Assoc. Prof. Dr. Berhan Gessesse Awoke | Ethiopian Space Science and Geospataial Institute | Ethiopia
Dr. Berhan Gessesse is a leading Ethiopian expert in Remote Sensing, GIS, and Environmental Management, currently serving as the Remote Sensing Lead Executive Officer and Associate Professor. With over 20 years of professional and academic experience, he is widely recognized for integrating cutting-edge geospatial technologies into environmental policy, research, and sustainable development planning. Dr. Berhan earned his PhD from a joint program between Addis Ababa University and FA University of Erlangen-Nürnberg in 2013, focusing on the application of remote sensing for environmental monitoring. He has published 62 peer-reviewed articles, many in top international journals. His work spans topics like land use change, evapotranspiration modeling, ecosystem services, and AI-based geospatial modeling. A frequent collaborator in international research, he has trained across Europe, China, and Africa. His interdisciplinary expertise and leadership in academic research make him an ideal candidate for the Best Academic Researcher Award.
Publication Profile:
Scopus
✅ Strengths for the Award:
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Extensive Academic Qualifications
Dr. Gessesse holds a PhD in Remote Sensing and GIS for Environmental Management under a prestigious sandwich model (Germany–Ethiopia partnership), complemented by an MSc and BA in Geography and GIS from Addis Ababa University. His continued professional training across Europe and Asia shows international competence.
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High-Impact Research & Publications
With 62 scientific papers and numerous publications in top-tier journals (e.g., ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Environmental Challenges, Heliyon), Dr. Gessesse demonstrates strong research productivity and citation potential.
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Applied & Interdisciplinary Focus
His work applies AI, remote sensing, InSAR, and geospatial modeling to tackle real-world environmental challenges—from crop monitoring to ecosystem services and climate impacts—which aligns with global SDGs.
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Collaboration & Leadership
Co-authorship with international scholars and participation in global conferences (e.g., DAAD, Istanbul 2024) reflect strong collaborative engagement and academic leadership.
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Capacity Building & Training
Certification in Grant Proposal Writing and Training of Trainers indicates his role in mentoring and expanding research capacity.
🧩 Areas for Improvement:
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Global Recognition and Awards: While the academic record is strong, there’s no mention of prior international awards, fellowships, or memberships in elite scientific societies (e.g., IEEE, ISPRS), which could boost his academic visibility.
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Innovation Commercialization: Encouraging technology transfer or patent outputs may add value in linking research to practice.
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Public Science Communication: Participation in public engagement, open data platforms, or community-based projects could expand the societal impact of his work.
🎓 Education:
Dr. Berhan holds a PhD in Remote Sensing and GIS for Environmental Management (2013) from a joint program between Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) and FA University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany). He earned his MSc in Remote Sensing and GIS in 2007 and BA in Applied Geography in 2004 from Addis Ababa University, after obtaining a Diploma in Geography from Kotebe College in 1998. His academic qualifications are enriched by several international certifications, including a Training of Trainers in Grant Proposal Writing from the University of Cologne (2023), a Certificate in Meteorological and EO Satellite Products from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (2019), and specialized training from the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute in Water Resource Management (2018) and InSAR Image Processing (2017). His education showcases a strong foundation in geospatial science and continued professional development through global collaborations.
💼 Experience:
Dr. Berhan has over two decades of experience in teaching, research, and remote sensing project leadership. Currently, he serves as the Remote Sensing Lead Executive Officer, where he oversees national programs involving satellite-based environmental monitoring and resource management. As an Associate Professor and Senior Researcher, he mentors graduate students and supervises interdisciplinary projects that integrate remote sensing, GIS, machine learning, and environmental science. His past projects include modeling land use change, assessing evapotranspiration, ecosystem service valuation, and monitoring invasive species. Dr. Berhan is a sought-after collaborator in regional and international research initiatives and has presented at high-level academic and policy forums, including the DAAD Alumni Conference in Cairo. He also supports national capacity building by conducting specialized training in satellite image processing and spatial analysis. His experience uniquely blends academic insight with real-world application, making him a transformative leader in Ethiopia’s geospatial science landscape.
🔬 Research Focus:
Dr. Berhan Gessesse’s research is centered on the use of remote sensing and GIS for environmental monitoring, sustainable resource management, and climate change adaptation. He applies AI and machine learning models to estimate crop yield, land cover change, evapotranspiration, and ecosystem service values. His recent work focuses on the integration of Sentinel-2 imagery, vegetation indices, and ensemble algorithms for agricultural analysis in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. He also studies land use dynamics in ecologically sensitive watersheds using Artificial Neural Networks and Cellular Automata-Markov models. His research uniquely combines local community knowledge, geospatial technologies, and policy-driven outcomes. Notably, his team has developed methodologies for groundwater mapping, spatiotemporal water balance, and climate impact modeling. Dr. Berhan’s interdisciplinary work supports sustainable development, informing national policies on water, agriculture, and land management while advancing geospatial science in both academic and applied contexts.
📚 Publications Top Notes:
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📡 Satellite-Based energy balance for estimating sugarcane evapotranspiration in the Ethiopian Rift Valley – ISPRS, 2025
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🌾 Recursive feature elimination for summer wheat LAI using ensemble modeling in Central Ethiopia – Environmental Challenges, 2025
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🗺️ Exploring drivers of land use/land cover transformations in Goang watershed, Ethiopia – Environmental Challenges, 2024
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🌿 Vegetation indices-driven models for sugarcane evapotranspiration in the Ethiopian Rift Valley – ISPRS, 2024
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💰 Spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystem service values in Goang watershed – Environmental Challenges, 2024
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🔁 Modeling of land use/land cover dynamics using ANN and CA-Markov algorithms – Heliyon, 2023
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🌊 Water hyacinth dynamics and seasonal climate variability in Lake Tana, Ethiopia – Applied Water Science, 2023
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🌱 Sugarcane yield estimation using Sentinel-2 and Random Forest regression – ISPRS Archives, 2024
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💧 Spatio-temporal evaluation of water balance using WetSpass model in Ataye watershed – Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2023
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🧭 Groundwater potential mapping using remote sensing and AHP in Middle Awash Basin – Sustainable Water Resources Management, 2022
🏁 Conclusion:
Dr. Berhan Gessesse is highly suitable for the Best Academic Researcher Award. His technical excellence, interdisciplinary research, and consistent scholarly output make him a strong candidate. His work significantly contributes to environmental sustainability, geospatial science, and climate resilience in Ethiopia and beyond. With a few strategic enhancements in global visibility and applied innovation, Dr. Gessesse could emerge as a continental leader in environmental geoinformatics.