Byron Short Seminar Series

Abstract

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are ambitious targets for global development that were universally adopted in 2015, with the aim of addressing development needs in 17 socio-economic domains by 2030. By all accounts however, we have not yet significantly and systematically moved the needle to achieving 2030 targets. This talk will address the fundamental measurement issues for SDGs and the role of increasingly accessible geospatial AI science and engineering for Earth Observation, including geospatial foundation models in making progress towards the SDGs. Applications from poverty measurement, energy access, global public health, ICT coverage, environmental monitoring, and industrial productivity will highlight an increasingly dynamic world that can be better understood and monitored to influence what matters in sustainable development.

About the Speaker

As Vice President at Atlas AI, Vivek oversees the enterprise customer life cycle for AI products across the company’s global portfolio of customers in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Vivek also leads Atlas AI's portfolio of international development and supply chain analytics services. He brings fifteen years of experience in systems planning, design, and investment advisory for civil infrastructure and supply chain projects in energy, transport, water, ICT, public health, agriculture, and urban built environment.

Vivek also leads the applied AI research function for Atlas AI and serves as Principal Investigator on more than USD 8 million in funded research grants from the National Science Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, World Bank and other entities.

Vivek was previously the Global Director for Infrastructure Analytics at CPCS, a global civil infrastructure advisory firm, overseeing the firm's modeling, analytics, and visualization services across North America, Africa and Asia. Among his past clients are the World Bank, Millennium Challenge Corporation, African Union Commission, FCDO, PIDA, GIZ, private firms, ministries and agencies.

Vivek has a PhD in Systems Engineering and Master's in Technology and Policy both from MIT, where he also led research at the KACST-MIT Center for Complex Engineering Systems, the MIT Energy Initiative, and MIT Tata Center for Technology & Design. He is a member of the US National Academies' Transportation Research Board Urban Freight Committee, Assistant Editor for Engineering Project Organization Journal, and a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).