Karen Seto Spotlighted for Earth Observation Research

Karen Seto, Yale School of the Environment (YSE) Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography Urbanization, has been named one of 15 leading women in machine learning for Earth observation by Radiant Earth Foundation for her research of global importance.

The list spotlights women who are pioneering research into the planet’s ecosystem and breaking barriers in the field.

A member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Seto’s work includes tracking spatiotemporal urbanization patterns in China and India, and understanding the global impacts of urbanization on biodiversity, energy use, and climate change. She has developed novel methods to forecast urban expansion and to reconstruct urban land use with satellite imagery.

“It’s exciting to be on the list with such a stellar group of scientists doing pathbreaking use-inspired research,” Seto says. “From climate change to food security, we are collectively using Earth observation data to understand humanity’s impact on the planet and how to make the future planet more sustainable.”

According to Radiant Earth, its list emphasizes women whose work in the Earth observation sector of machine learning is of global importance, focuses on topics related to sustainability development goals that transcends geographical boundaries such as climate change, and has an element of diversity in application, data or human resource element.