About
I am an Assistant Professor of Geology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I use satellite radar interferometry (InSAR), GNSS and GIS to study how the ground deforms when fluids are extracted or injected, from oil and gas basins such as the Permian to cities that pump groundwater, and the hazards this creates for people and infrastructure.
My research combines satellite geodesy with physics-based poroelastic modeling and geospatial analytics to understand how human activity reshapes sedimentary basins and cities. Before joining UA Little Rock I completed a Ph.D. in Geophysics at Southern Methodist University, where I studied well blowouts and ground deformation in the Permian Basin and held a NASA FINESST award.
I trained first as an architect, then moved to geospatial engineering at IIT Roorkee and to radar remote sensing in Germany at Leibniz University Hannover and GFZ Potsdam. At UA Little Rock I teach Earth and the Environment and GIS, and I am setting up a computational geophysics and remote sensing research program.
Positions
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2026–present
Assistant Professor of Geology
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Teaching Earth and the Environment, its lab, and GIS I. Research on InSAR- and GNSS-based deformation monitoring and poroelastic modeling of environmental and energy-related hazards.
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2021–2025
Research Assistant, SMU Radar Lab
Southern Methodist University, Dallas
Advisor: Dr. Zhong Lu. Long-term InSAR and GNSS deformation products for the Permian Basin; wastewater-related well blowouts; geocoded SLC offset tracking and 3D deformation workflows for NISAR; 3D poroelastic models of subsurface stress.
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2021
Research Assistant, Department of Geospatial Engineering
IIT Roorkee, India
Advisor: Dr. Saurabh Vijay. Modeled flooding and subsidence interactions in urban systems with machine learning and GIS.
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2020
Research Intern
GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam
Advisor: Dr. Mahdi Motagh. Mapped groundwater-driven subsidence in Delhi using InSAR and in-situ data.
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2019–2020
Visiting Researcher
Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
Advisor: Dr. Mahdi Motagh. Quantified coal fire–induced subsidence in the Jharia Coalfields by combining Landsat-8 thermal anomaly mapping with InSAR.
Education
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2021–2026
Ph.D. in Geophysics (Environmental and Applied Geoscience)
Southern Methodist University, Dallas
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2018–2020
M.Tech in Geospatial Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Gold Medal. Dissertation: Geospatial modeling of coal fires on mine subsidence in Jharia Coalfields, India
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2013–2018
Bachelor of Architecture
National Institute of Technology Calicut
Grants and awards
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2026
Geospatial World 50 Rising Stars
Geospatial World Forum, Netherlands
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2024–2026
NASA FINESST research grant
Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology
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2023
IGARSS Travel Grant
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
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2023
Professional Development Microgrant
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
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2020
Gold Medal, M.Tech
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
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2019–2020
DAAD KOSPIE Fellowship
German Academic Exchange Service, at Leibniz University Hannover
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2018–2020
MHRD National Graduate Scholarship
Government of India
Service
- Journal reviewer
- IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Engineering Geology, Science of the Total Environment, Advances in Space Research, Natural Hazards & Risk, Remote Sensing, and others
- Conference organizing committee
- International Conference on Unmanned Aerial Systems in Geomatics (UASG), 2020
- President, SEG SMU Student Chapter
- Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 2025
- Professional memberships
- AGU, EGU, IEEE and AAPG
- Registered Architect
- Council of Architecture, India