| |9 NOVEMBER 2026HIGHERReviewwith satellite remote sensing, artificial intelligence, big data analysis and environmental modelling." This allowed him to continually develop new skills and explore different approaches as his research evolved.Being part of the wider NTU research environment further expanded those opportunities. While working closely with his supervisor and colleagues at NIE, Dr Kumar was able to collaborate with researchers across disciplines and institutions internationally. "Looking back, this combination of close mentorship and a much larger research environment was very important to my development," he reflects.Dr Kumar counts his supervisor, Associate Professor Park, as one of the greatest influences on his development during his PhD studies at NIE. "He gave me the freedom to explore new ideas while continuously encouraging me to think bigger about the research," he recalls.Recounting his first experiences at NIE, Dr Kumar describes a welcoming research environment in which he did not feel that his PhD had to remain within one narrow discipline. One of the experiences that left the deepest impression on him was seeing the different strands of his research gradually come together. He began by exploring whether satellite imagery and artificial intelligence could be used to detect sand-mining activities in large rivers. Once that proved possible, the research led to a bigger question: How much sand was being removed, and what impact was this having on the river?Answering that question took him into environmental and hydrodynamic modelling. Eventually, his research enabled him to compare the Mekong Delta under current conditions with a counterfactual scenario without sand mining, helping to distinguish the impacts of mining from other environmental pressures."Seeing a research question develop from satellite observations into something that could actually help us understand and manage a major environmental problem was probably one of the most exciting parts of my PhD," Dr Kumar says.Dr Kumar's research focused on developing a way to monitor sand removal and its environmental impact. His approach uses imagery and artificial intelligence to detect sand-mining activities, computer models to measure their Dr Sonu Kumar with his supervisor, Associate Professor Edward ParkDr Sonu Kumar conducting riverbedmeasurements in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
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