Dr. Santiago Martinez Balvanera

Biography

Santiago Martinez Balvanera is an Associate Lecturer in Computational Ecology at University College London, where he investigates ecological issues through advanced machine learning techniques for acoustic biodiversity monitoring. He completed his PhD at UCL under the supervision of Prof. Kate E. Jones and Dr. Oisin Mac Aodha, focusing on developing novel methods to identify key acoustic signatures despite challenges posed by limited data. His academic background includes a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Mathematics from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and Warwick University, respectively. Santiago has professional experience as a data scientist at the Mexican National Commission for Biodiversity (CONABIO) and as a research scientist at the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT), where he contributed to national-scale acoustic monitoring capabilities. He actively develops software tools for the bioacoustics community, including a machine learning-driven audio annotation tool and frameworks for integrating ML into bioacoustic devices. His current focus is on creating efficient identification methodologies for bat echolocation calls, collaborating with leading researchers in the GloBat network.

Research Interests

Experience