAR and Optical Imagery
University of Stirling

Iceberg detection and characterisation in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data
University of Stirling

Temporal convolutional neural network for the land cover and crop classification in multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar data
University of Stirling


Research (1)

My research interests lie at the intersection between machine learning and Earth Observation for environmental monitoring. Specifically, I have focused on the applications of Interferometric SAR (InSAR) for land subsidence monitoring and Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) for target detection, change detection, and land cover classification. Additionally, my work involves developing novel methods in machine learning, signal and Image processing, and data analytics for multidimensional SAR data. Furthermore, I am actively engaged in the field of big Earth data analytics with SAR for forestry, glaciology, and agriculture monitoring. In summary my research is focused on the following area:

• Artificial intelligence for Earth Observation (AI4EO)

• Big EO data analytics

• Advanced InSAR and PolSAR techniques for environmental monitoring.

I am a member of the Data Science and Intelligent Systems (DAIS) Earth and Planetary Observation Research Groups. I am also a member of the Stirling Vision and Image Processing Group (SVIP).

Projects

Multimodal data analysis for monitoring invasive aquatic weeds in India
PI: Dr Savi Maharaj
Funded by: Royal Academy of Engineering

Outputs (10)

Outputs

Conference Paper (unpublished)

Akbari V, Datta A, Bhowmik D, Marino A, Kumar S, Rupavatharam S, Prabhu GN, Kleczkowski A, R. P. Sujeetha JA & Maharaj S (2022) Multitemporal multispectral drone imagery for water hyacinth mapping in Patancheru lake, Hyderabad, India. Bostater CR (Editor) & Neyt X (Editor) Remote Sensing of the Ocean, Sea Ice, Coastal Waters, and Large Water Regions 2022, Berlin, Germany, 05.09.2022-08.09.2022. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2639004


Conference Proceeding

Bailey J, Marino A & Akbari V (2021) Comparison of target detectors to identify icebergs in Quad- Polarimetric SAR Alos-2 images. In: International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS). 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS, Brussels, Belgium, 11.07.2021-16.07.2021. Piscataway, NJ, USA: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. pp. 5223-5226. https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS47720.2021.9554230


Conference Proceeding

Bailey J, Marino A & Akbari V (2021) Determining Iceberg Scattering Mechanisms in Greenland Using Quad Pol ALOS-2 SAR Data. In: 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS. IGARSS 2021 - 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Brussels, Belgium, 11.07.2021-16.07.2021. Piscataway, NJ, USA: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss47720.2021.9553540


Conference Proceeding

Akbari V, Simpson M, Maharaj S, Marino A, Bhowmik D, Prabhu GN, Rupavatharam S, Datta A, Kleczkowski A & Sujeetha JARP (2021) Monitoring Aquatic Weeds In Indian Wetlands Using Multitemporal Remote Sensing Data With Machine Learning Techniques. In: 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS. International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Belgium, 12.07.2021-16.07.2021. Piscataway, NJ, USA: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS47720.2021.9553207


Review

Datta A, Maharaj S, Prabhu GN, Bhowmik D, Marino A, Akbari V, Rupavatharam S, Sujeetha JAR, Anantrao GG, Poduvattil VK, Kumar S & Kleczkowski A (2021) Monitoring the spread of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes): challenges and future developments. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, Art. No.: 631338. Biogeography and Macroecology, Invaders on the Horizon! Scanning the Future of Invasion Science and Management. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.631338


Teaching

Teaching

• Deep Learning for Vision and NLP

• Radar Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring

• Systems

• Representing and Manipulating Data

• Machine Learning

• Undergraduate Computer Science Project Supervision

• Masters Project Supervision

Teaching

Associate Fellowship of Advance HE
I hold Associate Fellowship of Advance HE