Professor Michael Rast / Bio

Michael Rast holds a doctorate in Geology. Following specialisation in geoscientific photogrammetry and remote sensing at the University of Munich he has after joining the European Space Agency ESA mainly been involved in establishing science and mission requirements for Earth observation satellite sensors, such as MERIS on Envisat. His research interests in the past were following a research year at NASA’s JPL mainly in the area of imaging spectroscopy for terrestrial ecosystems. He was heading the Land/Surfaces Unit at ESA’s Mission Science Division at ESTEC, the Netherlands for several years prior to his secondment to the GEO Secretariat in Geneva as Senior Programme Officer. Since 2008 he is Head for the Science Strategy, Coordination and Planning Office in the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA-ESRIN in Frascati, Italy. Michael Rast is still holding a teaching affiliation at the Department for Geography of the University of Munich, Germany.