Manh-Hung Le
(Program Analyst)
| Email: | manh-hung.le@nasa.gov |
| Phone: | 301.614.6384 |
| Org Code: | |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 617 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: | SCIENCE SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS INC |
Brief Bio
Dr. Le is a Lead Research Scientist at SSAI (Science Systems and Applications, Inc.) and a contractor in the Hydrological Sciences Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. His work centers on advancing the usability of soil moisture across a range of scientific and operational applications. He provides technical support for the development of soil moisture value-added products within decision support systems. A key focus of his research is the soil moisture-based Dynamic Agricultural Productivity Indicator (DAPI), which he is testing as a tool for forecasting vegetation health in food-insecure regions. He is also investigating the feasibility of ingesting both in situ and satellite-based soil moisture observations into Land Surface Models (LSMs). In this effort, he is currently involved in a project to develop harmonized soil moisture products over the Missouri River Basin, leveraging in situ measurements, satellite retrievals, and LSM simulations. Dr. Le is also actively working on outreach activities to expand awareness of soil moisture usability in the broader scientific community. From 2023 to 2024, he supported the expansion of a Cal/Val campaign for the SMAP science team in dense canopy regions in Thailand and Vietnam. Since 2026, he is working with the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network (NCSMNN), a community-driven initiative aimed at improving the use of soil moisture data in downstream applications.
Positions/Employment
Lead Research Scientist
SSAI/ Hydrological Sciences Lab - Greenbelt, MD
March 2026 - Present
Research Scientist
SAIC/ Hydrological Sciences Lab - Greenbelt, MD
August 2025 - February 2026
Research Scientist Associate
SAIC/ Hydrological Sciences Lab - Greenbelt, MD
June 2022 - July 2025
Hydrologist
National Central for Water Resources Planning and Investigation (NAWAPI) - Hanoi, Vietnam
November 2016 - July 2018
Education
University of Virginia, Department of Engineering Systems and Environment, 2022
William L. Ballard Jr. Endowed Fellowship for academic excellence in the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science
Primary advisor: Venkataraman Lakshmi
UNESCO-IHE, Flood Risk Management Program, 2016
Erasmus Mundus Scholarship for Master program, Category A, European Commission
Primary advisor: Vicente Medina (UPC Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) and Gerald Corzo (UNESCO-IHE)
B.Sc.
Hohai University, College of Hydrology and Water Resources, 2013
Vietnam Government Scholarship for Undergraduate Student, Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (the 322 project)
Professional Service
- Journal reviewers 10+ journals, including Water Resources Research, Geographical Research Letters, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Journal of the American Water Resources Association.
- External Reviewer for ROSES proposal
Publications
Refereed
2026. "Statistical and machine learning for improving the utility of soil moisture networks for satellite‐based soil moisture product assessment in the Upper Missouri River Basin.", Vadose Zone Journal, 25 (2): e70086 [10.1002/vzj2.70086] [Journal Article/Letter]
2025. "A Machine Learning Approach for Improving the Accuracy of Gridded Precipitation With Uncertainty Quantification.", International Journal of Climatology, 46 (1): e70161 [10.1002/joc.70161] [Journal Article/Letter]
2025. "Investigating the Accuracy of Multiple Gridded Precipitation Products and Their Impact on Hydrological Model Behaviors in Indian River Basins.", Journal of Hydrometeorology, [10.1175/jhm-d-25-0009.1] [Journal Article/Letter]
2025. "AI Improves the Accuracy, Reliability, and Economic Value of Continental‐Scale Flood Predictions.", AGU Advances, 6 (3): e2025AV001678 [10.1029/2025av001678] [Journal Article/Letter]
2025. "How does bias correction impact simulated drought characteristics by Regional Climate Models?.", Climatic Change, 178 (4): 67 [10.1007/s10584-025-03901-y] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "A novel validation of satellite soil moisture using SM2RAIN-derived rainfall estimates.", Frontiers in Remote Sensing, 5 [10.3389/frsen.2024.1474088] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "On the Use of SMAP Soil Moisture for Forecasting NDVI Over CONUS Cropland Regions.", Geophysical Research Letters, 51 (20): [10.1029/2024gl111187] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Evaluation of a combined drought indicator against crop yield estimations and simulations over the Argentine Humid Pampas.", Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 155 (8): 7463-7478 [10.1007/s00704-024-05073-8] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Uncertain Benefits of Using Remotely Sensed Evapotranspiration for Streamflow Estimation—Insights From a Randomized, Large-Sample Experiment.", Water Resources Management, [10.1007/s11269-024-03840-w] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "A Framework on Utilizing of Publicly Availability Stream Gauges Datasets and Deep Learning in Estimating Monthly Basin-scale Runoff in Ungauged Regions.", Advances in Water Resources, 104694 [10.1016/j.advwatres.2024.104694] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Future Changes in Hydro-Climatic Extremes across Vietnam: Evidence from a Semi-Distributed Hydrological Model Forced by Downscaled CMIP6 Climate Data.", Water, 16 (5): 674 [10.3390/w16050674] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Spatiotemporal characterization of droughts and vegetation response in Northwest Africa from 1981 to 2020.", The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Science, 26 (3): 393-401 [10.1016/j.ejrs.2023.05.006] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Robustness of gridded precipitation products for vietnam basins using the comprehensive assessment framework of rainfall.", Atmospheric Research, 293 106923 [10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106923] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Regional analysis of the 2015–16 Lower Mekong River basin drought using NASA satellite observations.", Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 46 101362 [10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101362] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Quantification of global Digital Elevation Model (DEM) – A case study of the newly released NASADEM for a river basin in Central Vietnam.", Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 45 101282 [10.1016/j.ejrh.2022.101282] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Land use, climate, and water change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) using earth observation and hydrological modeling.", Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 42 101132 [10.1016/j.ejrh.2022.101132] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Assessment of drought conditions over Iraqi transboundary rivers using FLDAS and satellite datasets.", Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 41 101075 [10.1016/j.ejrh.2022.101075] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Assimilation of SMAP Products for Improving Streamflow Simulations over Tropical Climate Region—Is Spatial Information More Important Than Temporal Information?.", Remote Sensing, 14 (7): 1607 [10.3390/rs14071607] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Assessment of drought conditions over Vietnam using standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index, MERRA-2 re-analysis, and dynamic land cover.", Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 32 100767 [10.1016/j.ejrh.2020.100767] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Adequacy of Satellite-derived Precipitation Estimate for Hydrological Modeling in Vietnam Basins.", Journal of Hydrology, 586 124820 [10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.124820] [Journal Article/Letter]
2018. "Comparison and Bias Correction of TMPA Precipitation Products over the Lower Part of Red–Thai Binh River Basin of Vietnam.", Remote Sensing, 10 (10): 1582 [10.3390/rs10101582] [Journal Article/Letter]