Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications

The Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications, AMU, Aligarh, has been designated the nodal center for the ISRO-START program. Space Science and Technology Awareness Training (START) is an introductory-level online training in space science and technology for undergraduate and postgraduate science and technology students, conducted online by ISRO scientists. The programme will cover various space science domains, including astronomy, planetary sciences, heliophysics, atmospheric sciences, microgravity-related studies and space technology. 

The main objective of the programme is to generate human resources in space science and technology, expand the user base of the space exploration mission data, and foster an ecosystem to facilitate the active participation of the students in space science and technology research.

An inaugural program for the nodal center was conducted on 20-07-2023 at 10:30 am in the Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications. The inaugural program was attended by course participants, students, research scholars, and faculty members.

Prof. Kr. Farahim Khan, chairperson of the Department of Geology, and the guest of honor, praised the efforts of the chairperson of the Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications, for coordinating with ISRO and establishing the nodal center for the ISRO-START programme. Prof Syed Ahmad Ali, a veteran of remote sensing applications in earth sciences, encouraged AMU science and technology students to join the e-classes of ISRO-START to sharpen their space science skills.

Dr Haris Hasan Khan, chairman of the department and coordinator of the ISRO-START nodal center, discussed cutting-edge technology in space sciences, including space mining, space debris problems, concepts of lunar and martian bases and colonization of near-earth space. 

Dr Tanzeel convened the inaugural program. Dr Rizwan Ahmad extended the vote of thanks.

The Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications, AMU, organised a workshop on 16 May 2023 on the theme “Geospatial Tools for Water Resources and Natural Hazards Monitoring” and a poster contest on the theme “India’s Space Program: Past, Present, and Future” under the G20 University Connect Programme.

The co-patron of the workshop, Prof. Mohammed Ashraf, Dean, Faculty of Science, presided over the workshop. He appreciated the department's initiative and talked about the significance of geospatial technology in monitoring the earth’s resources. 

The guest of honour, Prof. Qazi Mazhar Ali, congratulated the convener and chairman for organising the event. He talked about using cutting-edge geospatial tools and techniques, especially drone-based mapping in agriculture, whereby a new agricultural revolution is in the making. He also mentioned the significance of geospatial techniques in assisting and guiding the administration of the Aligarh Muslim University on critical issues, as well as developing the skills and resources in the department to provide services to the university and government agencies. 

The convener of the workshop and the chairperson of the Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications, Dr Haris Hasan Khan, stressed the importance of geospatial tools and datasets available in the public domain in teaching, research, and entrepreneurship. He also mentioned the achievements of the department.

Dignitaries, including the co-patron, and the guest of honour, distributed mementoes and certificates to the winners of the poster contest.

Dr Shahryar Khalique Ahmad, Research Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, delivered a keynote talk on “Monitoring Earth’s Water Cycle from the Compound Eye of Space”. Dr Shahyar discussed the links between forest fires and the hydrological cycle and the role of geospatial tools in unravelling these linkages in vulnerable regions.

Dr Yunus Ali P., IISER, Mohali, Punjab, delivered a keynote talk on “Cascading Chain of Geohazards: Understanding their Mechanism from a Remote Sensing Perspective”. He also demonstrated using open-source tools to apply machine-learning techniques to geospatial datasets.

Dr Rizwan Ahmad, the organising secretary of the workshop, conducted the inaugural programme, while Dr Tanzeel Khatoon proposed the vote of thanks. Dr Syed Mohd. Asghar Rizvi, Dr Wasi Ahmad Zaidi and the student coordinator’s team coordinated various activities to support the event.

The Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications organised a lecture on the ‘Remote Sensing Applications using Cloud Computing’ by Dr Shahrayar Khalique Ahmad, Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Lanham, Maryland, United States on 2nd December 2022 at 10:30 AM. The lecture was attended by students, research scholars, and faculty members. 

Dr Shahrayar Khalique Ahmad discussed the existing and forthcoming NASA missions for earth observation, especially in water resources. Later he discussed the use of Google Earth Engine, a geospatial cloud computing platform for the processing of global scale datasets. Dr Haris Hasan Khan, Chairman of the Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications, coordinated the lecture and introduced Dr Shayrayar Ahmad to the audience. 

To celebrate the completion of 75 glorious years of India's independence and the nationwide 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), the Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing & GIS Applications, AMU, organised a series of events from 13 -17 August 2022, including an Essay Writing Competition, and a Poster Competition for Postgraduate and PhD students. 

Dr Haris Hasan Khan, the Chairperson of the Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing & GIS Applications, delivered a lecture on "Sustainable Development in Space". He discussed how the cold war space race between the US and the USSR, and more recently between the US, China, and Russia, as well as the emergence of the private space sector, has choked near-earth space with space debris and the potential threat it poses to the critical space infrastructure. Destruction or loss of space assets can affect important tasks like communication, navigation, research and development, leading to severe setbacks for the global economy. 

Dr Haris explained the Kesselers Syndrome, which predicts the conversion of near-earth space into a death trap for space missions if proper remedial action is not initiated. He described the cutting-edge solutions being developed by space organisations and the private sector in resolving the space debris problem. He stressed that global cooperation in this context is inevitable, and hostilities between nations have the potential to make the Kesselers Syndrome a reality. 

The lecture was attended by faculty members, research scholars, and postgraduate students from various departments. 

Dr Rizwan Ahmad declared the results of the Essay Writing Competition and Poster Competition and extended the vote of thanks.

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