Sucharita Gopal

Faculty Associate
Faculty Research Fellow (2015-2018)
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University
suchi@bu.edu
617-353-5744

Education

BA, MSc, BEd, MPhil, Madras University; PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara

Expertise

Neural network applications in remote sensing and GIS domains, spatial analysis and statistics, and multi-scale spatial modeling.

Biography

Dr. Suchi Gopal is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University (BU), a
research affiliate at five centers at Boston University. She serves on the Faculty Steering Committee of
Global Development Policy Center and is a faculty associate at the Frederick Pardee Center for the Study
of the Longer-Range Future. She holds a visiting professor appointment at the Vienna University of
Business and Economics in Austria. Her multi-disciplinary research primarily delves into the intricate
world of geospatial data analysis and modeling, GIS, data mining, information visualization, and artificial
neural networks. Over the years, Dr. Gopal has pioneered numerous methodologies and concepts,
including fuzzy sets in accuracy assessment, neural networks for pattern classification, estimation, and
mixture modeling. Her work often combines data science and statistical analysis with practical
applications in urban planning, systems modeling, public health, and sustainable finance, resulting in
holistic solutions to some of society’s most challenging problems.

Her recent work includes applying ecosystem-based management to inform the planning and leasing
process for offshore wind energy production in the Gulf of Maine, gendered food security in Lake
Victoria, coastal ecosystem modeling and designing decision support tools, deep learning Ai for
mangrove mapping, and panel modeling for analyzing opioid addiction. Besides her scholarly pursuits,
Dr. Gopal advocates for STEM education and public outreach. She won the BU faculty Ignition Seed
grant and participated in the MassChallenge FinTech competition for startups.