Earth observation & applied AI

Amir
Hassanzadeh.

Understanding our world through remote sensing, machine learning, and physical simulation.

Research Assistant Professor
Rochester Institute of Technology

Aerial view of the simulated Harvard Forest landscape
Harvard Forest · DIRSIG simulationView project ↗

Research & software

Selected projects

From learning representations of Earth to simulating the sensors that observe it.

Spatio-Spectral-Temporal Foundation Model
01 / Foundation modelsMarch 2026 – Present

Hyperspectral Foundation Model

Learning spectral, spatial, and temporal representations to study vegetation stress and environmental change.

  • PyTorch
  • Hyperspectral imaging
  • Transformers
Explore project ↗
Scene Constructor: Large-Scale DIRSIG Simulation
02 / Physics-based simulationJan 2024 – Present

Scene Constructor

Automated scene construction for Landsat-scale simulations and sensor trade studies.

  • DIRSIG
  • DGGRID
  • MODTRAN
Explore project ↗
SPLASH: Multimodal Drone Hyperspectral Fusion
04 / Computer visionJan 2023 – Present

SPLASH Hyperspectral Fusion

Aligning VNIR and SWIR pushbroom imagery from separate drones through global, row-wise, and elastic correction.

  • Image registration
  • VNIR–SWIR
  • Computer vision
Explore project ↗
07 / Open-source software2020 – 2022

Jostar

Nine feature-selection algorithms for regression and classification, with a familiar Scikit-Learn-style interface.

  • Python
  • Scikit-Learn
  • Feature selection
Explore project ↗

Papers & collaboration

Publications

Google Scholar ↗
  1. 2026
  2. 2026
  3. 2025
  4. 2025

    Enhancing snap bean yield prediction through synergistic integration of UAS-Based LiDAR and multispectral imagery

    Computers and Electronics in Agriculture · 230, 109923

  5. 2023

    Forecasting Table Beet Root Yield Using Spectral and Textural Features from Hyperspectral UAS Imagery

    Remote Sensing · 15(3), 794

  6. 2022

    Evaluation of Leaf Area Index (LAI) of Broadacre Crops Using UAS-Based LiDAR Point Clouds and Multispectral Imagery

    IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing · 15, 4027–4044

  7. 2022

    On the Use of Imaging Spectroscopy from Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to Model Yield and Assess Growth Stages of a Broadacre Crop

    Ph.D. dissertation · Rochester Institute of Technology

  8. 2021
  9. 2021
  10. 2021
  11. 2020
  12. 2020

About

Research meets
implementation.

Amir HassanzadehDownload résumé ↗

I am a Research Assistant Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, working at the intersection of remote sensing, machine learning, and physics-based simulation. I develop methods and software for extracting meaningful information from satellite, drone, hyperspectral, thermal, and LiDAR observations.

My work spans self-supervised geospatial foundation models, Landsat surface-temperature retrieval and uncertainty, large-scale DIRSIG scene construction, and agricultural monitoring. I earned my Ph.D. in Imaging Science from RIT in 2022, where my research connected greenhouse spectroscopy with drone-based crop yield and harvest-maturity assessment.

I also teach Applications of Machine Learning in Remote Sensing and advise graduate and undergraduate researchers. Earlier industry experience at AgerPoint and PrecisionHawk informs my focus on practical, usable research software.

  • Research Assistant Professor · RITApril 2026 – Present
  • Researcher / Engineer II · RITJune 2022 – April 2026
  • Ph.D. in Imaging Science · RIT2022
  • B.Sc. in Engineering · University of Guilan2016

Get in touch

Research, collaboration, and opportunities.

amirxhassanzadeh@gmail.com