Inian Moorthy
Research Scholar
Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group
Advancing Systems Analysis
Contact
Biography
Inian Moorthy is a research scholar in the Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability (NODES) Research Group of the IIASA Advancing Systems Analysis Program. He explores the intersection of Earth Observation (EO) and citizen-science to design civic technologies for environmental stewardship.Currently, he is co-principal investigator of Urban ReLeaf, a collaborative mission-oriented innovation project with six European cities to design citizen-powered data ecosystems and nature-based solutions to drive inclusive and green urban transitions. He builds strategic relationships with a plurality of stakeholders to foster the democratization of urban greenspace care and the wider policymaking process in pursuit of urban climate resilience.
Since 2016, he has been active in the domain of civic engagement for environmental monitoring. He coordinated LandSense (2016-2020), a flagship citizen observatory for land use and land cover monitoring that empowered local and regional communities in Earth Observation-based pilots across the EU and contributed to the WeObserve project (2017-2021), which developed a citizen science knowledge exchange platform.
Additionally, he oversees the group’s funding acquisition processes, accruing profound experience in all components of proposal writing and associated technical and financial reporting for international donors and funding agencies. He has contributed to the successful acquisition of numerous grants, mobilizing resources for the team from donors such as the European Commission, the International Climate Initiative, the European Space Agency, and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency.
He received his PhD in the field of Earth and Space Science from York University in Toronto, Canada. His studies focused on the application of 3D ground-based LiDAR platforms for vegetation condition monitoring. He completed a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Institute of Sustainable Agriculture in Cordoba, Spain, working with a specialized team on the precision mapping and management of olive orchards using LiDAR systems and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Last update: 20 FEB 2023
Publications
McCallum, I. , Kyba, C.C.M., Laso Bayas, J.C. , Moltchanova, E., Cooper, M., Crespo Cuaresma, J., Pachauri, S. , See, L. , Danylo, O., Moorthy, I., Lesiv, M. , Baugh, K., Elvidge, C.D., Hofer, M. , & Fritz, S. (2022). Estimating global economic well-being with unlit settlements. Nature Communications 13 e2459. 10.1038/s41467-022-30099-9.
Fraisl, D. , See, L. , Sturn, T., MacFeely, S., Bowser, A., Campbell, J., Moorthy, I., Danylo, O., McCallum, I. , & Fritz, S. (2022). Demonstrating the potential of Picture Pile as a citizen science tool for SDG monitoring. Environmental Science & Policy 128 81-93. 10.1016/j.envsci.2021.10.034.
Hager, G. & Moorthy, I. (2022). Urban ReLeaf – Athens Pilot: Citizen-powered data ecosystems for inclusive and green urban transitions. In: EuroGEO workshop, 8 December 2022, Athens, Greece.
Hager, G. & Moorthy, I. (2022). Urban ReLeaf: Citizen-powered data ecosystems for inclusive and green urban transitions. In: EuroGEO workshop, 8 December 2022, Athens, Greece.
Laso Bayas, J.C. , See, L. , Bartl, H., Sturn, T., Karner, M., Fraisl, D. , Moorthy, I., Busch, M., van der Velde, M., & Fritz, S. (2021). Crowdsourcing LUCAS: Data set from the 2018 FotoQuest Go Europe campaign.