Wang receives AAG Outstanding Contribution Award in Remote Sensing

The American Association of Geographers (AAG) has named Le Wang, professor in the Department of Geography, the recipient of the 2026 Outstanding Contribution Award  in Remote Sensing.

Established in 1992, the award honors AAG members who have made exceptional contributions to remote sensing through research, teaching and/or outreach. Wang is the first UB faculty member to receive this honor.

Wang says the recognition is especially meaningful because of the selectivity of the award and the impact of past recipients.

“I feel so honored to be recognized by this very important community,” Wang says. “Many of the names on the list of previous recipients are really prestigious researchers and educators in remote sensing, so it means a lot to me.”

In his work, Wang uses artificial intelligence alongside remote-sensing data to answer questions that are too large, too complex or too time-consuming for humans to tackle alone. Remote sensing is the science of collecting information about Earth from satellites, aircraft and other sensor technologies, and plays a critical role in understanding environmental change. Wang’s research uses AI and advanced data analysis techniques to address environmental challenges.

“It is wholly befitting for Dr. Le “Leo” Wang to receive this well-deserved award from the AAG,” says Sean J. Bennett, associate dean for social sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. “Dr. Wang has an exemplary research profile in the use and interrogation of remote-sensing imagery and technology to address critical questions related to changes in land use and land cover.”

The award highlights Wang’s broader effort to harness emerging technologies to better observe and understand our planet. The goal, he says, is to use new tools to generate knowledge that helps people make better decisions in the real world.

Over the course of his career, Wang has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles that have collectively received over 10,000 citations, reflecting the scope of his work. His research spans a wide range of applications, including detecting invasive species, monitoring mangrove ecosystems and analyzing urban issues such as abandoned housing in Buffalo.

Wang is currently leading a special issue on AI foundation models in remote sensing for Remote Sensing of Environment, the field’s leading journal.

Wang emphasizes that the award reflects more than just his research and contributions.

“This award is not only for me,” Wang says. “It’s also a recognition of my students and my collaborators. A lot of the work we do is a collective effort.”

Since joining UB in 2007, Wang has mentored more than 10 doctoral students, most of whom have gone on to become tenure-track professors at universities across the United States.

“Dr. Wang’s contributions to teaching and mentoring of graduate students are equally impressive. Nearly all of his graduate students currently have ladder faculty positions,” Bennett notes. “With this award, Dr. Wang joins a very elite group of highly esteemed remote-sensing scientists worldwide — and rightly so!”

In addition to his research contributions, Wang has played a major role in supporting the scientific community. Since 2014, he has served as an associate editor for the International Journal of Remote Sensing, helping guide the peer-review process and shape emerging scholarship in the field. And Wang credits the university’s collaborative research environment with helping to advance his work.

“UB has been very helpful for my career in remote sensing,” he says. “We have excellent students and strong interdisciplinary opportunities. Many of my projects come from collaborations across fields like environmental science, sustainability and artificial intelligence.”

Wang collaborates with UB’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, which brings together researchers from multiple disciplines to develop new AI-driven solutions to complex problems.

“I try to leverage AI and remote sensing, and UB has excellent AI infrastructure and world-class experts. So, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to work with different experts who can collaborate with me on different projects,” he says.

For Wang, the award represents more than two decades of engagement with the geographic research community.

“This has been my most active professional community for many years,” he says. “Over time, I’ve seen many role models in this field. I’ve tried to learn from them, become one, and contribute back to the community.”