Award-Winning Study: HydroAI Lab Uses AI and Satellites to Analyze Urban Heat in Gwangju

We enjoyed a memorable evening of basketball and camaraderie with Professor Venkataraman Lakshmi, President-Elect of the AGU Hydrology section, who later delivered an insightful seminar on integrating land surface models and remote sensing to better understand and predict hydrological extremes like floods and droughts.

From October 7–10, 2024, NASA scientists from JPL and GSFC visited GIST and the HydroAI Lab for seminars and collaborative field visits, engaging with students and working on the development of a Core Validation Site (CVS) in Hampyeong to support soil moisture research and satellite validation efforts.

From November to December 2024, HydroAI Lab welcomed Sophia Bakar from the University of Virginia for a collaborative research stay, leading to joint AGU presentations on flash and agricultural drought prediction using deep learning and remote sensing.

HydroAI Lab students actively participated in the AOGS conference in Pyeongchang, with Aigerim Bolatbekkyzy winning Best Poster in Hydrological Sciences, highlighting the lab’s strong presence and international engagement in geoscience research.

Graduate students from HydroAI Lab traveled to Washington, D.C. to present their cutting-edge research at AGU 2024, showcasing their work on soil moisture, snow patterns, etc. to an international scientific audience.

At Korea International Water Week 2024, GIST students Subin Kim and Nayoung Kwon won first and fourth prizes, respectively, in a competitive student session on hydrology and remote sensing, judged by leading international scholars.

Our lab’s project, led by Seongjun Lee and Subin Kim, was recognized as an excellent research study under the Gwangju Climate and Energy Agency’s Small Research Grant Program for using satellite imagery and AI to analyze urban heat island trends in Gwangju.

We are proud to share that Seongjun Lee’s research, presented at AGU, has been featured on NASA Landsat Science for its innovative use of satellite and reanalysis data with deep learning to monitor water quality in Korea’s inland reservoirs.

HydroAI lab members visited the Unite States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to exchange insights on soil moisture monitoring and explore joint research opportunities, including establishing domestic cal/val sites for satellite-based hydrological remote sensing.

We visited NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to exchange research on water resources management using Earth observation satellites and explore opportunities for international collaboration in satellite-based hydrology.

Subin Kim, an Integrated MS/PhD student, was awarded a prestigious scholarship from the National Research Foundation of Korea, which supports graduate students with 12 million won in research funds for one year based on the evaluation of their proposals.

HydroAI Lab participated in the 2024 KWRA Conference at Jeju, gaining valuable experience through presentations, networking, and exposure to cutting-edge water research.