TILOTTAMA (TILO) GHOSH
Payne Institute Research Associate, Earth Observation Group

Tilottama (Tilo) Ghosh is currently a Research Associate with the Earth Observation Group at the Payne Institute for Public Policy. She completed her PhD in geography from the University of Denver in March 2010. Her training and educational background in geography, demography, economics, remote sensing, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) helped to shape-up her interests, career and passion. Her research interests include human geography, nighttime lights remote sensing, sustainable science, and spatio-temporal research using remote sensing, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

She has about twelve years of experience working with low light imaging data from the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) data, from 2013 onwards. She is responsible for creating the nightly, monthly, and annual, VIIRS nighttime lights products, and the other two flagship products, VIIRS Boat Detection (VBD), and VIIRS Nightfire (VNF), as well as the processing of the DMSP monthly and annual cloud-free composites. Along with her team members she is responsible for conceptualizing, and testing of the processing algorithms, creating metadata documenting generated data products, fulfilling data requests related to the nighttime lights products and the DMSP archive, providing training in the use and implementation of nighttime lights software to scientists and researchers, documenting DMSP and VIIRS algorithms and accomplishments through manuals, conference proceedings, and journal submissions. She conducts socio-economic research and creates analytical models using nighttime Earth Observation Group (EOG) products and official socio-economic data for estimating socio-economic indices at global and local scales. She publishes such work in peer -reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters.

Tilo is from Kolkata, India. At present she lives in Boulder, Colorado. When she is not working, she is busy in her role as a mother to her almost 6-year-old daughter. She enjoys keeping up with global affairs, reading, going for long walks amidst nature, playing with her daughter, and watching movies.

EDUCATION:

Ph.D., 2010, University of Denver, Geography
M.P.S., 2005, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India, Population Studies
M.S., 2003, Presidency College (University of Calcutta), Kolkata, India, Geography
B.S., 2001, Loreto College (University of Calcutta), Kolkata, India, Geography