Steve Brumby

Steve Brumby is the CEO/CTO and Co-Founder of Impact Observatory, a mission-driven technology company focused on applying AI-powered geospatial monitoring to environment, climate, and sustainability risk analysis.1 With a strong background in artificial intelligence and geospatial technology, Brumby has led Impact Observatory in producing the world's first fully automated, high-resolution (10m) land use and land cover annual maps using deep learning at a global scale.1

Career Highlights

Impact Observatory: As the leader of Impact Observatory, Brumby has overseen the development of innovative mapping technologies that have been made available as digital public goods through partnerships with Esri Living Atlas and Microsoft Azure Planetary Computer.1 These maps have been utilized by organizations such as the UN Biodiversity Lab and have been featured in the New York Times for analyzing climate crisis impacts.1

Previous Roles: Before founding Impact Observatory, Brumby held several notable positions:

• Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute from January 2017 to January 20211
• National Geographic Society: Led a team applying machine learning and scientific modeling to various data sources for conservation efforts1
• Technical Co-Founder of Descartes Labs, a venture-backed company focused on global-scale analysis of human activity and natural resources1
• Senior Research Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), where he was the Principal Investigator for the Video Analysis & Search Technology (VAST) project1

Expertise and Contributions

Brumby's expertise spans several areas:

• Artificial intelligence and deep learning applications
• Geospatial monitoring and analysis
• Environmental and climate risk assessment
• High-performance computing and cloud systems

His work has contributed significantly to the fields of remote sensing, digital pathology, and social media analysis.1 Brumby was also part of the team that developed GENIE, a genetic algorithm system for image analysis that won an R&D100 award in 2002.1

Steve Brumby's leadership at Impact Observatory combines his technical expertise with a mission to address critical environmental and sustainability challenges through innovative AI-powered solutions.