Alia Khan

Focus Area

Remote Sensing, Earth & Space Science

Education

PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2016
MS, Environmental Studies, University of Colorado Boulder, 2012
BSPH, with Honors, Environmental Science and Engineering, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, 2009

Professional Experience

2025 – Present, Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder 
2023 – 2025, Associate Professor, College of the Environment - Western Washington University
2019 – 2023, Assistant Professor, College of the Environment - Western Washington University
2016 – 2018, Postdoc, National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado Boulder 
2016 – 2023, Adjunct Visiting Associate Professor, Arctic Technology, University Center in Svalbard
2013 – 2016, Adjunct Visiting Assistant Professor, Arctic Technology, University Center in Svalbard

Awards (Selected)

National Academy of Sciences Frontiers of Science Fellow, 2026 
National Science Foundation - CAREER Grant Awardee 2022
US Fulbright Scholar to the Chilean Antarctic Program, 2019
Antarctic Service Medal, National Science Foundation, 2012
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2010

Research Interests

Multi- and hyperspectral optical remote sensing of Earth’s surface using uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and satellite-based sensors; autonomous system development for environmental monitoring; cryospheric and aquatic biogeochemistry; light-absorbing aerosols; and glacial and snow hydrology.