Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Environmental Security
Our Mission
The Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Environmental Security is dedicated to strengthening environmental resilience and ecosystem sustainability through advanced geospatial science, remote sensing, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), lidar technologies, and integrated field-based monitoring. The Center develops high-quality environmental intelligence to support land restoration, natural resource protection, and climate adaptation, particularly in environmentally vulnerable and economically dependent regions such as the coal-dominant regions of Eastern Kentucky.
By integrating satellite, airborne, and in-situ datasets, the Center generates actionable indicators of soil and water quality, vegetation recovery, microclimate variability, and land degradation processes. Our work supports long-term monitoring of reclaimed mine sites, improves the assessment of restoration effectiveness, and provides geospatial decision tools for stakeholders, including land managers, researchers, and communities.
In addition to its research mission, the Center promotes workforce development and education through hands-on student training, interdisciplinary collaborations, and partnerships that improve science communication and community preparedness for extreme weather and environmental risks.
What we do
1) Develop a long-term environmental benchmark database
Establish a standardized geospatial database of soil and water quality for reclaimed mine sites and reference ecosystems to support long term monitoring and comparisions.
2) Advanced aerial monitoring of vegetation recovery and ecosystem health
Use satellite data, UAV multispectral imagery, and lidar-derived indices to quantify vegetation dynamics, growth patterns, biomass trends, and reclamation sucess across disturbed landscapes.
3) Quantify soil erosion and land degradation risks
Apply geospatial modelling approaches such as USLE, RUSLE, SWAT etc frameworks to estimate soil loss, sediment movement and erosion hotspots and evaluate the effectiveness of reclamation strategies in reduce land degradation
4) Stregthen microclimate monitoring and ecosystem exchange observations
Implement continuous monitoring of CO2 and water vapor exchange, precipitation, wind, soil moisture, radiation and humidity to support long-term studies of CO2 exchange characterization, regrowth phenology, biomass-productivity, water, vegetation, and carbon balance, remotely sensed data validation, and other research and education activities with local high schools, stakeholders, and agencies.
5) Promote workforce dvelopment through student training, certificate courses, STEM
program and applied research
Provide hands-on training for students, in GIS, remote sensing, UAV/lidar data processing, field sampling, geospatial modelling and cerficate courses on GIS/ remote sensing and climate change studies.
6) Human-environment vulnerability assessments
Conduct research that connect environmental change with community vulnerability and equity related outcomes to improve inclusive planning, and targeted risk reduction in high-impact regions.
7) Interdisciplinary partnerships and research collaborations
Stregthen collaborations with universities, agencies, high schools, and community stakeholders to support data sharing, research translation, and scalable environment solutions across watersheds and reclaimed regions
8) Produce research outputs and publish evidence-based solutions
Generate high quality scientific outputs including peer-reviewed publications, and conference presentations that strengthen the credibility and impact of the research projects.
Overview
Content goes here.
Team
Content goes here.
Grants
Content goes here.
Research Projects
Content goes here.
Publications
Content goes here.
News
Content goes here.
Presentations
Content goes here.
STEM URA Experience
During my STEM URA journey, I worked on three hands-on research projects: investigating how different fertilization practices influence seedling development, analyzing how various production systems affect the growth of Early Girl tomatoes, and exploring the potential of square-foot gardening as a sustainable method for enhancing local food production in Kentucky. Throughout this experience, I connected with many supportive and knowledgeable individuals who offered valuable insights that helped shape my career goals in agriculture. I also had the opportunity to visit Frankfort’s Humane Society with Ms. Gae Broadwater, work on the farm, and collaborate with professors and graduate students. These experiences allowed me to learn more about the innovative research being conducted by other STEM students.
TyMeisha Smith, Agriculture Systems Major, Senior
This semester, my STEM Undergraduate Research Assistant experience focused on my project, “Rural vs. Urban Differences in Diabetes Prevalence in the United States.” I analyzed national health datasets to compare diabetes trends across rural and urban populations, looking at contributing factors such as access to care, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle patterns. Through this project, I strengthened my skills in data interpretation, literature review, and understanding health disparities. This research helped me see how geography shapes health outcomes and reinforced my interest in public health, healthcare access, and clinical research.
Timiyah Roberson, Biology Major, Senior
As a STEM URA, I worked on a research project titled Maternal Mortality in Kentucky: Understanding Causes and Preventions. My work focused on reviewing existing data and studies to understand why Kentucky has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. I learned how to analyze both medical and social factors, like access to care, poverty, and racial disparities. This project helped me build strong skills in literature review, data interpretation, and public health research. It also made me more aware of how policy, healthcare access, and community conditions shape maternal health. Being part of the STEM URA program gave me hands-on research experience, mentorship, and the chance to contribute to a real public health issue that affects families in Kentucky.
Narimane, Psychology Major