Federico Gómez Cardona | Computational Geoscientist

Background

Research & Engineering Focus

Natural hazards in steep tropical mountain environments present unique physical complexities: intense localized rainfall cells, deeply weathered tropical soils, and dense urban settlements on steep terrain.

My work bridges the gap between theoretical physics-based mechanics and high-throughput operational software. At SIATA (Medellín's multi-hazard early warning system), I lead remote sensing workflows, integrating satellite SAR/multispectral imagery, drone surveys, and operational weather radar data to forecast instability before catastrophic failures occur.

At Universidad EAFIT, I lecture graduate engineers on geotechnical instrumentation, sensor network interpretation, and physical telemetry analysis on active slopes.

Physical Slope Stability

Transient infiltration, steady-state pore pressure distribution, and distributed limit-equilibrium models (SHALSTAB, TRIGRS).

Earth Observation & UAS

High-resolution photogrammetry, thermal infrared, multispectral UAV mapping, and radar-based nowcasting.

Scientific Python & ML

Physics-informed modeling, morphometric basin classification, Numba/NumPy accelerated numerical kernels.

Open Source

Featured Research Software

Production-grade open source tools developed for geohazard modeling, remote sensing, and disaster risk assessment.

shalstab

GPL-3.0

High-performance Python implementation of the SHALSTAB physically-based landslide susceptibility model. Designed for large geospatial DEM grids with Numba-accelerated numerical kernels and interactive Rich CLI.

pip install shalstab

Python NumPy Numba Rasterio Rich CLI

Code PyPI

raptor

MIT

Open-source containerized photogrammetry pipeline for DJI enterprise UAVs (M3T, H20T, M3M). Generates RGB, radiometric thermal, and multispectral orthomosaics with an interactive Leaflet web viewer for post-disaster damage assessment.

git clone https://github.com/federicogmz/raptor.git

FastAPI Leaflet Docker UAV Photogrammetry OpenCV

Code & Docs

trigrs-pywrap

GPL-3.0

Python wrapper and automated pipeline for the USGS TRIGRS Fortran model (Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-Based Regional Slope-Stability). Automates raster pre-processing, temporal rainstorm curves, and stability output extraction.

git clone https://github.com/federicogmz/trigrs-pywrap.git

Python USGS Fortran Transient Infiltration GDAL

Code

debris-flow-susceptibility

Python 3 GPL-3.0

Geospatial and machine learning workflows for assessing torrential flow and debris-flow susceptibility from basin morphometry. Implements reproducible training pipelines, feature engineering, and cross-validation in tropical mountainous terrains.

git clone https://github.com/federicogmz/debris-flow-susceptibility.git

scikit-learn GeoPandas Morphometry Machine Learning

Code

View All Repositories on GitHub

Real-World Deployment

Operational Early Warning & Field Missions

Translating advanced physical algorithms and sensor networks into lifesaving public infrastructure.

SIATA Multi-Hazard Early Warning

Continuous operational monitoring of the Aburrá Valley (10 metropolitan municipalities). Fusing dual weather radar precipitation estimates with real-time geotechnical sensors to issue early evacuation alerts to disaster risk agencies (DAGRD, fire departments).

UAS Photogrammetry & Emergency Response

High-altitude drone operations over active landslides and critical catchments. Generating centimetre-accurate 3D point clouds, digital surface models, and thermal mapping for structural damage zonation and volumetric displacement tracking.

Academic Mentorship & Geotechnical Teaching

Graduate instruction in geotechnical instrumentation at Universidad EAFIT. Bridging theory with practical sensor calibration, inclinometer readings, piezometric analysis, and automated warning thresholds.

Peer-Reviewed Research

Selected Publications

Scientific articles, conference proceedings, and graduate research indexed in Google Scholar.

Full Google Scholar Profile

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View Federico Gómez on Google Scholar

Career & Education

Experience & Academic Path

2021 — Present

Remote Sensing Lead & Geoscientist

Sistema de Alerta Temprana del Valle de Aburrá (SIATA)

Leading remote sensing workflows, drone mapping operations, and real-time hazard forecasting pipelines fusing weather radar, IoT telemetry, and physically-based algorithms.

2024 — Present

Adjunct Professor

Universidad EAFIT

Leading postgraduate coursework in Geotechnical Instrumentation, field monitoring interpretation, sensor calibration, and early warning threshold modeling.

2017 — 2022

Geoscientist & Research Engineer

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Research on landslide susceptibility, multi-hazard simulations (landslides, flash floods, debris flows), and satellite-based analysis across diverse Colombian mountainous terrains.

2022

M.Sc. in Water Resources Engineering

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Thesis on debris-flow routing in mountain terrains and tropical environments for hazard assessment using multi-model numerical benchmarking.

2017

B.Sc. in Geological Engineering

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Foundation in engineering geology, geomorphology, structural geology, geotechnics, and spatial risk analysis.

Toolkit

Technical Skills & Competencies

Scientific Computing & ML

Python NumPy Numba SciPy scikit-learn GeoPandas Rasterio FastAPI R

Physical Modeling Engines

SHALSTAB USGS TRIGRS FLO-2D OpenDroneMap NetCDF / HDF5

Earth Observation & GIS

Weather Radar SAR / InSAR Multispectral UAV Thermal UAV LiDAR Google Earth Engine GDAL QGIS ArcGIS Pro

Software Engineering & DevOps

Docker GitHub Actions CI/CD pyproject.toml Packaging PyPI Distribution Ruff / Formatting PostgreSQL / PostGIS