Dr. Mette Bendixen, Assistant Professor (Group leader)

I am an Assistant Professor in geomorphology and coupled human-natural systems in the Department of Geography at McGill University. My research addresses various topics such as Arctic landscape changes and global sand scarcity. I'm increasingly focused on understanding Anthropogenic pressure on and interlinkages with the landscape to create a sustainable future. Previously, I’ve worked at The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), Uni. of Colorado, Boulder and The Department of Food & Resource Economics, Uni. of Copenhagen. I have my PhD in Arctic landscape dynamics from the Center of Excellence, Center for Permafrost at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Uni. of Copenhagen.

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Dr. Ke Huang, Post doc.

I am a postdoc at the University of Copenhagen. My main work focuses on the impact of climate change and human activities on land cover change and vegetation dynamics at different temporal and spatial scales, helping to improve the sustainable management of land and natural resources.

I received broad training in spatial analyses, remote sensing, and deep learning. Previously, I hosted three projects in China about the biophysical mechanisms behind Earth observation products confirming variations of alpine grassland vegetation productivity and I worked as a project assistant in six different projects related with carbon cycling and climate change in both China and Denmark. My main research area is Tibetan Plateau and Africa. Currently, I work on detecting sand mining and plan to conduct the first wall-to-wall identification of current sand mining activities and post sand mining regions in African countries using very high spatial resolution satellite imagery and deep learning.

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Nakiya Noorbhai, PhD student

I recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Mcgill University with a focus on statistical computing and a minor in Linguistics. I am interested in applying computational and statistical methods to real-world applications in a variety of fields and topics – especially sand mining. My current research focuses on investigating the extent to which sand mining activity in sub-saharan Africa has been addressed by the literature. In doing so, I hope to better understand the complex nature of both sand mining activity in Africa, as well as the availability of sand-mining-related literature about Africa. Moreover, I hope to gain insight on the many widespread issues and multifaceted relationships with sand mining that exist across the sub-saharan African continent.

Madelyn West, Honors Student

I am an undergraduate student at McGill University pursuing a joint honors degree in Geography and Anthropology. The intersection of these two disciplines has inspired my interest in the social construction of nature, through which I mean to express the physical world as a living archive of social change. My honors project will focus on the social and political effects of land reformation through sand mining processes in Panama, and gradual commodification of the environment in a growing economy. One goal of this project is to advocate for an interdisciplinary approach to the ecological challenges of sand mining as it is strongly connected to national policy making, economic exchanges, and local livelihoods.

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Sam Massay, Honors Student

I am a third year undergraduate student at McGill University currently working on an Honors Thesis in geography, with a minor in geology. My honors research focuses on the connections between sand mining, land reclaimation and urbanization, as well as the impacts of these activities. My current area of focus is Malaysia, specifically of Johor, Melaka and Penang. Outside of research I enjoy hiking, cycling and cross country skiing.