Professor Reza Khanbilvardi specializes in water resources and satellite-based remote sensing applications.
He currently serves as the Executive Co-Director of the United Nations University Hub on Remote Sensing for Sustainable Innovation and Resilient Urban Systems (R-SIRUS) at the City College of New York (CCNY), where he also leads the research cluster on Emerging Technologies for Earth Monitoring and Remote Sensing of Urban Systems.
His research focuses on applying remote sensing to hydro-climate studies, hydrology, and water resources management. He has made significant contributions to flash-flood monitoring, assessing climate change impacts on water systems, snow-water equivalent estimation, and surface water hydraulics. He has authored over 220 national and international research papers and has contributed as is an editor to five books.
Professor Khanbilvardi has a longstanding record of impactful leadership. He was the founding director of two NOAA Cooperative Science Centers—CREST (2001–2016) and CESSRST (2016–2021)—advancing education and research in environmental sciences. In addition to his UNU role, Professor Khanbilvardi is the Executive Director of Earth System Sciences and Environmental Engineering program at CCNY and the Founder and Executive Director of the CUNY Remote Sensing of the Earth (CUNY CREST) Institute.