Dr. Varaprasad Bandaru, an Associate Research Professor from the Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland (USA) who is an expert on large scale modeling of agricultural systems, visited JGSEE-CEE on 30 May 2018. At this occasion, he delivered a talk on “Geospatial Modeling and Support of Decision Making in Agriculture for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability”. The talk was attended by participants from KMUTT, JGSEE, Mitr Phol and NSTDA. Following the presentation, a kick off meeting was held regarding a NASA funded project titled “Agricultural Land Use Change in Central and Northeast Thailand: Effects on Biomass Emissions, Soil Quality and Rural Livelihoods”. This research work is led by Dr Prasad and involves JGSEE as local collaborator with specific contributions from Drs Savitri Garivait (AGAR) and Sebastien Bonnet (LCSAL). This meeting was also attended by two representatives from Mitr Phol, i.e. Mr Panyawat Chattanrassamee, an innovation sourcing expert, and Dr Vorraveerukorn Veerachitt, a crop model specialist. This 3 year-project aims at investigating the impacts of recent land use changes in Central and Northeast Thailand on biomass emissions, soil quality, and economic well-being in rural communities. Updates about the project research activities and progress will be posted in next issues of the newsletter.