Mmasechaba Lebogang Moropane l Environmental Sciences | Research Excellence Award

Ms. Mmasechaba Lebogang Moropane l Environmental Sciences | Research Excellence Award

 University of the Western Cape | South Africa

Ms. Mmasechaba Lebogang Moropane is a Doctoral Researcher in Environmental and Water Sciences at the University of the Western Cape with an MSc (Summa Cum Laude) and BSc Honours in the same field. Her education integrates remote sensing, hydrology, geospatial analysis, machine learning, and big data analytics. Professionally, she serves as an Earth Science Departmental Research Assistant, supporting teaching and contributing to peer-reviewed journals, policy-oriented reports, and international conferences. Her research interests focus on groundwater-dependent ecosystems, non-perennial rivers, land degradation, and food–water security in semi-arid regions, employing advanced satellite analytics, AI, and XAI. She has received recognition through high-impact publications, peer-review roles, and national and international research collaborations, positioning her as a promising early-career researcher with strong interdisciplinary impact.

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Featured Publications

International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 2026
Mmasechaba L. Moropane; Cletah Shoko; Timothy Dube; Dominic Mazvimavi

Alicia Palacios-Orueta | Spatial Data Analysis | Research Excellence Award

Dr. Alicia Palacios-Orueta | Spatial Data Analysis | Research Excellence Award

 Universidad Politécnica de Madrid | Spain

Dr. Alicia Palacios-Orueta is a Full Professor (Catedrática de Universidad) in the Department of Agroforestry Engineering at the Technical University of Madrid (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM), with an internationally recognized career in environmental science and remote sensing. She holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from UPM and completed her MSc and PhD in Soil Science at the University of California, Davis. Her academic trajectory spans more than two decades, including appointments as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Full Professor, as well as research positions in leading international institutions in the United States, Italy, Israel, and Sweden. Her research focuses on soil science, climatology, meteorology, geology, plant ecology, remote sensing, hyperspectral analysis, and spatial–temporal time series analysis. She is especially known for pioneering work on hyperspectral indices for soil and vegetation assessment and for innovative statistical approaches to remote sensing time series with spatial dimensions. Her research has received international visibility, including coverage by Nature Geoscience and New Scientist, and she has contributed to advisory bodies such as the Seosat/Ingenio Mission Advisory Group. She has coordinated numerous national and international research projects, supervised doctoral theses, and taught extensively at undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. Her scholarly impact is reflected in 44 documents, an h-index of 21, and approximately 1,743 citations. Overall, Dr. Palacios-Orueta is a leading scholar whose work has significantly advanced the understanding of land–atmosphere interactions and environmental monitoring through remote sensing.

Citation Metrics (Scopus)

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Citations
1,743

Documents
44

h-index
21

Citations

Documents

h-index

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Featured Publications

Rozana Ghandy | Digital Data | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Rozana Ghandy | Digital Data | Best Researcher Award

 Islamic Azad University, Tehran | Iran

Dr. Rozana Ghandy is an academic researcher in physical oceanography, pursuing doctoral studies at the Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University, where her work focuses on analyzing heat fluxes over the North Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf using advanced weather reanalysis datasets. She holds a master’s degree in oceanography from Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, where she investigated geostrophic currents through field measurements and satellite observations, and a bachelor’s degree in science from Isfahan University. With extensive teaching experience across multiple educational levels—including physics instruction at pre-university, high-school, and laboratory settings—she has contributed significantly to academic development and educational leadership. Her research interests include air–sea interactions, ocean circulation, climate variability, regional sea dynamics, and the application of remote sensing in marine studies. She has presented and published studies on physical parameters in coastal regions, surface flux behavior, and standardized approaches to air–sea heat flux assessment across key marine basins. Her academic achievements include competitive rankings in national entrance examinations and scholarships recognizing her scientific potential. Overall, her work reflects a dedication to advancing understanding of ocean–atmosphere processes and contributing to the broader field of marine and climate science.

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Featured Publication

Study of surface fluxes over the Northern Indian Ocean Seas, 2023