News Release
CNA Secures Second Place in Global Spatial AI Challenge for Wildfire Threat Detection
CNA is proud to announce its achievement as the second-place winner in the prestigious Spatial AI Challenge 2024. This global competition tasked researchers and innovators with leveraging artificial intelligence and geospatial data to address pressing sustainability challenges and to create durable, open-source AI datasets and methods (available on the I-GUIDE Platform) accessible to the broader research community.
CNA's winning submission, titled "Wildfire Threat Detection for Transportation Infrastructure using U-Net for Semantic Segmentation," showcased a cutting-edge approach to identifying wildfire risks for critical transportation infrastructure. Utilizing existing high-resolution wildfire risk data and transportation layers, the team created and trained a model based on the U-Net deep learning framework to allow rapid wildfire risk evaluation along roads and railways based on satellite imagery. The submission demonstrated excellence in data readiness and documentation, FAIR practices, and real-world applicability to emergency response planning.
"We are incredibly proud of our team's achievement in the Spatial AI Challenge. This recognition validates our dedication to applying AI and data analysis for real-world solutions," said CNA Director Steven Habicht.
The project team, comprised of analysts from CNA’s Center for Data Management and Analytics and Center for Homeland Security and Infrastructure Resilience, created a robust solution that impressed judges with its innovation and practical impact. Shaun Williams, Jeremiah Huggins, and Carey Whitehair-Conde led development of the methodology with support and expertise from John Crissman, Joel Diaz, Angie De Groot, Lars Hanson, Matthew Prebble, and Steven Habicht.
"Placing second in such a competitive global challenge underscores the strength of our innovative approach and the expertise of our team in tackling complex sustainability issues with geospatial AI," stated CNA Vice President and Director Halleh Seyson.
The Spatial AI Challenge 2024 rigorously evaluated submissions based on six core criteria: Notebook Quality, AI-Ready Data, FAIR Data Principles, Impact and Applicability, Novelty, and Innovation through Storytelling. CNA's solution excelled across these categories, demonstrating its commitment to technical rigor, innovation, and societal relevance. As part of the prize for placing second in the challenge, I-GUIDE invited the CNA research team, represented by Shaun Williams, Carey Whitehair-Conde, and John Crissman, to attend and present a poster on the project at the I-GUIDE Forum 2025 in Chicago, IL, from June 17 to 19.
CNA is a not-for-profit analytical organization dedicated to the safety and security of the nation. With nearly 700 scientists, analysts, and professional staff across the world, CNA's mission is to provide data-driven, innovative solutions to our nation's toughest problems. It operates the Center for Naval Analyses— the federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) of the Department of the Navy—as well as the Institute for Public Research. The Center for Naval Analyses provides objective analytics to inform decision-making by military leaders and ultimately improve the lethality and effectiveness of the joint force. The Institute for Public Research leverages data analytics and sophisticated methods to support federal, state, and local government officials as they work to protect the homeland, the American people, and industry.
Note to writers and editors: CNA is not an acronym and is correctly referenced as “CNA, an independent not-for-profit analytical organization.” Please do not refer to us as a think tank.