Mr. Elias Sime Legesse has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University (BiT-BDU), in the department of Water Resource Engineering and Management, Faculty of Civil and Water Resource Engineering. His study, "Integrating Remote Sensing with Machine Learning for Water Resources Monitoring and Management," was supervised by Dr. Fasikaw Atanaw of the Faculty of Civil and Water Resources Engineering and Prof. Seifu A. Tilahun of the Bahir Dar Institute of Technology (BiT), International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
Elias's study sought to determine how well ML and RS integration worked for tracking water resources and estimating flood risks in areas with limited data. Additionally, the study evaluates ML-RS integration for optically active parameters using Landsat 8 OLI and evaluates ML-RS integration for optically non-active parameters (total phosphorus, total nitrogen).
External examiners Dr. Abeyou Wale of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Dr. Asfaw Kebede of Haramaya University assessed the dissertation defense. Throughout the defense, Mr. Elias gave comprehensive and in-depth answers to a number of perceptive questions and remarks from the internal examiners as well as the audience. After careful review, the committee awarded the dissertation an ‘’Excellent" grade.

Professor Seifu Admasu, the Chair of SDAC, as well as eminent SDAC members Drs. Fasikaw Atanaw, Dagnenet Sultan, and Temesgen Enku were included on Mr. Legesse's advisory board.

The FCWRE would like to congratulate Dr. Elias Sime Legesse on this outstanding academic accomplishment!