Education

• PhD, Texas A&M University, Forestry
• MS, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, Environmental Sciences & Policy
• MPhil, Bharathiar University (India), Environmental Sciences
• MSc, Cochin University of S&T (India), Environmental Studies
• BSc, PSG College of Arts & Sciences (India), Physics

 Other Credentials

• GIS Professional (GISP), Geographic Information Systems Certification Institute
• Certified Project Manager, International Charter on Space & Major Disasters

Professional Affiliations

American Society of Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing | Society of American Foresters | American Geophysical Union

Current Courses Taught

• GIST 2160: Survey of Remote Sensing Applications
• GIST 5130/4130: Remote Sensing for Agricultural Management
• GIST 5410/4410: UAS: Sensors and Platforms
• ENR 3300: Environmental Policy, Conservation, & Development in India
• RNEW 4990: Digital Image Processing for Natural Resource Mgt.

Other Recent Teaching

• Undergraduate
  • Advanced GIS
  • Digital Cartography

Research Interests

• Remote sensing of small crop lands and water bodies
• Flood inundation mapping
• Land cover mapping and change analyses
• Phenology and time-series analyses
• Machine learning for feature recognition in aerial images

 Representative Recent / Ongoing Projects

• Rapid flood mapping with satellite images
• Monitoring crop growth in small fields using satellite images
• Identifying epiphytes with neural networks

Representative Publications

Sivanpillai, R., Jacobs, K.M., Mattilio, C.M., Piskorski, E.V., 2020. Rapid flood inundation mapping by differencing water indices from pre- and post-flood Landsat images. Frontiers of Earth Science. DOI: 10.1007/s11707-020-0818-0.

Sivanpillai, R., 2020. No-cost Landsat data redefines student research projects in applied remote sensing classes at UW. Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-3/W11, 143–146, 2020. DOI: 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W11-143-2020.

Sivanpillai, R., Whitman, R.D., 2019. Relating leaf spectral reflectance to its color: an inquiry-based activity to enhance understanding of electromagnetic radiation. Science Activities 56(1):19-26. DOI: 10.1080/00368121.2019.1638746

Dhivyaprabha T.T, Subashini, P., Krishnaveni, M., Santhi, N., Sivanpillai, R., Jayashree, G., 2019. A novel synergistic fibroblast optimization based Kalman estimation model for forecasting time-series data. Evolving Systems 10(2):205-220. DOI: 10.1007/s12530-018-9217-0

Sivanpillai, R., Jones, B.K., Lamb, R.M., 2017. Accessing satellite imagery for disaster response through the International Charter: Lessons learned from the 2011 US Midwestern Floods. Space Policy 42:54-61. DOI: 10.1016/j.spacepol.2017.08.003

Sivanpillai, R., Congalton, R.G., 2016. Future Landsat Data Needs at the Local and State Levels: An AmericaView Perspective. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 82(8):617-623.

Sivanpillai, R., 2016. Introduction to Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters. In Sivanpillai, R., Schroder, J.F. (Eds.), Environmental and Biological Hazards, Risks and Disasters. (DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-394847-2.00001-2). Oxford, UK: Elsevier

Sivanpillai, R., 2016. Delineating crop management zones in small fields using multitemporal Landsat data. Proc. SPIE 9877, Land Surface and Cryosphere Remote Sensing III, 98770P May 5, 2016; DOI:10.1117/12.2224114.