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Sorin Popescu
- Professor
- Office:
- WFES 334
- Email:
- s-popescu@tamu.edu
- Phone:
- (979) 862-2614
- Resume/CV
- https://lasers.tamu.edu
- Undergraduate Education
- Diploma Degree, Transylvania University, Forest Engineer
- Graduate Education
- Ph.D. Forestry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Postdoctoral Study, Forestry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Professional Summary
Dr. Sorin Popescu’s academic interests focus on the application of remote sensing, in particular, and spatial sciences, in general, in natural resources assessment, monitoring, and management. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Forestry at Virginia Tech. At Texas A&M University, he is currently teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in aerial photography, image interpretation, and remote sensing. His research interests include remote sensing applications in natural resources and forest sciences, assessment of forest fuels, forest volume and biomass, land use and land cover change, forest carbon sources and sinks, and global environmental change. He has developed various algorithms and software tools for multisensor data fusion and for processing LIDAR data for estimating forest biophysical parameters, such as stand density, tree height, crown diameter, volume, and biomass. Visit his personal web page for more information on recent projects and publications.
Research Interests and Specializations
Dr. Sorin C. Popescu’s research area is in remote sensing of the environment, with a specialty in laser or lidar remote sensing of vegetation structure, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS/UAV), sensors and algorithmic methodologies to derive vegetation biophysical parameters and three- dimensional structure, including biomass, carbon, and fuels and fire risk. He has developed innovative methods of remote sensing data processing and authored highly cited peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. He serves as Principal Investigator on a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Team for the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat 2) satellite Lidar mission.
LASERS Lab
The LASERS Lab conducts research in remote sensing of the environment, with a core component in laser or lidar remote sensing of three-dimensional vegetation structure using data from sensors on terrestrial, airborne and spaceborne platforms. The lab focuses on algorithmic developments to derive vegetation biophysical parameters, including biomass, carbon, forest fuels, fire risk, and other structural metrics that enable advanced research in ecological and earth system sciences. The lab owns and operates advanced laser scanning and imaging systems on terrestrial and UAV/UAS platforms and uses state of the art remote sensing methods for assessing ecosystem dynamics and land cover mapping.