Lab members
Tal Svoray PhD
Lab PI
I serve as a professor of geoinformatics and The Harry Levi Chair in Geography. My Ph.D. thesis was focused on the synergy of optical and radar remote sensing for quantifying soil-water-vegetation dynamics in semiarid zones. Since joining the faculty at Ben-Gurion University, I mainly used space-time modeling to better understand observed vegetation and soil moisture patchiness of geo- and ecosystems. Key components of my work include investigating the processes underlying ecosystem productivity and the study of desertification processes, soil health and soil degradation. I also to work on human ecology and particularly the geography of positive and negative affects from location based social network data and mobile devices data. With the recent wave of deep and machine learning, I have also begun working on image segmentation, transfer learning and LSTM of time series of RS data.
About Me: I was born June 1st 1968 in Petah-Tiqwa, Israel to Yoram and Mati Svoray, a brother to Nira and Michal. I am a husband to Yona (Yuki) and a father to Yuval, Yotam, Lior and Nevo. My hobbies include stand up paddling and biking, Jazz and reading.
Research: My research is focused on exploring and understanding the main factors that contribute to the formation and evolution of soil piping erosion in semiarid regions. Soil piping are discrete preferential subsurface flow paths that are parallel to the slope (Weiler & McDonnell 2007; Uchida et al. 1999; Sharma et al. 2010). Piping are an important component of erosion processes in wide areas around the world. Piping is also a dominant factor in infrastructure failure such as dam breach, sinkhole and road collapse.
About Me: I completed M.A. in the Department of Geography and Environmental Development at Ben-Gurion university of the Negev in 2009. My M.A. thesis topic was titled "Erosion and sedimentation in the margins of the Yamin plateau"; This research is done with the NRCN and the Geological Survey of Israel. I'm living in Medreshet Ben-Gurion, married to Noa and a proud father to Evyatar, Nitzan and Daniel.
Ariel Nahlieli PhD
Researcher
Research: My research aims to analyze the spatio-temporal patterns of solar panels adoption in the unformalized Bedouin settlements in the Negev, an off-grid society. Mining and mapping small scale PV will be achieved by harnessing remote sensing sources and deep learning methods for automatic identification of PV from high resolution aerial images. The temporal dynamics of the spatial patterns of the technology uptake will be examined throughout point pattern analysis and spatial autocorrelation.
About Me: I serve as a cartographer and a lecturer for statistics and Machine Learning at the Department of Environmental, Geoinformatics and Urban Planning Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I live in the city of Beer-Sheva, married to Sharon and mother of 22 year old twin boys, Yiftach and Gilad.
Roni Blushtein-Livnon
PhD Student
PhD subject: My PhD is focused on Quantifying Shallow Overland Flow Patterns at the field scale. To do so we compute and measure runoff volume from remote and direct measurements and lab simulations. Surface flow patterns are important for understanding soil erosion at surface, redistribute water, nutrients, and biological matter in dry environments. This research done in collaboration with Shmuel Assouline from the Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, the Volcani Center.
About Me: I completed B.Sc. in the Department of Geology at Ben-Gurion university of the Negev in 2018. My family lives in Gilat and recently I moved to Beer Sheva with my girlfriend. My hobbies include playing tennis and travelling.
Osher Rafaeli
PhD Student
My Project: My research focuses on the spatial and temporal patterns of erosion areas and sedimentation-prone areas. It aims to utilize and develop machine-learning methods to identify areas contributing to runoff and erosion, thus identifying regions at risk of flooding.
About Me: I'm a research engineer at the Soil Erosion Research Station (SERS). I completed an M.A. in the Department of Geography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; my thesis was about identifying the wildland-urban interface at multiple scales using VIIRS active fires. I'm living in Rehovot, married to Yonatan, and a mother of Amittai, Boaz, and Omri.
Idit Tikotzki
PhD Student
Amir Boger
MA Student
M.A Subject: My research is about identifying Photovoltaic (PV) panels from high resolution satellite images, using deep learning and image segmentation techniques. The purpose of this research is to determine whether such object identification can be done by using satellite images, and to compare between multiple resolutions, to better understand how they can affect the segmentation process.
About me: I'm starting my third year of my B.A degree in the Department of Environmental, Geoinformatics and Urban Planning Sciences in Ben Gurion University of the Negev. I'm originally from Ramat Hasharon, and today I live in Beer Sheva. During my military service, I was exposed to the world of GIS and remote sensing and decided to expand my knowledge in those topics. In my free time, I like swimming, exercising, reading books, and learning about history and aviation.
Hello there! I’m a second-year student at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, enrolled in a B.Sc. and a B.A. in Life Sciences and Geography. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, my move to Israel only enhanced my passion for Ecology, Sustainability, and Agroforestry. I'm also deeply interested in Geoinformatics and its role in understanding climate change.
My goal is to bridge the gap between human systems and nature, aiming to contribute to restoring the balance between humanity and the environment for a more sustainable future.
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Keren Sandberg Ashkenazi
MA Student
My project is about studying, and contributing, to assimilation of PV technology into Bedouin communities in a cost- and energy effective manner. This is done by exploring barriers and opportunities of adoption and providing technological solutions and support the assimilation process. I am particularly working on quantifying the PVs spatio-temporal distribution from remotely sensed data.
About me: I’m in my second year of bachelor's degree in the Department of Environmental, Geoinformatics and Urban Planning Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I was born and raised in Be’er-Sheva. During my military service at the Air Traffic Section I experienced working with geographic information systems. I continued to specialize in GIS as a consultant at the Southern Geographical Committee in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior. The committee deals with boundary changes, revenue distribution and changing the municipal status of authorities. In my spare time I like swimming and playing chess.
David Ioffe
Pre-MA Student
M.A subject: My research focuses on a deep learning approach to for study rainfall-runoff-infiltration relationships, using Bayesian probability and LSTM, incorporating hydrological data, HYDRUS 1D modeling as training sets, and principals of soil physics. This interdisciplinary approach aims to develop and test reliable models for improved flood forecasting, management and mitigation in the catchment scale. This research is conducted in collaboration with Shmuel Assouline.
About me: I am a student in the Department of Environmental, Geoinformatics and Urban Planning Sciences, soon starting my third year of a B.A. degree. During my military service, I was introduced to the world of geographic information systems, which sparked my interest in the field. The diverse and comprehensive courses offered by the department appealed to me, leading me to pursue my studies in this field.
Einat Bela Liron
Pre-MA Student
Alumni
1). Dr. Rakefet Shafran-Nathan
2). Dr. Maya Hertz-Zehavi
3). Dr. Michael Dorman
4). Dr. Rona Winter
5). Dr. Shai Sela
6). Dr. Ariel Nahlieli
1) Anat Volcani, Msc
2) Tsafra Bannet, MA
3) Shiri Bar-Yamin Gancharski, MA
4) Sharon Oberlender Msc
5) Amir Arnon, Msc
6) Ori Gudes, MA
7) Shlomo Dabora, MA
8) Shira Mazor, MA
9) Sagy Cohen, MA
10) Rakefet Shafran, MA
11) Yael Storz, MA
12) Hila Markovitch, MA
13) Shimom Ben-Said, MA
14) Iddo Porath, MA
15) Eitan Livne, MA
16) Orr Gevili, MA
17) Yehonathan Rubinstein MA
18) Dror Har-Gil, MA
19) Asaf Ben-Ari, MA
20) Roei Levi, MA
21) Inbar Hassid, MA
22) Ofir Miller, MA
23) Michael Vatenmacher, MA
24) Dudi Hoober, MA
25) Hodaya Bitan, MA
26) Inbar Shtutman, MA
27) Arthur Khozin, MA
28) Dori Katz, MA
29) Vladislav Dubinin, MA
30) Galia Barshad, MA
31) Noam Lasker, MA
32) Din Danino, MA
33) Roni Artzi, MA
34) Roni Blushtein-Livnon, MA
35) Segev Tamir, Msc
36) Rotem Reany, MA
37) Boaz Fux, MA
38) Tali Motzkin, MA
39) Osher Rafaeli, MA