AUGUST | Dr. Joanne Chia

Can you tell us a bit about your research in the Remote Sensing and Image Integration team?

I apply my statistical skills to various estimation problems which incorporate satellite and other spatial data. Examples include continental estimates of forest canopy cover, monitoring change in forest cover and classification of plantation types, and large-scale crop-type classification.

I recently collaborated with government agencies to estimate the percentage of trees in different areas of interest (e.g suburbs, parks) using high resolution aerial photography derived from the Urban Monitor project.

I also have an interest in modelling of extreme rainfall events.

What three research areas best represent your strengths?

1) Stereology

2) Statistical modelling and analysis

3) Quantitative analysis of remotely sensed data.

What are the qualifications that led you to this work?

I have a Bachelor of Computing and Mathematics with first class honours, and a Ph.D in Statistics both from the University of Western Australia.

What has been the highlight of your work with SCS?

The biggest highlight for me was to be part of a group to take the national land cover monitoring work developed by the RSII team to Kenya, Africa in 2015 and 2016.

The aim was to help the government of Kenya set up a monitoring system so they could have a robust way of tracking land-based emissions.

The opportunity to engage with a highly dedicated technical team in Kenya was refreshing for me; I appreciated how the monitoring system could provide the government with important information that would help them make decisions across the land sector.

Finally, what do you enjoy most about working with Data61?

CSIRO's Data61 provides a supportive and stimulating working environment, and has given me many opportunities to work with people from both inside and outside of CSIRO.

I have the privilege of working with different business units within CSIRO such as Agriculture & Food, and Exploration and Mining. Outside of CSIRO I have worked with foresters, urban planners, and GIS specialists both locally and overseas.