Team Leader
Joseph Awange is a professor of Environmental Geoinformatics at the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) having previously worked at Curtin University (Australia). His research interests are sensing of environmental changes employing geospatial and AI techniques, hydroclimate, climate variability/change, climate extremes and mathematical geosciences (algebraic & numerical solutions). He obtained his BSc and MSc degrees in Surveying (University of Nairobi, Kenya). Joseph was awarded a merit scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Program (DAAD), which facilitated his obtaining a second MSc degree and PhD in Geodesy at Stuttgart University (Germany) under the supervision of the late Prof Erik W. Grafarend (one of the world’s renown geodesists). In 2002-2004, he was awarded the prestigious Japan Society of Promotion of Science (JSPS; Japan) Fellowship to pursue postdoctoral research in Environmental Geodesy at Kyoto University. His research output has been globally recognized through prestigious Awards (i) Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Fellowships (2008-2011 Ludwig Leichhardt Memorial Fellowship for experienced researchers, 2015 & 2019 AvH support in acknowledgment of his scientific achievements in his specific academic field and in recognition of his contribution towards scientific cooperation with German colleagues), (ii) 2015 JSPS Fellowship, and (iii), Brazil Frontier of Science (Brazil). Joseph who holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) from Murdoch University (Australia) is currently serving as the Acquisition Manager for Springer Nature (world-leading research, educational and professional publisher) in charge of Earth Sciences, Geography, and Environment books. He attained International Editorial role in Springer Earth Science Books and has authored more than 25 scholarly books with the prestigious Springer publisher and more than 250 peer-reviewed high-impact journal publications.
Jielong earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Surveying and Mapping from the College of Surveying and Geo-informatics at Tongji University, Shanghai. He served as a Research Associate in Spatial Science at Curtin University (Oct 2023 - Feb 2025). His research focuses on deep learning techniques for reconstructing and downscaling historical and high-resolution water storage changes. He also investigates water storage variations in river basins using satellite observations, reanalysis, and hydrological models.
Duo Wang obtained his B.Sc. in Information and Computing Science and M.Sc. in Computer Science from Beijing University of Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in Geodesy and Geoinformatics from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Germany) under Prof. Hansjörg Kutterer. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research focuses on deep learning in Geodesy, particularly in tropospheric modeling and GNSS-based climate and environmental studies.
Yuli received her master's degree from the School of Geography and Planning at Sun Yat-sen University, where her research focused on the quantitative risk assessment of earthquake-induced cascading geological hazards using remote sensing and machine learning techniques. Her PhD research further focuses on landslide risk assessment under climate change, aiming to dynamically predict landslide triggers and impact extent, quantify disaster impacts, and support disaster early warning and management.
Nahom Bekele Mena's PhD investigates the hydrological dynamics of the Nile and Congo Basins, focusing on impacts of climate change, the Jonglei Canal Project’s feasibility, and the water-forest-carbon nexus. By integrating hydrological and AI-driven models, the project assesses water availability, ecosystem sustainability, and interventions for sustainable water resource management.
Yuyu Yang is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Geography and Ocean Science at Nanjing University. She is currently with Prof Joseph Awange’s team on a Chinese Scholarship Council (2025-2026) but based at Curtin University, Australia. Her main research focuses on (i) estimating N2O and NH3 emissions from croplands, and (ii), applying remote sensing to monitor thermal activities (e.g., wildfires) and assessing their environmental impacts (e.g., CO2/CH4 emissions).
Professional Services
Director of Research Postgraduate Studies (LSGI)
Acquisition Manager, Springer Nature Book Publishers
Associate Editor, Remote Sensing of Environment
Associate Editor, Science of Remote Sensing
Contact Details
Address:The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 11 Yuk Choi Rd, Hung Hom,Hong Kong, China
Phone: +852 2766 4304
Email: joseph.awange@polyu.edu.hk