This week, in our ‘Meet the experts behind Earth Blox,’ series we talk to Dr Michael Lefsky, Senior Remote Sensing Scientist at Earth Blox. Michael brings over 30 years’ experience in remote sensing, forest ecology, and environmental science to Earth Blox. A pioneer in LiDAR remote sensing technology, his work has been cited over 15,000 times, making him a leading expert in the field. We are very proud to have him as part of our team and to introduce you to him in this post. Let’s learn more about Michael here.
How and when did you become interested in Earth observation?
I first became involved in Earth observation in 1989. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, I worked for a firm where I wound up doing a lot of Earth observation. When I went to graduate school, I knew that it was something I wanted to pursue. Remote sensing was accelerating along with the general availability of computers and it was a really exciting time to be studying that and developing those new techniques.
Tell us about your qualifications and experience.
Following my Bachelor's degree, and two years in industry, I began studying for a Master's degree at the University of Virginia under the supervision of Hank Shugart, one of the great systems and forest ecologists. During my degree, he convinced me to apply for a NASA-sponsored Earth Systems Science Fellowship. I didn’t think I’d get awarded the grant, but I was successful! I ended up ditching the Master’s and transferring to a NASA-funded PhD in Environmental Science.
My PhD project was focused on using Earth observation data for making forest measurements; a technology which didn’t really exist back then. During my PhD, I heard about a new NASA technology called LiDAR (light detection, imaging, and ranging), which uses short-duration pulses of laser light to measure, for example, the distance between objects, or the height of trees. Having studied and worked as a forest ecologist for a while, I intuitively knew that LiDAR had huge potential. So I jumped into it, and I was very fortunate to be one of the pioneers in that field. We provided support for NASA’s ICESat mission, which used satellite data to measure ice fields and which we adapted to measuring forest height and biomass. Following this, I supported the science development team for ICESat 2 and the DesDyni mission which eventually led to the GEDI mission, a laser instrument which is currently measuring forest structure and density from onboard the International Space Station. LiDAR is now an essential remote sensing tool with extremely high market value, and I was involved in pioneering that technology.
Following my PhD, I held a 5-year postdoc research position in the Pacific Northwest forestry centre in Oregon, where I further developed these techniques for quantifying forest canopy structure - and how much biomass (and therefore, carbon) a forest is storing aboveground. This led to a tenure track position at Colorado State University, where I had a very successful research career, being promoted to Professor. Fifteen months ago, I left to pursue a new and exciting opportunity with Earth Blox, and here I am now.
What’s your role at Earth Blox and how did you get involved?
I still remember the jealousy I felt when I saw a very early webinar about Earth Blox. This was about six months before I joined the company. I’d worked in the Earth observation sector for so long and I’d never seen anything like it, and I recognised it as a brilliant idea! After I’d announced that I was planning to leave my position at Colorado State University, Earth Blox got in touch with me and asked if I’d like to join the team. It was a no-brainer. Of course, I said yes, and I jumped right in.
My role at Earth Blox is Senior Remote Sensing Scientist. I’m involved with creating the foundational architecture of Earth Blox. Our Head of Product and software developers are responsible for the design and behaviour of blocks and workflows, and I bring the insight that allows us to create these blocks. They need to be specific enough to carry out the required functions, but be general enough to be used for any number of remote sensing applications. My job is to come up with clever ways to keep Earth Blox flexible and easy to use, without compromising on its power or ability to deliver.
What project or experience are you particularly proud of?
My work with LiDAR was great, but I’d have to say that the project I’m most proud of is what we’re doing here, with Earth Blox, which is something special. LiDAR was amazing, but it was for a very focused, technical audience, which really limits who is able to use that data. As the importance of Earth observation data grows, there are new groups of people that want and need to get involved in analysis using remote sensing. Earth Blox has given me the opportunity to affect a wide range of people by creating an intuitive way for them to do this. We’re plugging the science into the platform, but designing a user interface that anyone can use, even if they have a limited understanding of Earth observation or how to use satellite data.
What does your work at Earth Blox involve? What does a typical day look like for you?
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One challenge with the design of Earth Engine is that it was created by people who are incredibly smart. Most people find the concepts difficult to understand, and, having worked with students for a long time, I’ve gained an appreciation that even very intelligent people don’t necessarily have the inclination for the highly detailed, abstract, technical work required to optimise the platform. They still spend a lot of time looking up really basic things.
My role at Earth Blox aims to improve accessibility and ease of use of the powerful Earth observation data that is available through Earth Engine to save time for the user. I understand some of the biggest problems for users of Earth observation data, I simplify them, and then I translate that into architecture and product specifications which can be handed off to the engineering team to develop. My job consists of two parts. One half is design-based; I spend time working on how things should look and how we can make Earth Blox as intuitive and easy to understand as possible. The other half involves the preparation of datasets for incorporation into Earth Blox. Working with the software team, we are aiming to develop software intelligent enough to understand the data it’s using, and translate this in a way that limits the need for users to be constantly looking things up.
Why is building Earth Blox important to you?
There are too many people needing access to systematic ways of measuring and understanding what’s happening on the Earth’s surface to solve real-world problems, whether that’s large companies, agriculturalists, or environmental scientists. The biggest block to people being able to use this data is their understanding of how the current software works. Most people don’t necessarily have the time or desire to study the hardcore computer science needed to optimise their use of Earth observation data. But access to Earth observation data can no longer be the province of just experts, who understand the specifics of Google Earth Engine, and can write code to manipulate this data. That’s why Earth Blox is needed, to simplify the process and remove the blockers to understanding and applying satellite data.
How do you think Earth observation technology will evolve in the next 5-10 years?
Earth observation technology has evolved so much in the last 30 years, and if I manage to stay in this industry for another 10 years, I expect to see everything change entirely again! I think that, in the future, there’s going to be a lot more data available and that will completely change how we monitor the Earth’s surface. I think it’s very likely that there’ll be more access to multi- and hyper-spectral data: robust imaging data that will allow scientists to look at things such as forest composition in much higher detail.