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Education

Ph.D. (2025)| Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
MSc. (2020)| Human Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
BSc. (2018)| Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Bio

Joynal Abedin is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Geography at ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ. He earned his Ph.D. in Geography from Texas A&M University, where his dissertation focused on ‘Modeling the dynamics of climatic and environmental hazard risks through geospatial data science.’ Originally from Bangladesh, he also holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Geography and Environment from the University of Dhaka. His academic journey reflects a strong commitment to advancing both research and pedagogy, recognized through numerous international awards including the AAG Research Grant, ICA and CaGIS Scholarships, and multiple excellence in research and teaching awards. Dr. Abedin has authored over two dozen publications, delivered invited talks, and actively contributed to global conferences, while also mentoring graduate students. At ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ, he teaches courses such as Principles of Remote Sensing, Introduction to GIS and Mapping Sciences, and Globalization and the Developing World, with a focus on cultivating critical thinking, spatial problem-solving, and the transformative application of geospatial technologies.

Research Interests

Joynal Abedin’s research bridges the fields of GIScience, spatial data science, and computational environmental science to address pressing challenges at the nexus of climate change, climatic and environmental hazards, and environmental health. His work develops innovative methodologies that leverage machine learning, GeoAI, spatial statistics, and remote sensing to model the spatial-temporal dynamics of floods, landslides, hurricanes, and air pollution. His work includes building reproducible frameworks for nationwide flood exposure and risk mapping in the United States, creating novel datasets on brickfield development in Bangladesh to examine air pollution and health disparities, and advancing CyberGIS platforms to support disaster resilience and crisis response. At the core of his research is a focus on risk assessment, community resilience, and understanding spatial and social inequalities through rigorous, reproducible science with real-world applications. Looking forward, he aims to expand his research toward multi-hazard early warning systems, AI-based disaster prediction, and participatory frameworks that empower communities to prepare for and adapt to compounding climate and environmental risks.

Publications

Articles In Review/Preparation

21. Abedin, J., Akter, H., Sabrina, S., Shadik, J., Zou, L. A Comprehensive Nationwide Spatial-Temporal Dataset of Brickfield Locations in Bangladesh from 2000 to 2023.

20. Abedin, J., Zou, L., Sumiya, N.N., Mandal, D., Yang, M., Ara, S., Zhou, B., Lin, B. Exploring the Impacts of Air Pollution on Health Disparities through GIScience: A Systematic Literature Review.

19. Abedin, J., Zou, L., Mandal, D., Akter, H., Sabrina, S. Deciphering Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Nationwide Brickfield Development in Bangladesh.

18. Rabby, Y. W., Abedin, J., Fernando, D. Mitigating the Impact of Low-Resolution DEMs on Landslide Susceptibility Mapping Using Advanced Machine Learning. Geodata and AI.

17. Abedin, J., Zou, L., Dabney, A., Hossain, M.M., Akter, H., Sabrina, S. Air Quality and Human Health in the Shadow of Bangladesh’s Growing Brick Industry.

2025

16. Zhou, B., Zou, L., Yang, M., Lin, B., Abedin, J., Cai, H., Ji, S., Klein, A., Gharaibeh, N. Rapid Disaster Response and Damage Estimation with Social Media and Pretrained Large Language Models: Insights from Multiple Hurricanes. Annals of the American Association of Geographers.

15. Yang, Y., Zou, L., Zhou, B., Li, D., Lin, B., Abedin, J., Yang, M. (2025). Hyperlocal disaster damage assessment using bi-temporal street-view imagery and pre-trained vision models. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 121, 102335.

2024

14. Lin, B., Zou, L., Yang, M., Zhou, B., Mandal, D., Abedin, J., Cai, H., Ning, N. (2024). Progress in understanding human-COVID-19 dynamics using geospatial big data: a systematic review. Annals of GIS, 1-21.

13. Mandal, D., Zou, L., Wilkho, R.S., Baig, F., Abedin, J., Zhou, B., Cai, H., Gharaibeh, N., Lam, N.S.N. (2024). PRIME: A CyberGIS platform for resilience inference measurement and enhancement. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 114, 102197.

12. Abedin, J., Zou, L., Yang, M., Rohli, R., Mandal, D., Qiang, Y., Akter, H., Zhou, B., Lin, B., Cai, H. (2024). Deciphering Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of Flood Exposure in the United States. Sustainable Cities and Society, 105444.

11. Zhou, B., Zou, L., Yang, M., Lin, B., Mandal, D., Abedin, J. (2024). Overlooked voices under lockdown: Mapping humanitarian needs in 2022 Shanghai COVID-19 outbreak. Cartography and Geographic Information Science.

2023

10. Mandal, D., Zou, L., Abedin, J., Zhou, B., Yang, M., Lin, B., Cai, H. (2023). Algorithmic uncertainties in geolocating social media data for disaster management. Cartography and Geographic Information Science.

2022

9. Lin, B., Zou, L., Duffield, N., Mostafavi, A., Cai, H., Zhou, B., Tao, J., Yang, M.,
Mandal, D., Abedin, J. (2022). Revealing the Global Linguistic and Geographical Disparities of Public Awareness to Covid-19 Outbreak through social media. International Journal of Digital Earth, 15(1). 868-889.

8. Zhou, B., Zou, L., Mostafavi, A., Lin, B., Yang, M., Gharaibeh, N., Cai, H., Abedin, J., & Mandal, D. (2022). VictimFinder: Harvesting rescue requests in disaster response from social media with BERT. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 95, 101824.

7. Yang, M., Zou, L., Cai, H., Qiang, Y., Lin, B., Zhou, B., Abedin, J., Mandal, D. (2022). Spatial–temporal land loss modeling and simulation in a vulnerable coast: A case study in coastal Louisiana. Remote Sensing, 14(4), 896.

6. Rabby, Y. W., Li, Y., Abedin, J., & Sabrina, S. (2022). Impact of land use/land cover change on landslide susceptibility in Rangamati municipality of Rangamati District, Bangladesh. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 11(2), 89.

2021

5. Rabby, Y. W., Hossain, M. B., & Abedin, J. (2021). Landslide susceptibility mapping in three Upazilas of Rangamati hill district Bangladesh: application and comparison of GIS-based machine learning methods. Geocarto International, 37(12), 3371-3396.

4. Billah, M. M., Rahman, M., Abedin, J., & Akter, H. (2021). Land cover change and its impact on human–elephant conflict: A case from Fashiakhali forest reserve in Bangladesh. SN Applied Sciences, 3(6), 1-17.

2020

3. Hassan, M.M., Ash, K., Abedin, J., Paul, B.K., Southworth, J. (2020). A Quantitative Framework for Analyzing Spatial Dynamics of Flood Events: A Case Study of Super Cyclone Amphan. Remote Sensing, 12(20): 3454.

2. Abedin, J., Rabby, Y.W., Hasan, I., Akter, H. (2020). An Investigation of the Characteristics, Causes, and Consequences of June 13, 2017, Landslides in Rangamati District Bangladesh. Geoenvironmental Disasters, 7(23): 1-19.

1. Abedin, J., Khatun, H. (2020). Impacts of Flash Flood on Livelihood and Adaptation Strategies of the Haor Inhabitants: A Study in Tanguar Haor of Sunamganj, Bangladesh. Dhaka University Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 8 (2019).

Conference Proceedings

4. Abedin, J. Mapping the geographically and temporally evolved flood risks in the contiguous United States. In 31st International Cartographic Conference 2023, 6:2.

3. Zou, L., Li, W., Yang, M., Lin, B., Abedin, J. The impact of social isolation on sleep disturbances– evidence from geospatial big data during COVID-19. In 31st International Cartographic Conference (ICC 2023), 6:293.

2. Zou, L., Zhou, B., Lin, B., Mandal, D., Cai, H., Abedin, J. Empowering disaster response with social media & GeoAI: Opportunities & Challenges. AutoCarto 2022.

1. Mandal, D., Zou, L., Cai, H., Lin, B., Zhou, B., Abedin, J., Yang, M. Uncertainties in geolocating social media data for disaster management. AutoCarto 2022.

Book Chapters

1. Zou, L., Mostafavi, A., Zhou, B., Lin, B., Mandal, D., Yang, M., Abedin, J., Cai, H. (2024). GeoAI for Disaster Response. In Handbook of Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (pp. 287-304). CRC Press.

Presentations and Awards

Awards and Achievements

2025 CaGIS Ph.D. Student Scholarship, Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS)
2025 Graduate Student Excellence in Research Award, Texas A&M University.
2025 1st Position, Graduate Student Research Competition (Poster), Student Research Week 2025, Texas A&M University.
2024 2nd Position, Texas GIS Day 2024 Graduate student presentation competition.
2024 Travel Grant, AAAS Section E Travel Grant for the AAAS Conference in Boston 2025.
2024 Travel Award, NSF funded Cyber-Training for Disaster Management Workshop, CO.
2024 NSF I-GUIDE Summer School 2024, UCAR, Boulder, CO with travel award.
2024 NSF I-GUIDE 2024 Virtual Poster Competition Winner (Co-author).
2023 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Research Grants 2023 (1 of 3 awardees globally).
2023 1st Position, Texas GIS Day 2023 Graduate student presentation competition.
2023 Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching Award 2023, Texas A&M University.
2023 International Cartographic Association (ICA) Scholarship 2023, Cape Town, South Africa.
2023 U.S. National Committee (USNC) to the ICA Travel Award, 31st International Cartographic Conference, Cape Town, South Africa.
2023 AAG Graduate Student Affinity Group (GSAG) Research and Support Awards.
2023 Jeanne X. Kasperson Student Paper Competition Winner at AAG 2023, Denver, CO, USA.
2019 Research Grants for MSc Thesis, DRTMC, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2019 Merit Scholarship, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2018 Faizunnessa Kabiruddin Rahmani Memorial Foundation Scholarship for attaining highest CGPA in B.Sc. program, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2014 1st position- Oceanographic Olympiad, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Presentations (Selected)

12. Abedin, J., Zou, L., Akter, H., Rohli, R., Yang, M. Health Hazards and Air Pollution: The Rise of Brickfields in Bangladesh. AAG 2025 Annual Meeting, Detroit, MI.
11. Abedin, J. Air Quality and Human Health in the Shadow of Bangladesh’s Growing Brick Industry. Student Research Week 2025, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA.
10. Abedin, J. Air Pollution and Health Deterioration: The Consequences of Brickfield Expansion in Bangladesh. Texas GIS Day 2024, Texas A&M University, College Station.
9. Abedin, J., Zou, L., Mandal, D., Yang, M., Akter, H., Zhou, B., Lin, B. Deciphering the dynamics of flood risks: a comprehensive geospatial and temporal assessment in the contiguous United States. AAG 2024 Annual Meeting, Honolulu, HI.
8. Abedin, J. Deciphering the Dynamics of Flood Exposure: A Comprehensive Geospatial and Temporal Assessment in the United States. In Student Research Week 2023 at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
7. Abedin, J. Mapping the geographically and temporally evolved flood risks in the contiguous United States. 31st International Cartographic Conference (ICC 2023), Cape Town, South Africa.
6. Abedin, J., Zou, L. Exploring the spatiotemporal trends of flood exposure in the Contiguous United States. Urban Climate Solutions Workshop. College Station, TX.
5. Abedin, J. Deciphering Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of Flood Exposure in the United States. Texas GIS Day 2023, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
4. Abedin, J., Zou, L., Cai, H., Yang, M., Akter, H., Mandal, D., Lin, B., Zhou, B. Deciphering spatial-temporal dynamics of flood exposure in the United States. AAG 2023 Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. Jeanne X. Kasperson Award.
3. Abedin, J., Zou, L., Yang, M., Akter, H., Mandal, D., Lin, B., Zhou, B., Cai, H. Spatial-Temporal Changes of Flood Exposure in the United States. AGU Fall Meeting 2022, Chicago, IL.
2. Abedin, J., Zou, L., Cai, H., Mandal, D., Lin, B., Yang, M., Zhou, B., Brown, T. Spatial Changes of Exposure to Flood Hazards in Texas, United States. AAG 2022 Annual Meeting.
1. Abedin, J., Khatun, H. Impacts of Flash Flood on Livelihood and Adaptation Strategies of the Inhabitants of Tanguar Haor, Sunamganj District, Bangladesh. International Conference on Earth & Environmental Science and Technology 2020 (ICEEST 2020), Dhaka, Bangladesh.