Cassidy J. Rankine, PhD
Earth Observation Evangelist - Global Change Scientist - Educator - Futurist
About Me
I am an Earth observation scientist and remote sensing solutions expert by trade, with over 15 years experience in the geospatial intelligence business and research sectors. Seeing and measuring our planet from space literally opens up a world of opportunities for smarter global development with a focus on sustainability and equity. I am also a business development leader and a tech entrepreneur by passion. I love bringing cutting edge information & communication technologies to new markets to help solve 21st century challenges in our new age of exponential change. ​
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My professional interests focus on the utilization of emerging space-based remote sensing technologies and AI leveraged spatial analytics (GEOAI) for more informed natural resource management, sustainable development, and risk mitigation. I have owned and operated several small businesses based on remote sensing technologies and have worked on commercial and academic R&D projects across a number of industries and government sectors, from insurance, agriculture and forestry, to mining, construction and civil engineering.
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I am always looking for opportunities to connect with people to discuss new ideas and technologies for improving process efficiency, systems automation/optimization, and sustainable development initiatives.
Featured Articles
Core Professional Skills
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Business Development
I have been developing business for remote sensing technologies since 2010, with an emphasis on helping governments and large enterprises understand and adopt Earth Observation solutions to bring real tangible cost, time, or risk reduction benefits at scale.​
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I have a successful track record of creating and expanding multi-million dollar remote sensing business programs with state or nation wide impact from climate driven agri-risk and food security, to enhanced forest inventory and carbon accounting programs. Bringing positive real-world impacts from orbital sensor systems is something I find very inspiring and rewarding.
Applied Remote Sensing
With 15 years of experience in satellite, airborne, and ground based remote sensing I have a strong understanding of radiometry and spectroscopy. I focus on applying remote sensing to product development and business solution development.
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Satellite System Experience:
Sentinel, Planet Labs (Planetscope, Skysat, Tanager), LandSat, MODIS, EnMAP, RapidEye
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Manned and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles:
RGB & NIR Orthoimagery
Hyperspectral Imagery
PhoDAR & LiDAR Point Clouds
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Image Processing Software Expertise:
ESRI ArcGIS/Pro, QGIS, GRASS GIS, SAGA, Pix4D, Agisoft Photoscan, ENVI / IDL, ERDAS, Python, R
Data Science & Analytics
As a data scientist I've developed advanced skills in statistics and data management through the use of scientific computing languages
Intermediate Analyst in R and Python:
Machine Learning
Time Series Analysis
Computer Vision
Multi-Variate
Robust Regression
Spatial Statistics
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More recently I have been focused on leveraging AI capabilities for data science and remote sensing modeling
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
There is no greater tool for understanding patterns of both natural and man-made systems, than through spatial analysis.
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Software Expertise:
ESRI ArcGIS
QGIS
Global Mapper
Python / GDAL
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Primary GIS expertise in raster analysis for feature classification, extraction and vectorization using multispectral and hyperspectral data.
Sensor Networks and IoT
Before the Internet of Things (IoT) had a name I began working with digital sensor systems for wireless and remote monitoring of environmental conditions. I have worked with several key players in the early IoT space including military engineering firms and computer corporate giants to develop and test long-lasting wireless sensor systems in extreme environments around the planet. My main expertise lies in the network deployment, remote connectivity, system maintenance and data analytics.
Life and Environmental Sciences
As an ecosystem biologist by training I have conducted research and published scientific works in the field of evolutionary developmental biology, histology, ecophysiology, biophysics, biometeorology, marine biology, forestry, biodiversity, and environmental global change sciences.
From microscopes to satellite sensors my passion is to merge new technologies with old disciplines to bring greater understanding of the inter-connection between the natural and human-built worlds.
Work Experience
As a professional in my field, I’ve had the opportunity to hold a variety of roles in both industry and academia throughout the years. Take a look below to learn more about my employment background and most relevant work experience.
Government Account Executive, Planet Labs Geomatics Corp.
2021 - Present
Managing business development and sales for the Canadian subsidiary of Planet Labs Pubic Benefit Corp, the leading provider of global monitoring data from a fleet of hundreds of smallsats. This role combines my expertise in remote sensing and geospatial solutions with my aptitude for sales and relationship building with my large network across the scientific, industry, and government sectors. In this role I successfully tripled the customer base and doubled the revenue of the Canadian business of Planet Labs several years in a row, and greatly broadened the impact of commercial satellite data in the Canadian government for more sustainable resource management and governance.
I was recognized as Planet's Account Executive of the Year several years in a row for achievements in sales.
Owner / Primary Consultant, Rankine Geospatial
January 2018Â - Present
Director of Remote Sensing, Tesera Systems Inc.
2019 - 2021
Tesera Systems develops cloud-based geospatial applications with a heavy focus on the forestry and natural resource management sectors. My role as the director of remote sensing is to find cost-effective solutions to problems that require satellite, airborne, or near-surface remote sensing data.
I manage the collection and processing of airborne LiDAR and multispectral image collection and data fusion for large forest inventory analytics projects and also create computer vision based image classification and object detection workflows.
Chief Technology Officer, Skymatics Ltd.
Jan 2016 - 2018
Calgary, Alberta
As the technical co-founder of Skymatics, one of the first commercial drone service providers in Alberta, I develop and manage the remote sensing and geospatial data products for the aerial mapping and surveying services the company offers. My role also includes UAV field planning, operations and piloting, GIS management, business development and sales, marketing content creation, and R&D for computer vision and AI analytics for our SaaS application.
President, Up-Top Aerial Imaging
Sept 2014 - Jan 2016
Edmonton, Alberta
Provided aerial photography, cinematography, and photogrammetry services. Self-taught multi-media expertise. Developed custom solutions for industry needs exploring the use of new unmanned aerial systems technology.
Teaching Assistant, University of Alberta
Sept. 2011 - Dec. 2014
Edmonton, Alberta
For three years I created the curriculum and taught the lab component of a 3rd year Earth and Atmospheric science course entitled Environmental Applications of Geographic Information Systems, which was an advanced hands-on computer course covering multi-spectral image analysis (LandSat), land cover classification, digital elevation modeling and hydrology analysis, and vegetation spectral time series analysis for assessing primary productivity of landscapes. For this work I won several teaching awards through student nominations.
Research Assistant, Center for Earth Observation Sciences
May 2009 - Dec 2015
Edmonton, Alberta
Assistant to Dr. G.A. Sanchez-Azofeifa, director of CEOS, Tropi-Dry Research Network, Smithsonian Research Fellow, and editor of the Journal Remote Sensing of the Environment. My role was the development and management of an international network of digital environmental monitoring supersites and Earth observation satellite validation programs. Specific duties included the design, deployment, maintenance, and data analysis of our custom built optical wireless sensor networks, meteorological stations (hundreds of them), and observation towers for land surface-atmospheric carbon, water, and energy exchange monitoring across 25 research sites in 7 countries.
Throughout my term in this role I participated in and spoke at numerous collaborative overseas research ventures with the following groups:
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> European Space Agency in Italy
> German Aerospace Institute in Munich
> National Physical Laboratory in the UK
> IBM Watson Laboratories in New York
> Smithsonian Institute for Tropical Research in Boston and Panama
> National University of Mexico in Jalisco
> Federal Institute of Technology of Costa Rica in San Jose
> Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research in Brazil
> Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Land and Water Division in Melbourne and Canberra
Interested in learning more about my academic and industry experience?
Bio
I was born and raised in Western Canada where I attended the University of Alberta, a school renowned worldwide for its scientific and medical research. I worked residential and commercial construction and renovations while I got my bachelor of science focusing on research frontiers in environmental physiology, evolutionary ecology and conservation biology. Working alongside accomplished scientists in research labs and organizing campus sustainability initiatives while restoring old buildings and homes, I gained a unique understanding of the intricate connections between the natural world and our human society, and realized how vastly different they functioned in terms of resource use efficiency and sustainability.
After being awarded highly competitive national scholarships for my academic achievements I continued my education by pursuing a graduate degree in earth and atmospheric sciences studying remote sensing and geographic information systems, which fast-tracked into a PhD at the UofA's Center for Earth Observation Sciences. My research there pioneered the use of emerging wireless IoT sensor technologies for carbon cycle monitoring in endangered and rapidly changing ecosystems around the globe. My research took me to 10 countries on 5 continents where I helped develop new technologies for ecosystem service evaluation and created novel test beds for advanced earth observation science and policy initiatives with government, industry, and international institutes for global change research.
In 2016 I co-founded Skymatics Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta, with a mission to bring emerging unmanned aerial vehicle technologies and data solutions to the construction, engineering, and agricultural industries in Canada. Here I managed our product development team and created a suite of geospatial analytics packages to convert aerial survey data into actionable information, specifically to help with agricultural insurance claims in the wake of increasingly disruptive and costly natural disasters and severe weather events in the Canadian prairies and around the globe. The goal was to create a bridge connecting big data generated by new consumer drones and the analytics needed to create real value for drone users by developing a sophisticated yet simple image analysis engine in the cloud that anyone could access. We achieved that goal with the release of our SkyClaim app.
From a young age, I’ve always had a sense of motivation and passion driving me forward. Whether it’s exploring unique opportunities, learning additional skills, or meeting new people, I bring these values to every experience throughout my life on a personal and professional level.
Formal Education
My education has not only provided the foundation for the rest of my experiences, but has also made me a lifelong learner who is always eager to gain more skills and knowledge. Most of my professional development education now takes place outside of the classroom, but a brief look at my academics can be seen below.
Ph.D. Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta
2010 - 2015
Specialization: Remote Sensing of the Environment and Geographic Information Systems
PhD Dissertation: The Use of Wireless Sensor Networks for Environmental Monitoring and Earth Observation Sciences
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Notable Courses:
> Advanced Topics in Remote Sensing
> Multi-Variate Statistics in R
> Advanced Experimental Design for Environmental Research
> Modeling with Geographic Information Systems
Bachelor of Science, University of Alberta
Biological Sciences
2005 - 2009
Specialization in Evolutionary Ecology, Physiology, and Conservation Biology.
Graduation with Honours.
Completed two undergraduate thesis projects.
" Do not take life too seriously,
you will never get out of it alive "
Elbert Hubbard
Let’s Connect
British Columbia, Canada