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Pratima KC

Research Scientist, NASA Earth eXchange (NEX)

Contents

Affiliation: Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA Earth eXchange (NEX)

Branch: Biospheric Science Branch (SGE)

Email: pratima.kc@nasa.gov

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4AsdVUcAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Personal Biography

Dr. Pratima KC is a Research Scientist at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute and NASA Earth eXchange (NEX) at Ames Research Center. Her expertise lies in applying remote sensing and advanced AI methods to conduct large-scale analyses of terrestrial ecosystems, with a particular focus on measuring the impacts of disturbances such as drought and wildfire. Before joining the NEX team, Dr. KC earned her PhD in Environmental and Forest Science (Specialization in Remote Sensing and AI) from University of Washington in 2024. She also holds an MSc in Natural Resource and Environment from University of Arizona (2017) and MSc in Information Technology from Sikkim Manipal University (2013). Dr. KC has developed forest fire impact products and decision-support systems for land managers, published in high-impact journals, and is passionate about advancing our understanding of Earth systems through innovations in remote sensing and AI.

Education

Ph.D., 2024, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington (UW), Seattle

M.Sc, 2017, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Arizona (UA), Tucson

M.ScIT, 2013, College of Professional Studies, Sikkim Manipal University, India

B.Sc, 2011, Environmental Science, Tribhuwan University, Nepal

Experience

Current: Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center / Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Moffett Field, CA, USA

2024 – Winter 2025: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Forest Resilience Lab, UW

2019 – 2024: Graduate Research Assistant, Forest Resilience Lab, UW

2015 – 2017: Graduate Research Assistant, Arizona Remote Sensing Center, UA

Projects

2023 – 2025: Using Advanced Remote Sensing Goddard’s Lidar, Hyperspectral and Thermal (GLiHT) Sensor to Estimate Forest Type and Biomass in Boreal Forest of Interior Alaska. As part of NASA Carbon Monitoring Program (USFS, NASA, & UW: PI: Van R. Kane, Co-I: Hans-Erik Andersen, Bruce Cook, Participated as Research Assistant)

2020 – 2023: Monitoring the impact of drought in the Southern Sierra Forest using high-resolution remote sensing data and identify the factors of mortality .(NASA, CALFire, PI: Van R Kane, Co-I: Liz van Wagtendonk, Participated as Research Assistant)

2015: Near real time mapping of landslides caused by the Gorkha, Nepal earthquake using remote sensing data provided by NASA, JAXA and ESA (PI: Jeffery Kargel, Participated as Researcher)

2015 – 2017: https://droughtview.arizona.edu/ DroughtView is a web based decision support tool to visualize near real time remote sensing and climate monitoring products and help understanding drought’s complex impacts on the ecosystem. (USGS, NOAA, PI: William J.D. van Leeuwen, Participated as Research Assistant)

Professional Activities

Conference Session Organiser: Forest Big Data, Deep Learning Session, Association for Forest Spatial Analysis Technologies, ForestSAT 2024

Executive Senator: Elected executive senator for Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS), University of Washington 2022- 2024

Journal Reviewer: Remote Sensing of Environment, ECOSPHERE, Geocarto International, Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing, Science of Remote Sensing, Forest Ecology and Management, Scientific Data

Awards and Honors

2025: Best PhD Thesis Award, Remote Sensing, MDPI 

2024: SEFS Graduate Completion Fellowship, UW

2023: Graduate Professional Student Senate, Travel Grant, UW

2022: Graduate Student Conference Presentation Award, UW

2022: Director’s Fund Travel Award, UW

2022: College of Environment Travel Grant, UW

2022: Graduate Student Symposium (First Place), SEFS, UW

 2019 – 2020: Professor David G. Briggs Endowed Fellowship in Forest Management, SEFS, UW

2019 – 2020: J.H. Bloedel Forestry Research and Scholarship Fund, SEFS, UW

2019 – 2020: R.D. Merrill Forestry Research and Scholarship Fund, SEFS, UW

2019 – 2020: William G. Reed Endowed Fellowship in Sustainable Resource Sciences, SEFS, UW

2018: School of Information Travel Grant, UA

2018: William A. Calder III Memorial Scholarship, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UA

2018: Outstanding Thesis Award, School of Natural Resources and Environment, UA

2017: Ervin H. Zube Scholarship, Natural Resources and the Environment, UA

2016: Pistor-Stanely Scholarship in Agriculture, SEFS, UA

2016: Clifford W. Carstens. Jr. Scholarship, SEFS, UA

2015 – 2016: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Graduate College Fellowship, UA

Publications

  • Mosig, C., Vajna-Jehle, J., Mahecha, M. D., Cheng, Y., Hartmann, H., Montero, D., … Khatri-Chhetri, P., …..  & Rivas-Torres, G. (2026). deadtrees. earth—An open-access and interactive database for centimeter-scale aerial imagery to uncover global tree mortality dynamics. Remote Sensing of Environment, 332, 115027.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2025.115027
  • Möhring, J., Kattenborn, T., Mahecha, M. D., Cheng, Y., Schwenke, M. B., Cloutier, M., ...Khatri-Chhetri, P., … & Mosig, C. (2025). Global, multi-scale standing deadwood segmentation in centimeter-scale aerial images. ISPRS Open Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 18, 100104.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophoto.2025.100104
  • Khatri-Chhetri, P., Andersen, H. E., Cook, B., Hendryx, S. M., van Wagtendonk, L., & Kane, V. R. (2025). Synthesizing field plot and airborne remote sensing data to enhance national forest inventory mapping in the boreal forest of Interior Alaska. Science of Remote Sensing, 11, 100192.
  • Parajuli, B. P., Baskota, P., Shrestha, A., Sedhai, N., Bhattarai, S., Paudel J., Adhikari P., & Khatri-Chhetri, P. (2024). Loss and Damage in the High Mountains of the Everest Region:Realities, Pains, and Perils from Thame Village. Kathmandu: Digo Bikas Institute.
  • Khatri-Chhetri, P., van Wagtendonk, L., Hendryx, S. M., & Kane, V. R. (2024). Enhancing individual tree mortality mapping: The impact of models, data modalities, and classification taxonomy. Remote Sensing of Environment, 300, 113914.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2023.113914
  • Prichard, S. J., Hessburg, P. F., Hagmann, R. K., Povak, N. A., Dobrowski, S. Z., Hurteau, M. D., … & Khatri‐Chhetri, P. (2021). Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions. Ecological applications, 31(8), e02433.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srs.2024.100192
  • Khatri-Chhetri, P., Hendryx, S. M., Hartfield, K. A., Crimmins, M. A., Leeuwen, W. J. V., & Kane, V. R. (2021). Assessing vegetation response to multi-scalar drought across the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan Deserts and Apache Highlands in the Southwest United States. Remote Sensing, 13(6), 1103.https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13061103
  • Kargel, J. S., Leonard, G. J., Shugar, D. H., Haritashya, U. K., Bevington, A., Fielding, E. J.,….K, Pratima … & Young, N. (2016). Geomorphic and geologic controls of geohazards induced by Nepal’s 2015 Gorkha earthquake. science, 351(6269), aac8353.DOI: 10.1126/science.aac8353