PhD candidate Saba Hosseini Tabesh has earned two international honours at the 2026 International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) Congress and ISPRS Student Consortium Summer School.
At the ISPRS Congress, Saba received third place in the Three-Minute Thesis Competition, where participants were challenged to explain their research in just three minutes to a broad, non-specialist audience. Her award-winning presentation highlighted her research on the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission, which uses radar technology to measure water surface elevations across rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and oceans. Her work investigates the reliability of satellite-derived water measurements and aims to develop artificial intelligence methods to identify and correct uncertain observations, supporting applications such as flood monitoring, water-resource management, and climate research.
Saba also received the Best Challenging Solution and Presentation Award at the ISPRS Student Consortium Summer School, Geospatial Innovations for Climate Action. Working with an international team of students, she helped develop an AI-based geospatial approach to improve wildfire risk assessment in Northern Alberta. The team's proposed solution integrates satellite imagery, environmental data, weather information, and machine learning to identify areas experiencing conditions associated with elevated wildfire risk, with the goal of supporting preparedness and resource planning.
Reflecting on the recognition, Saba expressed her gratitude to her supervisor, Dr. Chen, the Department of Geography and Planning, her international teammates, and the ISPRS organizers, mentors, and judges for their support throughout both events.
Congratulations to Saba on these outstanding achievements!