Ismael Foroughi

Ismael Foroughi is an adjunct professor in the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering at the University of New Brunswick (UNB). His research focuses on geodetic science, geoid determination, and geospatial data analysis, with applications in height system modernization and precise gravity field observation and modelling.

Dr. Foroughi earned his BSc (2011) and MSc (2014) in Geomatics Engineering from the University of Tehran and completed his PhD in Geodesy at UNB in 2019. His doctoral research contributed to advancements in geoid determination and the modernization of geodetic reference systems.

With experience spanning both academia and industry, Dr. Foroughi has held various roles, including instructor, geospatial data scientist, geodetic engineer, and consultant, collaborating with universities, private companies, and government agencies. He is actively engaged in supervising graduate students, leading research projects, and contributing to international geodetic initiatives. His work has been supported by competitive research grants, and he has published extensively in leading scientific journals.

Dr. Foroughi also serves as the President of the Canadian Geophysical Union – Geodesy Section (2023–2025) and is the Canadian national delegate to the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) (2022–2025). He is the Chair of IAG Joint Working Group 2.2.1, contributing to advancements in geodetic research at the international level.

Selected first-author publications

• Foroughi, I., Goli, M., Ferguson, S., Pagiatakis, S. (2024). Optimizing Airborne Flight Line Spacing for Geoid Determination with Full Gravity Vectors. International Association of Geodesy Symposia. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
• Foroughi, I., Goli, M., Pagiatakis, S., Ferguson, S., & Novák, P. (2023). Data requirements for the determination of a sub-centimetre geoid. Earth-Science Reviews, 239, 104326.
• Foroughi, I., Goli, M., Pagiatakis, S., Ferguson, S., Vanicek, P., Santos, M., & Sheng, M. (2022). The uncertainties of the topographical density variations in view of a sub-centimetre geoid. X Hotine-Marussi Symposium (pp. 27-35). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• Foroughi, I., Vaníček, P., Kingdon, R. W., Goli, M., Sheng, M., Afrasteh, Y., Novák, P. & Santos, M. C. (2019). Sub-centimetre geoid. Journal of Geodesy, 93, 849-868.
• Foroughi, I., Vaníček, P., Novák, P., Kingdon, R. W., Sheng, M., & Santos, M. C. (2019). Optimal combination of satellite and terrestrial gravity data for regional geoid determination using Stokes-Helmert’s method, the Auvergne test case. International Symposium on Gravity, Geoid and Height Systems 2016: Proceedings Organized by IAG Commission 2 and the International Gravity Field Service, Thessaloniki, Greece, September 19-23, 2016 (pp. 37-43).
• Foroughi, I., Safari, A., Novák, P., & Santos, M. C. (2018). Application of radial basis functions for height datum unification. Geosciences, 8(10), 369.
• Foroughi, I., Vaníček, P., Sheng, M., Kingdon, R. W., & Santos, M. C. (2017). In defense of the classical height system. Geophysical Journal International, 211(2), 1154-1161.
• Foroughi, I., & Tenzer, R. (2017). Comparison of different methods for estimating the geoid-to-quasi-geoid separation. Geophysical Journal International, 210(2), 1001-1020.
• Foroughi, I., Afrasteh, Y., Ramouz, S., & Safari, A. (2017). Local evaluation of earth gravitational models, case study: Iran. Geodesy and Cartography, 43(1), 1-13.
• Foroughi, I., & Tenzer, R. (2014). Assessment of the direct inversion scheme for the quasigeoid modelling based on applying the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. Applied Geomatics, 6, 171-180.