People

PI: Ming-Hsiang Tsou (Professor in Geography, SDSU) is an expert in big data analytics, data fusion, data visualization, and GIScience. Tsou is the funding director of the Center for Human Dynamics in the Mobile Age (HDMA). He will provide leadership in this interdisciplinary project and coordinate all research activities among the Co-PIs. Tsou will lead the research activities in Task 1A (data integration for deep learning models) and 2A (analyzing SEDOH).   Email:  mtsou@sdsu.edu

Co-PI: Audrey Beck (Associate Professor in Sociology, SDSU) is a social demographer with expertise in modeling population health and mortality, surveying hard-to-reach populations, and understanding health risks among vulnerable groups. She received a Ph.D. in Sociology from Duke University, with additional training during postdoctoral fellowships at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University and the Center for Health Equity Research and Policy at SDSU. Beck will co-lead Tasks 1B, 2A, 2B, and 3A.  Email: abeck@sdsu.edu

Co-PI: Atsushi Nara (Associate Professor in Geography, SDSU) is trained as a Geographic Information Scientist and offers his expertise in geospatial technological tool development, spatio-temporal data analytics, behavioral geography models, and complex urban and social systems. Nara will co-lead the research activities in Tasks 1B, 2A, and 3B. Nara will focus on spatial statistics methods and homeless migration analysis. Email: anara@sdsu.edu

Co-PI: Xiaobai Liu (Associate Professor in Computer Science, SDSU) is a computer science scientist and the director of Machine Vision and Perception (MVP) lab. He is an expert in computer vision and deep learning. Liu will co-lead Tasks 1A and 3B. His research focus is the development of multimodal deep learning algorithms for homeless encampment detection. Email: xiaobai.liu@sdsu.edu

Co-PI: Gabriela Fernandez (Adjunct faculty and Lecturer in Geography and Big Data Analytics, SDSU) is an Adjunct Faculty in Geography and Graduate Advisor of the Master of Science in Big Data Analytics. She received a Ph.D. in Urban Planning, Design, and Policy from the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies at the Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy. Her research interests include urban metabolism ideologies and material flow analysis of metropolitan cities and identifying urban typologies and socioeconomic indicators.  Email: gfernandez2@sdsu.edu