Arka Mitra, Ph.D.

Atmospheric Scientist & Remote Sensing Expert

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About Me

Atmospheric scientist with 8+ years across satellite remote sensing, boundary-layer dynamics, and wind energy applications. I design end-to-end research pipelines—from algorithm development and multi-sensor data fusion to validation, uncertainty quantification, and scalable geospatial modeling. My work emphasizes reproducibility (Python, CI/CD), interpretable AI/ML (SOMs, gradient-boosting, deep learning), and turning large environmental datasets into actionable insights for siting, forecasting, and climate process understanding.

• Algorithm design & retrieval development
• Satellite–model fusion & evaluation
• Wind regime analysis & optimization
• Uncertainty budgets & validation
• Reproducible, production-grade workflows
• Clear technical writing & visualization

Professional Experience

Research Scientist

University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign · Oct 2025 – Present

Leading creation of 22-year satellite climate record of 2-layered MISR+MODIS fusion CTH.

Postdoctoral Scientist

Argonne National Laboratory · Mar 2023 – Sept 2025

PI: benchmark dataset of PBL-height winds; offshore wind siting analytics.
SOM-based wind regimes; MISR-ERA5 fusion; radiative flux evaluation.

Graduate Research Assistant

University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign · Aug 2017 – Feb 2023

MISR–MODIS CTH fusion, validation vs lidar, and long-term trend analyses.

Lead writer of a successful NASA Grant to operationalize MISR-MODIS fusion.

Education

Ph.D., Atmospheric Sciences

Aug 2017 – Feb 2023

University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign · USA

Advisor: Dr. Larry Di Girolamo
Focus: Satellite remote sensing of Clouds
Dissertation: Link ↗

M.Sc., Physics

Aug 2015 – May 2017

Presidency University, Kolkata · India

Thesis Focus: Ionospheric electrodynamics · Neural-network modeling
Thesis: Link ↗

B.Sc., Physics

Aug 2012 – May 2015