Gautam Dadhich

Biography

Gautam Dadhich is a researcher in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Ecosystem Services Research Group of the IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program. He is a leading geospatial and data science specialist with over 12 years of experience in agriculture, land management, and water resources through advanced earth observation and geospatial analytics.

Research focus and expertise

Dadhich leads the integration of advanced geospatial tools and data science to tackle challenges in agriculture, land, and water sectors. Using Google Earth Engine (GEE), he develops land cover mapping products for monitoring climate-driven environmental changes. He focuses on forestry and carbon markets, including MRV frameworks for carbon sequestration, biomass estimation, and ecosystem valuation. By merging Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) with optical/radar satellite data, he advances solutions for flood crop loss estimation, soil moisture mapping, vegetation health analysis, land-use change detection, and disaster management - delivering actionable insights for sustainable stewardship.

Previous roles and experience

Dadhich has served as a senior research fellow at the Space Applications Centre of the Indian Space Research Organization, where he contributed to satellite-based Earth observation projects.
He has worked as a GIS and data consultant with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), including contributions to rapid geospatial assessments in emergency contexts.
His academic experience includes roles as an assistant professor at the Gujarat Technological University in India and as a lecturer and project coordinator on civil and geoinformatics engineering projects.

Education and academic achievements

Dadhich holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University and a master's degree in remote sensing and GIS (geomatics) from Nirma University of Science and Technology in India. He completed a PhD in remote sensing and GIS at the Asian Institute of Technology, where he has maintained a high academic standing and developed methods for agricultural and land evaluation using geospatial tools.

Last update: 13 MAY 2026