Core team.
Meet the Earthwave team
Livia Jakob. Chief Scientific Officer & Co-Founder.
Livia is one of only a handful of female co-founders in the Scottish space sector. Her background is in Earth Observation of the Cryosphere and Geographical Information Science (University of Edinburgh). Prior to Earthwave, Livia founded a multiple award-winning NGO, which supports education and sustainability projects in El Salvador. In addition, she has won a number of awards for her visualisation skills. If she is not in the Earthwave office working on our research projects you will most likely find her at the climbing wall or in the Highlands.
Professor Noel Gourmelen. Scientific Director & Co-Founder.
Noel is a Professor in Remote Sensing of the Cryosphere, and Programme Director of the MSc in Earth Observation at the School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh. Prior to this position, he was Associate Professor of Earth Observation at the Institut de Physique du Globe (IPGS), University of Strasbourg, France and a European Space Agency Research Fellow. His field of expertise is satellite remote sensing of the Cryosphere and Solid Earth, with a particular emphasis on the quantitative techniques of radar interferometry; he has pioneered the use of Multiple Aperture radar Interferometry for the measure of ice flow.
Kirsty Wilson. Business Manager.
A highly organised business operations professional experienced in SME and international business, Kirsty brings skills in operations, procurement and tenders, finance, project management and regulatory compliance to Earthwave. She joined the small team with the express intention of building on Earthwave’s successes and supporting it’s continued growth. When not planning and implementing business process optimisations, you’ll find her buried in a comic book.
Tristan Goss. Head of Engineering.
Tristan joined Earthwave after spending a decade developing radar performance models, simulations and signal processing algorithms for the UK Ministry of Defence and its suppliers. He now applies his skills in a more benign context, leading Earthwave’s software development. Tristan graduated from the University of Warwick with an MPhys, then completed an award-winning MSc in Electronic Engineering at the University of Surrey. Both courses focussed on software and simulation; a focus he has maintained throughout his career. When he’s not at work, you’ll find Tristan Tap or Swing dancing somewhere in the city.
Carlos Pereira. Senior Software Engineer.
Carlos Pereira is a software developer with experience across diverse industries, including finance, security, and geospatial technologies. He has been using both frontend and backend technologies to provide mapping solutions for clients in the energy, housing, and other sectors. In one of his recent projects, he integrated DuckDB-WASM, embedding a fully featured clientside database into the web app. He has a background as a credit risk analyst and experience in business intelligence. For a short time, he co-owned a pizza van with a friend. When not coding, he can be found growing veggies in the garden, practicing judo, or getting lost in a good historical fiction novel. Most importantly, he is a proud father of two amazing kids.
Julia Bizoń. Earth Observation Software Engineer.
Julia joined Earthwave in 2020, after completing a Master of Informatics degree at the University of Edinburgh. During her studies, she focused on software engineering, database theory, and cloud computing. Her time at Earthwave has allowed her to gain experience with EO concepts and datasets as well as explore new architecture paradigms. She particularly enjoyed moving our cs2eo.org platform to a scalable microservice design hosted in a K8 cluster in the cloud. Outside of work, Julia enjoys card games and doting on other people’s dogs.
Carolyn Michael. Earth Observation Data Scientist.
Carolyn graduated with a Masters in Astrophysics from The University of Edinburgh in 2020. Whilst previously performing analysis of Astrophysical objects, she has now turned her focus back to Earth. During her time at Earthwave, she has worked on several research-based projects using CryoSat-2 radar altimetry data, predominantly developing and improving the quality of the CryoTEMPO-EOLIS products. This involves monitoring and improving quality metrics, expanding the products to new regions, and creating the most effective and complete data sets for the community. Outside of work, you will find Carolyn scrambling up a mountain or in the climbing gym.
Dr Sophie Dubber. Earth Observation Data Scientist.
After completing a PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh, Sophie joined Earthwave bringing many applicable skills in the fields of data science and visualisation. She works primarily on the CryoTEMPO-EOLIS products, researching potential avenues of improvement to make them as valuable as possible for users in the scientific community. Outside of work, Sophie loves to craft – you’ll most likely find her painting, drawing or scrapbooking. She’ll also tolerate a hike or two in her quest for beautiful Scottish views.
Andrea Incatasciato. Earth Observation Data Scientist.
Andrea has a background in Astronomy, that he studied in Milan before moving to Edinburgh for his PhD. He first joined Earthwave as an intern during the PhD program, working on the inclusion of CryoVEx data into cs2eo. When not in the office, he might be found cycling around with his brand new bike, or at the pub cheering for the Italian rugby team fighting hard (and winning once every seven years) in the Six Nations tournament.
Dr Sarah Appleby. Earth Observation Data Scientist.
Sarah has a PhD in Data Intensive Astronomy from the University of Edinburgh, where they researched galaxy evolution using simulations. They first worked at Earthwave as an intern during their PhD and are now back for more. They are experienced at using earth observation data in an industry setting, having previously worked on maps of tropical forest deforestation using machine learning. Outside of the office they can be found looking at the night’s sky, or walking with their rescue dog during daylight hours.
Susannah Shalom. Operations Administrator.
Susannah assists with the operational and administrative side of Earthwave including payroll, accounts payable/receivable, HR, and process improvement. She has several years of experience in business administration and is keen to further develop her skills at Earthwave. Outside of work you will find her on her travels.
Martin Ewart. Non-Executive Director & Co-Founder.
Martin has a diverse business experience spanning startups, university spinouts and large corporates. He holds extensive expertise as a technical CEO and is a successful founder of an Earth Analytics business. He has built satellite data platforms for the European Space Agency and NASA as well as a global charity and a 3D visualisation company, that excel at being quick and easy to use, while having previously led software development teams for global finance and tech organizations.