Rate My Professor Pascal Sirguey

Associate Professor Pascal Sirguey is an Associate Professor in Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry, and Spatial Analysis in the School of Surveying within the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago. He graduated with a diploma in multidisciplinary engineering majoring in mechanical engineering and structural dynamics from École Centrale de Lyon in France and completed a PhD at the University of Otago School of Surveying. Sirguey began his career as a research engineer with an aircraft engine manufacturer and then served as chief project manager for a Swiss watch manufacturer. He discovered geospatial sciences during a one-year experience in New Zealand, pursued his PhD, and joined the School of Surveying academic team in 2008.

Sirguey's research interests lie in remote sensing, photogrammetry, and geospatial analytics, focusing on developing methods to map complex topography and characterize dynamic landscapes, particularly changes in mountains, glaciers, and snow. He specializes in monitoring seasonal snow variability, mapping glacier surface albedo from satellites, characterizing glacier mass balance, and detecting landslides, with applications to geophysics, vegetation dynamics, and zoology. He has received the Charles Fleming Senior Scientist Award from the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2017, University of Otago Excellence Award in Health and Safety in 2018, Young Mountain Cartographer Award from the International Cartographic Association in 2014, New Zealand Spatial Excellence Award in Education and Professional Development in 2014, and Exceptional Thesis Award from the University of Otago in 2010. Key publications include "Landscape changes in the Kitchener Avalanche Path, Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park after the record-breaking July 2022 storm" (Sheppard et al., 2026, New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics), "Performance of global canopy height models across varied New Zealand vegetation types" (Ng et al., 2025, New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science), and highly cited paper "The Randolph Glacier Inventory: a globally complete inventory of glaciers" (2014, Journal of Glaciology). Current projects include the Matariki project quantifying environmental resources with high-resolution satellite mapping and modelling snow and catchment processes under the Deep South National Challenge. He supervises postgraduate research on snow avalanches, landslides, and coastal changes.