On May 12th, 2017 Dr. Peter Potapov was presented with the Outstanding Research Faculty Award for the 2016-2017 academic year. Each year, the Department of Geographical Sciences may choose to recognize outstanding service or accomplishments of a Research Professor (Assistant, Associate, or Full) through the presentation of this award. The award was presented by Director of Research, Dr. George Hurtt. 

Peter Potapov started his career in remote sensing data analysis in 1998 working on forest monitoring projects in Greenpeace (Russian office). He took part on developing of a rapid and straightforward method for mapping and monitoring forest degradation using Intact Forest Landscapes (IFL) method. During 2005-2006, he has headed the World Intact Forest Landscapes mapping group which produced the first global IFL map. This product is freely available online and has been used in regional and global forest monitoring projects, nature conservation campaigns and scientific research. During recent years, Peter’s research has focused on establishing a global operational forest monitoring algorithm that enables rapid quantitative estimation of gross forest cover loss and gain. He participated in a NASA-sponsored research project for global forest cover monitoring for 2000-2005 using integration of MODIS time-series and Landsat sampling data. Currently, he is working on global Landsat-based forest monitoring project. The first national-scale results of this project (Central Africa, European Russia) have been published recently.

Congratulations Dr. Potapov!