William F. Basener, PhD
Theory. Custom application. Practical software.
I build Bayesian systems that read the chemistry of the world from light — and tell you how sure to be. For over a decade my identification methods processed the US government's hyperspectral imagery, locating buried explosives and narcotics labs. Today the same mathematics powers commercial mineral exploration: probabilistic mineral maps, alteration-zone analysis, and evidence-based reasoning about what lies beneath the ground.
From topology to the desert floor
I joined the Rochester Institute of Technology as a mathematics professor in 2001, wrote a Wiley textbook on topology, and found my way to the borderland where pure theory, real application, and working software meet. A sabbatical at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency showed me a problem worth a career: extraordinary sensors, mature detection mathematics — and analysts drowning in false alarms.
My answer, conceived in 2008, fused detection with identification: run detection across the whole image, automatically identify every candidate with Bayesian Model Averaging, and hand the analyst a single ranked, sortable list. That method (US Patent 8,897,489) became the processing standard across the defense and intelligence community — one analyst doing the work of two hundred, answers in minutes instead of hours. I spent those years writing software in hangars in the desert, training analysts, and running field campaigns.
From 2016 to 2026 I was a Professor of Data Science at the University of Virginia — the School of Data Science's first faculty hire — teaching Bayesian machine learning and advising PhD students. In 2026 I went all-in on Geospatial Technology Associates, the company I co-founded, turning the same proven mathematics toward the minerals a changing world urgently needs.
“Perhaps the best researcher in his field.” — Remote Sensing Team Leader, Los Alamos National Laboratory
“A community standard for the exploitation of hyperspectral imagery.” — Senior Imagery Scientist, US Department of Defense
“Highly actionable intelligence has been consistently produced, saving countless American and coalition partner lives.” — Lead Field Scientist, US Army Contractor
“In a community that often is presented with unusual issues, pressures, and stresses, Dr. Basener always seems to know the right answer and way ahead. He has been and continues to be a tremendous contributor, trusted advisor, and unwavering ally.” — Principal Investigator, MITRE Corporation
Current work
OreVision
Probabilistic mineral mapping from hyperspectral satellites — per-pixel abundance and posterior probability, mapped against ore-deposit models. Country-scale: 2,000+ NASA EMIT scenes over Mongolia.
Fast-BMA Unmixing
Patent-pending full-image Bayesian unmixing: a 1,000+ mineral library evaluated for every pixel — versus 5–10 minerals for conventional tools. Peer-reviewed at IGARSS 2025.
Geological Reasoning
A scientifically rigorous geological reasoning engine: knowledge graph, 1,300-paper literature index, and evidence fusion that argues for and against every hypothesis — with honest uncertainty.
Get in touch
bill@wbasener.com · Charlottesville, Virginia · LinkedIn · Google Scholar · YouTube · Kaggle