Seamus Lombardo is an AeroAstro PhD candidate conducting research in the Engineering Systems Lab at MIT. He utilizes satellite remote sensing and integrated environmental and socioeconomic modeling for decision support in sustainable development. Applications of this research include analyses of flooding and mangrove reforestation to improve coastal resilience in Indonesia, forest and carbon sequestration project trends for Yurok Tribe in Northern California, and monitoring of invasive aquatic plant species in Benin. All of these collaborations have entailed stakeholder interviews, collaborative development of satellite remote sensing analyses and decision support tools, as well as the evaluation of the prototype software by end-users.

In addition, Seamus is also a part-time consultant for Planet where he is analyzing the application of Planet satellite data to forest carbon applications, and has interned as a researcher at NASA Goddard where he aided in the development of global mangrove biomass map.

Seamus previously conducted research on spacesuit performance and received his Master’s degree in AeroAstro from MIT in May, 2020. He received his BS in Aerospace Engineering from SUNY Buffalo in 2018. He has previously interned throughout the aerospace engineering industry at Millennium Space Systems, SpaceX, and NASA, and was a program manager for the University at Buffalo Nanosatellite Lab. Additionally, Seamus has experience in policy and advocacy through his work as a member of the MIT Space Policy Research Group and Federal Affairs Chair for the MIT Graduate Student Council’s External Affairs Board.