Prof Jan-Peter Muller

Research summary

Imaging science


- super-resolution restoration with multi-angle sub-pixel matching and GAN

- 3D mapping of featureless surfaces using texture projection

- new remote sensing techniques (e.g. fluorescence spectroscopy)


- uncooled thermal and Shortwave IR


- sub-surface SAR imaging systems from space

Imaging instruments

- real-time 3D mapping of featureless surfaces using texture projection

- PAH & micro-organism location through fluorescence

- Hyperspectral imaging instruments using tunable filters

- fused lidar-stereo instruments for exploration & industry

3D extraction


- multi-angle stereo (e.g. MISR, MISRlite, HRSC, NavCam, Skysat, Carbonite-2, Worldview)


- imaging lidar


- TOMOSAR, InSAR and SAR phase correlation



Machine vision and 3D Animated visualisation


- automated landscape feature extraction (e.g. trees, buildings on earth; craters on Mars)


- orbital-rover data fusion


- web-GIS for data dissemination and visualisation
- visualisation of global change (link to Global Change Video)

Global climate from EO


- long-term calibration of EO instruments (e.g. TRUTHS, vicarious calibration)


- validation methods
- global land surface albedo (35 years from QQA4ECV, 13 years from GlobAlbedo, 19 years from MODIS)


- global cloud-top heights and winds (19 years from MISR)
- global aerosol source-to-sink (e.g. volcanic ash, smoke, pollution)


- PM2.5/PM1 mapping in urban canyons from space
- Solar-planetary weather teleconnections

- CO2 emission and economic activity mapping using night-time lights

- subsurface mapping of Greenland ice-sheet layers



Planetary science


- life detection on other planets (in our solar system & beyond focused on isotopologues)


- comparative morphology for understanding surface processes using 3D terrain


- highly turbulent flow and how Giant Planets' banded structure and long-lived storms can persist

Research Experience

Discovery of hurricane systems in Jupiter’s equator, lightning, role of internal heating in driving Jupiter’s atmospheric motions as well as discovery of frozen sea and catastrophic floods on Mars. Development of world leading advanced algorithms for super-reolution restoration, automated 3D surface extraction using stereo, SAR interferometry, Imaging LiDAR  (including clouds and Mars) and solid-earth deformation measurement (radar interferometry and sub-pixel offset tracking), automated extraction of global environmental information (BRDF/albedo, aerosols, cloud-top heights, CO2 emissions, economic activity), automated interpretation of aerial and space imagery for building and vegetation extraction, animated 3D visualisation of global change, the exploitation of parallel and cluster processing technology and development of technology for sharing geographic knowledge through web-GIS.

Teaching summary

Lecturing on M.Sc. in Remote Sensing and Environmental Mapping,  Space Science & Engineering.

Course co-ordinator of GMES (Global Monitoring of Environment & Security), contributing lecturer to Planetary surface instrumentation and EO and climate change.

Supervisor of 4 PhD students,  6 MSc SSE, 3 MSc Planetary Science and up to 8 MSc Physical geography students every summer.

Education

University College London

Doctorate, Doctor of Philosophy | 1980

Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine

Other higher degree, Master of Science | 1977

University of Sheffield

First Degree, Bachelor of Science | 1976

Publications

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