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Bright Addae’s doctoral research resulted in the development of an innovative suite of geosimulation methods to represent land use and land cover processes at the global spatial scale, overcoming some of the limitations that current modeling systems have in place. World inter-governmental bodies and UN environmental agencies in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals would be able to use these tools toward supporting global sustainability efforts.

In Addae’s thesis, , he developed a theoretical foundation that eliminates spatial distortions present in conventional planar projections, allowing for more accurate representations of urbanization, deforestation, and other large-scale land-use and environmental changes. In doing so, policymakers are better equipped to address critical sustainability and environmental challenges, from climate change adaptation to conservation strategies, and resource allocation. By bridging the gap between advanced data science and environmental governance, this work pushes the boundaries of how we study and protect our planet.

In order to achieve this outcome, Addae obtained skills that are rare in geography students by independently learned computer programming to execute the developed models and to generate simulation results for analysis. He also used the Digital Research Alliance of Canada high performance computing facilities for simulations.

Addae completed his program in near record time, whilst also receiving multiple awards, including  ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Graduate Dean's Entrance Scholarship, the Esri Canada GIS Scholarship, and the Michael Geller Graduate Scholarship in Urban Development. He also peer-reviewed papers in prestigious GIS journals and presented at international conferences.

Suzana Dragicevic, Addae’s PhD supervisor speaks highly of Addae and his work.

Says Dragicevic, “Bright has demonstrated excellence in many aspects of his work, academic achievements and completed an outstanding doctoral dissertation. I am impressed with his devotion and tireless motivation to conduct research, remarkable interpersonal skills, exceptional teaching abilities and desire to transfer knowledge to younger generations.�

Addae gratefully acknowledges his supervisor Prof. Suzana Dragicevic and committee members Profs. Kirsten Zickfeld and Peter Hall for their invaluable interdisciplinary guidance.

Addae is working on a startup applying spatial analytics to environmental challenges, building on his work completed during his studies. He is also a GIS instructor at Columbia College.