Meirman Syzdykbayev joined SDU University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in January 2024 as a Senior Lecturer, teaching the Introduction to GIS course. With a strong background in GIS, remote sensing, machine learning, and spatial data analysis, he has extensive experience in academia and research. He has previously worked as a Teaching Assistant and Graduate Researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, contributing to projects on accessible navigation systems, geospatial data visualization, and ecological assessments. He also interned with the GIS Division of Pittsburgh's Department of City Planning, developing tools for spatial data management and urban planning. Currently, he teaches and mentors students, sharing his expertise in geospatial technologies and data-driven analysis. His ambitions include advancing Geo-AI research and developing innovative geospatial solutions for real-world challenges.

Ph.D. in Information Science (2023). University of Pittsburgh, US Pro.MS in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing (2017). University of Pittsburgh, US B.S. in Geography (2012). Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilyov, KZ

INF 394 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems; MMS 412 GIS and Scanning technologies

'Persistent homology on LiDAR data to detect landslides.' (2020) Remote Sensing of Environment. 246, 111816. M. Syzdykbayev, B. Karimi, H.A. Karimi. 'Personalized accessible wayfinding for people with disabilities through standards and open geospatial platforms in smart cities.' (2020) Open Geospatial Data, Software and Standards. 5, 1-15. B. Wheeler, M. Syzdykbayev, H.A. Karimi, R. Gurewitsch, Y. Wang. 'A method for extracting some key terrain features from shaded relief of digital terrain models.' (2020) Remote Sensing. 12 (17), 2809. M. Syzdykbayev, B. Karimi, H.A. Karimi. 'Geographically-explicit Ecological Momentary Assessment (GEMA) architecture and components: lessons learned from PMOMS.' (2021) Informatics for Health and Social Care. 46 (2), 158-177. P. Gharani, H.A. Karimi, M. Syzdykbayev, et al. 'Exploring Topological Information Beyond Persistent Homology to Detect Geospatial Objects.' (2024) Remote Sensing. 16 (21), 3989. M. Syzdykbayev, H.A. Karimi.

'An ontology for collaborative navigation among autonomous cars, drivers, and pedestrians in smart cities.' (2019) Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies. M. Syzdykbayev, H. Hajari, H.A. Karimi. 'Persistent homology for detection of objects from mobile lidar point cloud data in autonomous vehicles.' (2020) Advances in Computer Vision: Proceedings of the 2019 Computer Vision Conference. M. Syzdykbayev, H.A. Karimi.

GIS, Remote Sensing, Machine Learning, Geo-AI, and Topological Data Analysis