Ate Poortinga, PhD, is a Senior Scientist and Google Earth Engine Specialist with the Environmental Mapping Team at Spatial Informatics Group, working on the SERVIR–Mekong project in Bangkok. He has expertise in a variety of scientific disciplines including water resources management, environmental management, and the application of new technologies for spatial intelligence. 

Ate develops sophisticated cloud-based data processing systems that are used in a variety of applications such as detecting floods, mapping land cover, and identifying deforestation hotspots. He is involved in the implementation of big Earth data mining and artificial intelligence technologies for spatial intelligence. 

Before joining SIG, Ate worked with Winrock International in the USAID Vietnam Forests and Deltas program. He has published his research in scientific journals, and he also uses his blog to share scripts, results, and code snippets.

Ate holds a doctorate in Soil Chemistry and Physics and a master’s in International Land and Water Management, both from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.