Contact Information
1301 West Green Street
M/C 150
Urbana, IL 61801
M/C 150
Urbana, IL 61801
Teaching Assistant Professor
Education
- 2014, PhD, Pennsylvania State University - Geography "Looking back to inform the future: The role of cognition in forest disturbance characterization from remote sensing imagery"
- 2010, MS, University of Idaho - Physical Geography "Classification of Mixed-Conifer Forest Stands using SPOT-5 Imagery"
- 2009, BS, University of Idaho - Physical Geography
- 2009, BEnvs, University of Idaho - Environmental Science (Senior thesis: "IKONOS Imagery Analysis for Shoreline Change Detection at Sand Point, Michigan")
Highlighted Publications
My research examines how visual and technical systems produce, naturalize, and legitimize geographic knowledge -- and critical reflection on who those systems serve or exclude in the process. My earliest work considers how do technical and visual systems produce geographic authority, and what do they render invisible in the process? My most recent pivot within this space moves from purely earth observation systems, to the broader GeoAI discipline. I am currently working on several projects concerning knowledge production, training, and a critique of the GIScience field itself. The following articles represent some of my past contributions to geographic knowledge production.
- 2022 Portelli, R.A. and Pope, P. Remote Sensing and Human Factors Research: A Review, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Vol. 88 (1), 55-64
- 2020 Portelli, R.A. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater: Re-appreciating the dynamic relationship between humans, machines, and landscape images. Landscape Ecology, 35(4), 815-822
- 2018 White, R. A., Coltekin, A., Hoffman, R. eds. Remote Sensing and Cognition: Human Factors of Image Interpretation. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
- 2015 Portelli, R.A. and MacEachren, A. Cognitive Themes Emerging from Air Photo Interpretation Texts Published to 1960. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information Vol. 4(2), 551-571