Career
He was head of INPE’s Image Processing Division from 1991 to 1996 and Director for Earth Observation from 2001 to 2005. He is a researcher in the areas of Geographical Information Science, Spatial Databases, Spatial Analysis and Environmental Modelling. Gilberto is the principal investigator on the area of Spatial Databases and Spatial Environmental Models in the GEOMA research network for Environmental Modelling of Amazonia.
He is responsible for setting up data policies for CBERS images in Brazil and abroad, and for creating INPE’s Remote Sensing Data Center, which has put 30 years of imagery on-line.
He was also responsible for setting up a system for real-time detection of deforestation in Amazonia and for making PRODES deforestation maps available on the Internet. In 2011, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Münster.