ACES Team

Director/ Principal Investigator

Ved Chirayath

Ved Chirayath

Assoc. Professor
Vetlesen Endowed Chair of Earth Sciences, Department of Ocean Science
Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Secondary Appointment
Director, Aircraft Center for Earth Studies (ACES)

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Ved Chirayath is the Vetlesen Endowed Chair of Earth Sciences, a National Geographic Explorer, and the inaugural director of the Aircraft Center for Earth Studies (ACES) at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. Chirayath's research focuses...
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Research Faculty and Staff

Roni Avissar

Roni Avissar

Professor, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science

(305) 421-4000
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Roni Avissar, Ph.D., became dean of the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science in 2009. Dr. Avissar is an internationally recognized atmospheric scientist who has started his career in academia in 1989.  His research has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals and he has pioneered the development and...
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Soufyane Bouchelaghem

Soufyane Bouchelaghem

Sr. Research Associate 1, SOM (N) (A)

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Drew Christensen

Drew Christensen

Manager, Programs

(305) 421-4707
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Cedric Marcel Guigand

Cedric Marcel Guigand

Sr. Manager, Research Laboratory (A)
Senior Engineer

(305) 421-4978
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Cedric Guigand is an accomplished technologist with a strong background in oceanography and extensive experience at sea. After completing his Master of Science in Marine Biology at Florida Tech in 2002, he joined the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science as a Senior Research Associate.His...
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Noah A Pikielny

Noah A Pikielny

Software Engineer (A)

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Noah Pikielny graduated from Cornell University in May 2024 with a degree in Computer Science and moved to Miami shortly afterward to join the ACES team in person. He is currently leveraging his interests in computer graphics and computer vision to help develop the next iteration of the Fluid Lensing algorithm.
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Imad Eddine Tibermacine

Imad Eddine Tibermacine

Sr. Research Associate 1, SOM (N) (A)

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Students

Jessie Yang

Jessie Yang

PhD Student

     Jessie Yang is a Ph.D. student at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. Her doctoral research focuses on developing and applying airborne remote sensing techniques to monitor and forecast Sargassum landings. Through her work, she aims to improve the accuracy and accessibility of coastal monitoring tools by combining drone imagery, machine learning, and environmental modeling.
     Jessie earned her Bachelor of Science in Oceanography from the University of Washington in 2022, where she used statistical models to study the ecological factors driving the growth of Alaria marginata, a species of brown algae found along the U.S. West Coast. She then completed her Master of Professional Science in Applied Remote Sensing at the University of Miami in 2024, further honing her skills in geospatial analysis, drone operations, and environmental data science.
     Her Ph.D. research is part of SargaSTREAM, an international research project on the effects of Sargassum seaweed funded by the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) and coordinated through the Aircraft Center for Earth Studies (ACES). As part of this work, Jessie supports international workshops in Mexico and Brazil designed to train local communities in drone-based Sargassum monitoring. By combining cutting-edge technology with community-based capacity building, her research contributes to more effective and locally driven responses to the environmental and socioeconomic challenges posed by Sargassum influxes.

Jakob Brown

Jakob Brown

Undergraduate Lab Assistant

Nayonika Choudhury

Nayonika Choudhury

Undergraduate Lab Assistant

Nayonika Choudhury is a senior at the University of Miami, majoring in Marine Affairs and International Relations. At ACES, she has contributed to the NASA Marineverse Project mapping global coral reef extent, supported SERDP fieldwork on underwater munitions detection, and is currently co-authoring a paper on methods for measuring coral growth in Guam’s Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve. Her academic and professional interests span shark conservation, coastal species management, and the broader intersections of marine science and policy. She aspires to pursue a career in international environmental policy, emphasizing the urgent need to address climate change as a transnational challenge requiring global cooperation.

Isaiah Wang

Isaiah Wang

Undergraduate Lab Assistant

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