SAKSHI SARAF

I am passionate about integrating Remote Sensing and GIS technology with data science to drive innovative and effective environmental solutions. I have hands on experience in handling large, complex high-resolution remote sensing datasets, drone imagery, and employed a wide range of tools and methodologies such as machine/deep learning or Bayesian/frequentist statistical models in high-performance computing. I’m also proficient in Esri’s ArcGIS Suite, including Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst extensions, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS/ ArcPro, Google Earth Engine and mobile data collection tools such as Trimble GPS and Esri Field Apps. I have hands-on experience in both R and Python scripting, ModelBuilder, and Arcade for geoprocessing automation, spatial analysis, and tool development. I can work in fast-paced, team-oriented environments, delivering high-quality GIS solutions for environmental and sustainability projects.

• Cable Grant Graduate Research Assistantship awarded by the Biology Department, University of South Dakota (FY 2025)
• U.S. Carbon Program Leadership Award 2023-24 for North American Carbon Science Community to attend AGU Fall Meeting 2023 ($1600)
• IALE-North America Student Travel Awards 2023 to attend 2023 IALE-NA conference in Riverside, California, US. ($800)
• Grassland Research Grant Program-Spirit Mound Trust Grant for FY 2024-25. ($1500)
• Biology Graduate Student Travel Grant award by the University of South Dakota for the summer field work in FY2024-25, FY2023-24 and FY2022-23. ($650)
• Graduate Research and Creative Scholarship Grant award by the University of South Dakota each year from 2021-2025. ($750)
• David Swanson Research Fellow Funds for FY22-2023 and FY2023-2024 awarded by the Biology Department, University of South Dakota. ($500)
• Best Poster Award in XIV Agricultural Science Congress, New Delhi (2019)

• Co-convened workshop for tribal programs,community members, faculty and students on 'Open Source Remote Sensing Workshop for Invasive Species Monitoring in Rangeland Ecosystems’ at Oglala Lakota College, South Dakota from July 8-11, 2024.
• Co-convened workshop on 'Water Use, Agriculture and Aral Sea Shrinkage: Geospatial Workshop' at Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Almaty, Kazakhstan, from November 17-26, 2023
• Reviewed research papers for Scientific Reports journals
• Graduate Teaching Assistant (2021-2024) for various courses :Introduction to Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Remote Sensing, Unmanned Aerial Systems, General Biology.
• Co-convened workshop on grazing land health, national resource inventory (NRI) and current opportunities at USDA by SD NRCS at the University of South Dakota in January 2022.
• Event judge at the South Dakota Science Olympiad State Tournament in March 2022 & 2023.
• Conducted several UAV field campaigns to provide hands-on experience for undergraduate and graduate students at USD.

• Collection of grassland vegetation attributes such plant species composition, biomass, soil moisture, drone imagery, hyperspectral signatures and soil samples for monitoring invasive yellow sweet clover across South Dakota (SD) (June-August, 2021-2024)
• Volunteered for plant identification and plant composition data collection under NRCS Volunteer Program (2022)
• Drone mapping of several archeological sites across South Dakota (June-July of 2022)
• Windshield surveys (July-August of 2021 & 2022) for crop residue and tillage mapping in eastern South Dakota.
• Dissolved oxygen water sample collection for water quality analysis in Nuh, Haryana, India (2017-2019)

• Saraf, S., John, R., Goljani Amirkhiz, R., Venkatesh, K., Jain, K., Rigge, M., Giannico, V., Boyte, S., Chen, J., Henebry, G., Jarchow, M., & Lafortezza, R. (2023). Biophysical drivers for predicting the distribution and abundance of invasive yellow sweetclover in the Northern Great Plains. Landscape Ecology, 38(6), 1463-1479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-023-01613-1
• Venkatesh, K., John, R., Chen, J., Konkathi, P., Kolluru, S., Saraf, S., Henebry, G.M., Xiao, J., Jain, K., and Kussainova, M. (2024). Dominant role of grazing and snow cover variability on vegetation shifts in the drylands of Kazakhstan. Communications Earth & Environment, 5(424). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01587-1.
• Ghosh, S. M., Saraf, S., Behera, M. D., & Biradar, C. (2017). Estimating Agricultural Crop Types and Fallow Lands Using Multi Temporal Sentinel-2A Imageries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section A: Physical Sciences, 87(4), 769-779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40010-017-0447-5.

• Dr. Ranjeet John (ranjeet.john@usd.edu), Assistant Professor, Department of Biology & Department of Sustainability, University of South Dakota, SD, USA, Phone (517)-214-6675.
• Dr. Geoffrey M. Henebry (henebryg@msu.edu), Professor, Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences & Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, Phone (517)-355-3899.
• Dr. Jiquan Chen (jqchen@msu.edu), Professor, Landscape Ecology & Ecosystem Science (LEES) Lab, Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences & Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, Phone (517) 884-1884.