About Me

Dr. Sathishkumar (Sathish) Samiappan is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering at The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, a position he started in January 2025. Prior to this, he held positions at Mississippi State University (MSU), progressing from Postdoctoral Associate to Assistant Research Professor, and finally Associate Research Professor at the Geosystems Research Institute between October 2014 and October 2024.

Originally from South India, Dr. Samiappan earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Bharathiar University and a Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering from Amrita University, where he subsequently worked as a Lecturer for three years. He later pursued and completed his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a minor in Computer Science at Mississippi State University in August 2014.

Dr. Samiappan's research focuses on leveraging small unmanned aerial systems (drones) combined with commercial multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal sensors. He explores their applications in Precision Agriculture, forestry, wildlife monitoring, and environmental science, particularly utilizing advanced techniques like machine learning and AI for data analysis. His work has included projects on detecting microplastics in poultry, mapping invasive aquatic plants, quantifying wildlife damage, monitoring wildlife near airports, and assessing crop health and stress. He has been the Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on numerous funded projects from agencies like the USDA and The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.

A dedicated contributor to the scientific community, Dr. Samiappan is a Life Member of IETE and a member of IEEE, including the Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) International Honor Society. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Samiappan has maintained a strong commitment to teaching. At MSU, he taught courses including Introduction to Electric Circuits and Signals & Systems. During his time at Amrita University (2006-2009), his teaching portfolio included Digital Signal Processing, Analog and Digital Communication, and Digital Image Processing. He has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students, including Ph.D. candidates.

Driven by a passion for understanding ecosystem services and agricultural systems through advanced remote sensing technologies, Dr. Samiappan continues to build on his extensive experience in cutting-edge research and teaching.