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Mirza Waleed

VISITING RESEARCHERS

Visiting PhD Student, Environmental Science and Engineering (Sep 2024 - Feb 2024)

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Biography

Waleed is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Geography at Hong Kong Baptist University, specializing in geospatial data analytics, cloud computing (Google Earth Engine), and AI-driven models (ML/DL) for disaster risk management, with a particular focus on flood hazards. He is also a Google Developer Expert (GDE) in Google Earth Engine and is currently a visiting research scholar at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
His research aims to analyze climate-driven environmental challenges, such as flooding and urban heat stress, using cutting-edge Geo-AI modeling techniques. He focuses on scaling geospatial models through cloud computing platforms (Google Earth Engine) and high-performance computing (Shaheen 3 Supercomputer) to enhance global-scale disaster risk assessment and mitigation.

 

Research Interests

Waleed’s research focuses on leveraging geospatial data science, cloud computing, and machine learning to tackle critical environmental and disaster management challenges, with a primary emphasis on flood risk assessment and mitigation. His work integrates multispectral and SAR remote sensing data with open-source tools and Google Earth Engine to develop scalable, automated workflows for environmental monitoring and hazard modeling.
His Ph.D. research advances flood susceptibility and exposure analysis by integrating big data and Geo-AI approaches, optimizing cloud-based platforms for real-time, high-resolution flood mapping. Additionally, his research extends to urban environmental dynamics, land cover change impacts, and climate resilience, providing insights into the complex interactions between human and natural systems under increasing climatic stressors

Selected Publications

Waleed, M., & Sajjad, M. (2025). Advancing flood susceptibility prediction: A comparative assessment and scalability analysis of machine learning algorithms via artificial intelligence in high‐risk regions of Pakistan. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 18(1), e13047.
Waleed, M., Sajjad, M., & Shazil, M. S. (2024). Urbanization-led land cover change impacts terrestrial carbon storage capacity: a high-resolution remote sensing-based nation-wide assessment in Pakistan (1990–2020). Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 105, 107396.
Waleed, M., & Sajjad, M. (2023). On the emergence of geospatial cloud-based platforms for disaster risk management: A global scientometric review of google earth engine applications. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 104056.
Waleed, M., Sajjad, M., Shazil, M. S., Tariq, M., & Alam, M. T. (2023). Machine learning-based spatial-temporal assessment and change transition analysis of wetlands: An application of Google Earth Engine in Sylhet, Bangladesh (1985–2022). Ecological Informatics, 75, 102075.
Waleed, M., Mubeen, M., Ahmad, A., Habib-ur-Rahman, M., Amin, A., Farid, H. U., ... & El Sabagh, A. (2022). Evaluating the efficiency of coarser to finer resolution multispectral satellites in mapping paddy rice fields using GEE implementation. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 13210.
Waleed, M., & Sajjad, M. (2022). Leveraging cloud-based computing and spatial modeling approaches for land surface temperature disparities in response to land cover change: evidence from Pakistan. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 25, 100665.

Education

PhD in Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, 2026, Hong Kong (Continue)
BS in Environmental Sciences, 2021, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan

 

Professional Profile

2025: Google Developer Expert (GDE) by Google in the Google Earth
Engine category (year 2025)
2024: Google Developer Expert (GDE) by Google in the Google Earth
Engine category (year 2024)
2023: Student Representative for Faculty of ARTS and SOSC at
HKBU-HK
2022: HKBU Ph.D. Fellowship (2022-2026)
2020: Top 5% Student Honor, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan.
2019: Merit PM Laptop scheme scholarshipv

 

Awards

2025: Selected as Google Developer Expert (GDE) by Google in the Google Earth
Engine category for year 2025
2024:Selected as Google Developer Expert (GDE) by Google in the Google Earth
Engine category for year 2024
2023: Appointed as RPg Student Representative for Faculty of ARTS and SOSC at
HKBU-HK
2022: 2nd runner-up in Oral Poster Presentation, Hong Kong Geography Day 2022
2022: HKBU Ph.D. Fellowship (2022-2026)
2020: Top 5% Student Honor, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan.

 

KAUST Affiliations

Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, KSA

Non-KAUST Affiliations

Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
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