Staff Profiles

D.Eng Geosystems Engineering (Chiba University, Japan)

MSc(Eng) Geomatics (University of Cape Town, South Africa)

BSc(Hons) Surveying & Photogrammetry (University of Nairobi, Kenya)

Yashon Ouma is a Professor of Geomatics, with more than 20 years of experience in research and teaching. Yashon is an Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Experienced Research Fellow with research/work experience in South Africa, Germany, Kenya, Japan and Botswana. Professionally, Professor Ouma is a member of the ISPRS and is a registered Associate Member of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (AMISK). He is currently Co-Chair of the Technical Advisory Committe of Digital Earth Africa, Associate Editor of the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation & Geoinformation, serves in the International Cartographic Association (ICA) - Commission on Sensor driven Mapping and the ICA Commission on GeoAI. Professor Ouma's recent research projects are focused on the development of:

1. Innovative UAV & Satellite based Earth Observation Data Analytics and AI-based algorithms and methods for modelling long-term impacts of Anthropocene and Climate Change on water quality and water quantity.
2. Low-cost sensor-driven mobile mapping systems and solutions for modelling of water quality and road pavement conditions.
3. Multisensor remote sensing approaches for understanding urban growth dynamics and impacts of urban expansion, including land-use and land-cover change detection and Land Surface Temperature (LST) dynamics.

Hydroinformatics

Geoinformatics & GeoAI

Digital Image Processing

Digital Photogrammetry

UAV & Satellite Remote Sensing (Optical, Microwave & LiDAR)

Engineering Surveying

Geographic Information Systems & Science 

Research Methods

Programming for Geomatics

Hydroinformatics

UAV & Satellite Earth Observation Data Analytics: Integrated Sensor Systems, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Leaning

Optical and Microwave Sensor Data Processing and Applications

Mobile Mapping Sensor Systems (MMSS): Development and Applications

Geographic Information Systems: GIS theory and applications

Hydrological Modelling of Catchment Systems with Parametric (Numerical) & Non-Parametric (Deep Learing) Models

UAV & Satellite Earth Observation (EO) Systems and Applications

Sensors, Algorithm Development and Computational Methods in Photogrammetry

Geoinformatics and Applications in Asset and Resource Monitoring & Management

Digital Twins & Applied AI

1. Dlamini, S.M. and Ouma, Y.O., 2025. Large-Scale Topographic Mapping Using RTK-GNSS and Multispectral UAV Drone Photogrammetric Surveys: Comparative Evaluation of Experimental Results. Geomatics, Vol 5, Issue 2, p.25. https://doi.org/10.3390/geomatics5020025 
2. Ouma, Y.O., Keitsile, A., Lottering, L., Nkwae, B. and Odirile, P., 2024. Spatiotemporal empirical analysis of particulate matter PM2. 5 pollution and air quality index (AQI) trends in Africa using MERRA-2 reanalysis datasets (1980–2021). Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 912, p.169027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169027
3.  Ouma, Y.O. and Omai, L., 2023. Flood Susceptibility Mapping Using Image-Based 2D-CNN Deep Learning: Overview and Case Study Application Using Multiparametric Spatial Data in Data-Scarce Urban Environments. International Journal of Intelligent Systems, Vol. 2023, Article ID 5672401, 23 pp. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/5672401