Research Interests

Climate Change Mitigation (REDD+)  

Tropical forest structure and biomass estimation 

Forest regrowth

Active and passive remote sensing

Programming (Python and R)

LiDAR (GEDI and ALS) data processing

GIS

Education 

2019 – 2023: Ph.D. in Remote Sensing, Geography Department, Michigan State University (MSU) 

2017 – 2019: Master of Science in Geographic Information Science, South Dakota State University (SDSU)

2004 – 2010: Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management, University of Kinshasa

Previous Appointments 

08/2019 – 12/2023 :  Teaching & Research  Assistant, Geography  Department, MSU, USA

08/2017 – 07/2019 :  Teaching Assistant, Geography and Spatial Sciences Department, SDSU, USA

05/2018 – 08/2018 :  Research Assistant, Geospatial Science Center of Excellence (GSCE), SDSU, USA

06/2017 –  08/2017 : GIS Specialist, Maphubs Inc, Washington DC, USA 

07/2013 – 07/2016 : GIS Project Coordinator, OSFAC (Central African Satellite Observatory of Forest), DR. Congo

Publications

Kashongwe, H.B., Roy, D.P., & Skole, D.L. 2023. Examination of the amount of GEDI data required to characterize central Africa tropical forest aboveground biomass at REDD+ project scale in Mai Ndombe province. Science of Remote Sensing, 7, 100091. 

Roy, D.P., Kashongwe, H.B., & Armston, J. 2021. The impact of geolocation uncertainty on GEDI tropical forest canopy height estimation and change monitoring. Science of Remote Sensing, 4, 100024. 

Zhong, S., Wang,T.,  Sciusco,P.,  Shen, M.,  Pei,L.,  Nikolic,J., McKeehan, K.,  Kashongwe, H.B.,  Hatami‐Bahman‐Beiglou, P.,  Camacho,K.,  Akanga,D.,  Charney,J.,  & Bian,X. 2021. Will land use land cover change drive atmospheric conditions to become more conducive to wildfires in the United States?. International Journal of Climatology, 1-20.

Kashongwe, H.B., Roy, D.P., & Bwangoy, J-R.B. 2020. Democratic Republic of the Congo tropical forest canopy height and aboveground biomass estimation with Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and airborne LiDAR data: the effect of seasonal Landsat image selection. Remote Sensing, 12(9), 1360. 

Recent Presentations

Roy, D.P., Kashongwe, H.B., Cho, M.,  Skole,D., Bwangoy, J.R. 2024. Combining GEDI, satellite forest cover loss maps, and airborne remote sensing to improve understanding of species-specific central Africa tropical forest regrowth and carbon sequestration. Session: Global Carbon Cycle Observation and Analysis (A-CG35). Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2024, Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan

Shirkey, G., John, R., Anctil, A.,  Kolluru, V., Mungai, L.,  Kashongwe, H.B.,  Cooper, L., Celik, I.,  Chen, J. 2023. Carbon Offset Potential of Midwest Agroecosystems: A Spatialized Life-Cycle Assessment Framework. Session: Atmospheric, Ocean, and Land Biogeochemistry in Global Environmental Change Poster. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Roy, D.P., Kashongwe, H.B., Skole, D. 2023. The amount of GEDI data required to characterize central Africa tropical forest aboveground biomass at REDD+ project scale, a Mai Ndombe province analysis, SilviLaser 2023 Conference, University College London, U.K.

Kashongwe, H.B., Roy, D.P., Skole, D.L. 2022. An Examination of the Amount of GEDI Data Required to Reliably Characterize Central Africa Tropical Forest Aboveground Biomass at REDD+ Project. Session: Applications of Earth Observations for Addressing Environmental and Development Challenges in Africa I Poster. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, Chicago, IL, USA. 

Kashongwe, H.B. 2019. Estimates of Forest Canopy Height and Aboveground Biomass using Airborne LiDAR and Landsat-8 OLI data in Mai Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, Washington - DC, USA.

Active Grants

Roy, D.P., Kashongwe, H.B., Cho, M.S., Using GEDI data to improve understanding of species-specific central Africa tropical forest regrowth. Funded by NASA NNH23ZDA001N-GEDI Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation Science Team program.

Fellowships and Certifications

2023 :  MSU Dissertation Completion Fellowship

2022 :  MSU Cultures and Languages across the Curriculum (CLAC) Graduate Fellowship

2022 :  MSU Marjorie and Lawrence Sommers Graduate Fellowship for International Research and Travel

2021 – 2022 : 2021 MSU cloud computing fellowship

2019 – 2021 : Graduate Certificate  in Forest Carbon Science and Management, Department of Forestry, Michigan State University