Dr. Szantoi serves as a Land Applications Scientist at the European Space Agency and concurrently holds a honorary research fellowship at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Geography & Environmental Studies in South Africa. Prior to his tenure at ESA, he held the position of scientific and technical officer at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. He earned his Ph.D. in Geomatics from the University of Florida.

Dr .Szantoi’s current research focus includes global-level detection of staple crops and yield estimation, monitoring cash crops, and predicting and detecting diseases early using advanced machine learning techniques and satellite data. Additionally, Dr. Szantoi leads ESA’s EO AFRICA Initiative, which aims to cultivate an African-European R&D partnership.