**About the Editors**

#### **John O. Odindi**

John O. Odindi holds a PhD in Environmental Geography with focus on terrestrial remote sensing. He is a full professor and former Head of Discipline of Geography and Environmental Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. His main interests are urban green spaces and urban microclimate using optical, thermal and Radar datasets, remote sensing of above ground biomass, local and regional carbon modelling, remote sensing of rangeland nutritive value and crop yield, remote sensing of plant invasive species and crop disease modelling. His current projects include; Drone based high spatial resolution crop phenotyping, Data science for global health and climate change, Earth observation big data science, Ecosystem/urban heat island nexus using remotely sensed datasets, The integrated pest management strategy for food security in Eastern Africa (FAW-IPM) and the African reference laboratory (with satellite stations) for the management of pollinator bee diseases and pests for food security. Professor Odindi has been previously selected as one of the 52 African researchers with outstanding contribution to Geo-information and Earth Observation on the continent. He is a Brown International Advanced Research Institute (BIARI) fellow of the Watson Institute, Brown University, Rhode Island, USA.

#### **Elhadi Adam**

Elhadi Adam (Professor) holds a PhD in Environmental Science with a specific focus on hyperspectral remote sensing. His expertise lies in the applications of remote sensing in applied environmental science and precision agriculture. He is interested in vegetation mapping and monitoring by integrating field-based, airborne and space-borne hyperspectral remote sensors for detecting subtle patterns in natural vegetation and crops. He focuses on biochemical concentration, invasive species mapping, wetland health, herbaceous biomass distribution and characterization of heterogeneous landscapes. His current research project is developing a support information system to provide a broader range of agronomically-relevant information about crop biophysical status and leaf biochemistry using remote sensing techniques and machine learning algorithms. Prof Adam's current research also focuses on detecting and mapping disease on crops and quantifying forest fragmentation and its impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

#### **Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman**

Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman (Research Scientist) holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences with over 14 years of experience in working with multidisciplinary teams of Environmental Scientists, Agronomists, Entomologists, Plant Pathologists, Vector Scientists, Mathematical Modelers, Computer Scientists, Engineers, Geographers and Social Scientists. He uses remote sensing, Earth observation and geospatial modelling tools to improve the management of complex agro-natural and urban systems and to enhance crop risks monitoring, forecasting and early warning systems. This extensive experience, coupled with his background as an Agronomist and a university Associate Professor, gives him an excellent foundation to carry out various remote sensing and geospatial modelling tasks to develop advisory tools for improving the health of human, plant, animal, and environment. His current research and development projects focus on assessing the effect of landscape dynamics and climate change on agricultural pests, malaria and tsetse vectors, crop yield using satellite data, data science and machine learning algorithms. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and the Editorial Boards of the International Journal of Tropical Sciences, and Frontiers in Multi- and Hyper-Spectral Imaging. Dr. Abdel-Rahman ranks among the best 10% scientists who apply remote sensing and GIS in agriculture in Africa. He is a Brown International Advanced Research Institute (BIARI) fellow of the Watson Institute, Brown University, Rhode Island, USA.

#### **Yuyu Zhou**

Yuyu Zhou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences at Iowa State University, USA. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography and Master of Science degree in Remote Sensing from Beijing Normal University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. Dr Zhou's general focus is the quantification of spatiotemporal patterns of environmental change and developing modeling mechanisms to bridge the driving forces (both natural and socioeconomic factors) and consequences of environmental change so that the impacts of human activities on environment can be effectively measured, modeled, and evaluated. Specifically, his research focuses and interest include the application of remote sensing, GIS, Integrated Assessment Modelling, and spatial analysis in ecosystem, environmental, and social sciences, including interdisciplinary areas: Energy sources, demand, climate change impact, high spatial and temporal energy and emissions modelling, hydrology and ecosystem modelling. He was awarded a NASA Land-Cover Land-Use Change (LCLUC) Research Grant for Early Career Scientist to study global urban expansion in the context of climate change. He previously worked as a Geographical Scientist at the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a partnership of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the University of Maryland.
