Professor Ed Mitchard, Chief Technical Officer & Co-founder

Ed is a world expert in the field of satellite mapping of land cover change and forest properties. As such Ed is our Chief Science Advisor, bringing great scientific weight to the work of Space Intelligence. He is also a Professor in the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh.

He has published over 60 peer reviewed papers in this field, which have been referred to in the scientific literature over 6000 times.

He has won over £4 million (US$5.5 million) in research funding, from UK and US governments as well as the European Space Agency, the European Union and the World Bank.

In addition to expertise in developing and testing methods for using different types of satellite data to map forest change, he has also led field campaigns to collect ground data in countries including Brazil, Cameroon, Gabon, Kenya, Peru and Uganda.

He has advised governments including those of Gabon, Cameroon, Colombia and the UK on land use monitoring methods and forest inventory, and conducted training workshops on the use of remote sensing data across the world.

Dr Keiko Nomura – Analytics Lead

Keiko has a unique expertise combining policy analysis and remote sensing /earth observation. Before coming to Edinburgh, she worked for UNDP and UNEP on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) in Southeast Asia, where she assessed the readiness of countries participating in REDD+ and provided technical assistance in developing national strategies and communication tools. She was also part of the team that created the REDD+ academy, a capacity development initiative by the UN-REDD Programme, and directly contributed to several modules in the curriculum.

Driven by the urgent need for better data in forest monitoring, Keiko left the UN and spent three years in PhD research and successfully developed methodologies to detect forest loss and identify drivers of deforestation with high accuracy and at low costs.

At Space Intelligence, she leads our Technology team, developing and enhancing our technology to map and monitor the world’s Natural Capital.

Kristian Bodolai – Developer

Kristian is a data scientist and developer with a genuine passion for Science and Nature. He holds a BSc Hons in Physics from University of Valencia where he specialised in General Relativity and in Nonlinear Dynamics.

After his formal studies he took a deep interest in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, and he has been studying it since. Here at Space Intelligence he aims to expand his knowledge and apply what he learned from Physics and ML/AI to develop effective, nature based solutions to climate change. Kristian works on our code base, developing our deep analytics and satellite analysis platforms.

Wietze Suijker – Geospatial Analyst

After his MSc in GIS, Wietze worked in a Water & IT company in Utrecht as the technical lead in a range of international satellite data-driven projects. These projects were developed to help small-holder farmers in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. 

Wietze enjoys creating IT solutions that transform big data into information to support decision-making. At Space Intelligence, Wietze focuses on the development of technologies that exploit remote sensing data with Python to create scalable real-time information services.  

With a passion for geospatial technology, Wietze aims to continuously improve his data science skills, be a trustworthy colleague and deliver sustainable results.

Dr Alexis Moyer – Geospatial Analyst

Alexis is the newest recruit to the Space Intelligence team, where she brings her wealth of experience in satellite data analysis to use and build our service offering to clients.

Alexis is a glaciologist by training, with expertise in combining remotely-sensed and field-based data to provide solutions to complex environmental research questions. She has an MSc from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she developed novel methodology to estimate submarine melt rates of tidewater glaciers and icebergs around the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

As part of her MSc and PhD, degrees, Alexis has conducted field campaigns at Bridge Glacier in the Southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia as well as in south-west Greenland, collecting ground data and installing and maintaining a network of time-lapse cameras to capture glacier calving and retreat.

After completing her PhD, Alexis worked as a hydrologist for an environmental consultancy in Edinburgh, using hydrological and topographical data to predict flooding from future extreme weather events.

Michael Berliner – Business Development Manager

Michael has a broad range of expertise, with a degree in Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology from the University of Oxford, and experience since producing films and adverts – including producing the award winning feature film Adult Life Skills, starring Jodie Whittaker. 

Michael has always had a fascination with science and space, and the environment, and has joined us during our period of rapid growth to use his project management and press/marketing experience to our advantage. 

Carol Blackwood – Geospatial Analyst

Carol is a geospatial professional with 15 years experience in supporting and delivering geospatial services. She holds a degree in Geography and a MSc in GIS both from the University of Edinburgh.  Carol’s interest in remote sensing applications for Forestry took her to a savanna woodland in Belize to research the use of InSAR for tree height estimation for her Master’s dissertation.  

Carol then worked for the Forestry Commission as a GIS Manager, supporting the use of GIS across Scottish forest districts and maintaining the forest inventory database.  In 2008, she moved to EDINA where she spent many years as a key member developing and delivering the Digimap and Digimap for Schools online mapping services for UK schools and HEFE. Working closely with software engineers, users and stakeholders she planned, scoped and delivered new services and enhancements, as well as providing expert support and training in the use of GIS and geospatial data. 

Aisling Hurley – Junior Analyst

Aisling holds a master’s degree in Astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh, with a year abroad at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.  During her degree she took courses covering a wide range of topics in physics, including atmospheric physics and computer simulation in Python.  In her research projects, she has investigated the interiors of ice giant planets and outlined mission logistics for travelling to a proposed space station.  At Space Intelligence, Aisling aims to apply and build upon the knowledge and skills she developed through her degree.

Marina Ruiz Sánchez-Oro – Associate

Marina is a PhD student researching ways to detect and predict landslides using remote sensing and machine learning, with a particular focus on deep learning practises.

With a masters degree in Physics from the University of Edinburgh, Marina enjoys all things programming  and maths related. She has kept an active interest in the environmental sciences throughout her degree, which has led her to do work on topics such as atmospheric physics and meteorology.

After a great experience in a short placement with Space Intelligence in early 2020, she is rejoining the team for an industrial CASE studentship.

Harry Carstairs – Associate 

Harry took an interest in optics and image processing during his masters degree in Physics (University of Edinburgh). He is now studying for a PhD in the remote sensing of tropical forests, in which he will develop advanced radar processing techniques for the detection of forest degradation. This application of technical skills to provide solutions to environmental issues is also motivated him to undertake a 3 month internship at Space Intelligence, which he completed at the end of 2020.