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AthithiyanM R

Geospatial Data Scientist · Remote Sensing · Climate Analytics

Turning satellite imagery into climate-action decisions. 4+ years building end-to-end spatial AI pipelines for Tamil Nadu's most ambitious land-use and sustainability initiatives.

SENTINEL-2 10m RESOLUTION TAMIL NADU, INDIA
Project Footprint
Field sites across Tamil Nadu
hover markers for details
4+Years Experience
15K+Sentinel-2 Scenes
40+Geospatial Layers
38Districts Mapped
Where satellite data
meets climate action
Auroville Consulting — Geospatial Data Scientist

I'm a Geospatial Data Scientist based in India, specialising in turning raw earth observation data into tools that governments and planners actually use. My work sits at the intersection of remote sensing, machine learning, and climate policy.

With a background in Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Refining, I bring a systems-thinking mindset to every spatial problem — from modelling watershed hydrology to classifying land cover at regional scale using Sentinel-2 imagery and deep learning.

Over 4 years at Auroville Consulting, I've delivered end-to-end geospatial workflows for the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, building frameworks that directly inform land-use policy and climate adaptation strategy. My work spans renewable energy siting, blue-green infrastructure planning, and multi-criteria land suitability assessments — each producing policy-ready maps and reports that are embedded into Tamil Nadu's spatial planning framework.

Focus Areas
  • Remote Sensing
  • Land Use Planning
  • Climate Analytics
  • Deep Learning for EO
  • Blue-Green Infrastructure

M.Tech. Petroleum Refining & Petrochemicals

Anna University, Chennai

2019–2021

B.Tech. Chemical Engineering

Arunai Engineering College

2015–2019

Master in Data Science

GUVI (IIT Madras)

2021–2022

Specialisation in Geospatial AI

LULC classification · U-Net segmentation · Random Forest · Multi-criteria suitability modelling

Client: TN State Planning Commission

Policy-ready maps and reports embedded into Tamil Nadu's spatial planning framework

Building Tamil Nadu's
spatial intelligence layer
July 2024 — Present Current Role
Data Scientist / Geospatial Data Scientist
Auroville Consulting × Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission
Tamil Nadu Blue-Green Infrastructure Potential Mapping and Development Framework
  • Developed science-based framework to identify, map, and prioritize Blue-Green Networks (BGNs) across Tamil Nadu
  • Processed 15,000+ Sentinel-2 images and 40+ geospatial layers (LULC, hydrology, DEM, biodiversity, climate)
  • Used DEM-derived micro-watersheds to identify ecological linkages across landscapes
  • Mapped unused/fallow lands 2019–2023, assessing forestation potential via multi-criteria suitability model
  • Evaluated BGNs on 18 ecosystem service criteria; delivered district-wise intervention zones
Geospatial Database Interactive Map Suitability Maps Multi-criteria Tool Policy Recommendations
Aug 2022 — Oct 2023
Data Analyst
Auroville Consulting
Sustainable Energy Transformation Tamil Nadu (SET-TN)
  • Policy advisory to accelerate renewable energy adoption in Tamil Nadu
  • Research and data analytics for sustainable energy transition pathways
  • Capacity building for TN power sector net-zero transition
  • Land-suitability assessment for distributed solar energy in Villupuram district
  • Modelling Time of Use electricity tariffs for Tamil Nadu power sector
Feb 2023 — Dec 2023
Research / Data Analyst
Auroville Consulting × Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission
Land Suitability Assessment for Kallakurichi District
  • Identified unused lands for forestation, agriculture, water harvesting, housing, industrial development, and solar energy
  • LULC detection and change detection across multi-year Sentinel-2 time series
  • Land suitability assessment and ground truthing field campaigns
  • Delivered project report, interactive online map, and community awareness sessions
Project Report Interactive Map Ground Truth Campaign Awareness Sessions
Projects that shaped
Tamil Nadu's landscape
More Projects
2022–2023

Land Suitability — Distributed Solar Energy, Villupuram

SET-TN / Auroville Consulting

Multi-criteria land suitability assessment to identify optimal sites for distributed solar energy deployment across Villupuram district. Integrated slope, land cover, grid proximity, and socio-economic exclusion layers.

MCDA Solar Siting GIS Analysis
2023

Time of Use Electricity Tariff Modelling — Tamil Nadu

SET-TN / Auroville Consulting

Modelled Time of Use electricity tariff structures for Tamil Nadu to incentivise demand-side flexibility and accelerate renewable integration. Analysis covered load profiles, peak shifting potential, and consumer impact.

Energy Modelling Tariff Design Policy Analytics
2023

Land Suitability Assessment — Kallakurichi District

Auroville Consulting × TN Planning Commission

Comprehensive land suitability assessment identifying unused lands for forestation, agriculture, water harvesting, housing, industrial development, and solar energy. Included LULC change detection and ground truthing campaigns.

LULC Change Suitability Mapping Ground Truthing
2022

Multi-class LULC Classification — Sentinel-2

Remote Sensing / ML

Random Forest and SVM-based multi-class land use/land cover classification across Tamil Nadu using Sentinel-2 multi-temporal composites. Achieved >90% overall accuracy across 12 land cover classes including agriculture, water bodies, built-up, and scrubland.

Random Forest SVM LULC Sentinel-2
2024

DEM-derived Micro-watershed Analysis

Hydrological Modelling

Automated micro-watershed delineation from SRTM and Cartosat DEM data to identify ecological linkages and hydrological flow paths across Tamil Nadu's landscape. Foundation layer for the Blue-Green Infrastructure framework.

DEM Processing Watershed SRTM Flow Analysis
2019–2023

Fallow & Unused Land Change Detection — 2019–2023

Multi-temporal Remote Sensing

Multi-temporal change detection across Tamil Nadu to map fallow and unused land dynamics from 2019 to 2023. Integrated spectral indices and machine learning classifiers to assess forestation potential and identify priority intervention zones.

Change Detection Time Series Vegetation Indices Forestation
Research outputs
in the public domain
Land-suitability assessment of Villupuram district — distributed solar energy potential
Auroville Consulting · SET-TN · 2023
Read Report
Modelling Time of Use Electricity Tariffs for Tamil Nadu
Auroville Consulting · SET-TN · 2023
Read Report
In Progress
Blue-Green Infrastructure Potential Mapping and Development Framework — Tamil Nadu
Auroville Consulting × Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission · 2024–2025
Coming Soon
Tools & technologies
in the stack
Remote Sensing & GIS
Sentinel-2 Landsat MODIS Cartosat DEM SRTM Google Earth Engine QGIS ArcGIS GDAL PostGIS Rasterio GeoPandas Shapely Fiona
Machine Learning & AI
U-Net Segmentation Random Forest SVM XGBoost CNN PyTorch TensorFlow / Keras scikit-learn SAM Transfer Learning Hyperparameter Tuning
Data & Programming
Python R SQL NumPy Pandas Xarray Dask Jupyter Git Docker Linux/CLI
Analysis & Visualisation
Multi-criteria Suitability Change Detection Time Series Analysis Watershed Delineation LULC Classification Ecosystem Services Kepler.gl Leaflet.js Matplotlib Folium Policy Reporting
Ready to map
something meaningful?

Whether you're working on climate adaptation, land-use planning, or spatial AI — I'd love to connect. Open to remote collaborations and research partnerships.