- Post Doctoral Researcher
- Email: vtiwari@clarku.edu
Varun Tiwari is a geospatial scientist with over eight years of experience in climate-resilient agriculture, disaster risk reduction, and environmental sustainability. His work lies at the intersection of remote sensing, Earth observation, and machine learning, with a strong emphasis on developing data-driven solutions for water resource management, crop monitoring, and flood resilience—particularly in data-scarce regions such as South Asia.
He holds a Ph.D. in Geospatial Analytics from North Carolina State University (2025), a Master’s degree in Remote Sensing and GIS from the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Indian Space Research Organization (2013–2015), and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya (2009–2013). Throughout his academic and professional journey, Varun has applied cloud computing, high-performance computing, and deep learning to a wide range of geospatial datasets, including optical, SAR, hyperspectral, and climate data.
Varun’s professional experience spans several leading institutions. From 2022 to 2024, he served as a Graduate Research Assistant at North Carolina State University, where he focused on flood mapping, crop yield forecasting, and machine learning for geospatial applications. In 2023, he interned as a Data Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Prior to that, he worked as a Spatial Modelling Specialist at the Borlaug Institute of South Asia (CGIAR) from 2021 to 2022, and as a Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Analyst at ICIMOD Nepal under the SERVIR-HKH program from 2016 to 2021. He also held earlier research roles at the Defense Geoinformatics Research Establishment (DGRE) and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).
He has authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications and collaborated with international organizations, academic institutions, and U.S. federal agencies. His work actively contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—especially those related to Zero Hunger, Climate Action, and Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Passionate about teaching and mentoring, Varun is committed to bridge the gap between geospatial science and real-world impact, empowering the next generation of spatial thinkers.