Seonyoung Park, who completed her Ph.D. in the School of Urban and Environmental Engineering at UNIST, has recently been appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Artificial Intelligence Applications at Makers College, Seoul National University of Science and Technology. Her term began on September 1, 2020.
The Department of Artificial Intelligence Applications is a newly-established department within the Makers College of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, which began recruiting first-year students, as of this year, with the aim of cultivating talents who will lead the era of 4th industrial revolution in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). At Makers College, Dr. Park will embark on a career as an educator in the field of environmental monitoring, using satellite imagery and AI.
Dr. Park’s research interests lie primarily in the areas of satellite remote sensing, GIS, and machine learning. Among those, her main area of research is satellite-based environmental monitoring. She has carried out various convergence research in AI during the processing of satellite data. Dr. Park received both her Bachelor of Science degree and doctorate from UNIST. She earned her doctorate in 2018 under the mentorship of Professor Jungho Im in the School of Urban and Environmental Engineering.
From left are Professor Jungho Im (School of Urban and Environmental Engineering) and Dr. Seonyoung Park.
“When it comes to satellites, I thought communications and GPS were everything that’s to it,” says Dr. Park. “Thanks to the great guidance of Professor Im and the academic traditions of UNIST that place great emphasis on convergence and challenge, I became interested in the field of satellite remote sensing.”
Dr. Park has conducted various research projects, aimed at monitoring environment and natural disasters. In particular, she has developed a new drought index based on her interests, and also carried out studies devoted to drought forecasting. That is to forecast droughts through the development of a new drought index, using AI and information, extracted from satellite data, such as soil moisture, the amount of precipitation, surface temperature, and vegetation index or using time series of drought indices. Recently, she published a research paper that analyzes the relationship between drought occurrence in East Africa and climate change, such as El Niño and La Niña.
“Satellite remote sensing provides a wealth of data about Earth systems on a global scale,” says Dr. Park. “And thus, it can be of great help in monitoring natural hazards and disasters, especially in developing countries where observations are sparse.” She adds, “I would like to contribute to the safety of the people through research that help monitor various disasters situations.”
Dr. Seonyoung Park has been always enthusiastic to learn and undertake new challenges. Prior to joining Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Dr. Park has been very successful and accomplished in her field. In her second year of undergraduate studies, Dr. Park served her internship at the laboratory of Professor Myong-In Lee (School of Urban and Environmental Engineering, UNIST) and fulfilled her internship experience at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. Upon completing her PhD, Dr. Park served as a senior researcher at Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
“I look forward to teaching and to sharing my own experience and expertise in the field of satellite remote sensing,” says Dr. Park.
