Kiran Mathramkot Chandrasekharan is a geospatial analyst who focuses on the applications of geospatial technologies in various aspects of land, water, and ecosystem management and conservation.

His work is centred on quantifying the spatial and temporal patterns of ecosystem transformations at multiple scales. At the IIHS Geospatial Lab, Kiran coordinates its research, support, and capacity-building functions. He plays a key role in conceptualising, planning and implementing spatial analysis to support research and practice projects with diverse disciplinary focuses. Additionally, he contributes to the development of new analytical approaches and the construction of spatial data information systems.

Kiran previously worked at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he served as a GIS/Remote Sensing Specialist for eight years. Before that, he worked with Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, for 15 years, including four years as their Eco-Informatics Lab Coordinator.

Throughout his career, Kiran has collaborated with interdisciplinary research teams, involving urban practitioners, ecologists, agricultural scientists, hydrologists, and policy analysts. He has provided spatial analysis support for research studies across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. His work includes assessing trends and patterns in forests, wetlands, and agricultural landscapes, conservation prioritisation and monitoring, land suitability analysis, and examining the livelihoods and resource use of marginalised communities at multiple spatial scales.

Kiran has been involved in formulating new remote sensing-based methods for assessing spatial patterns of natural and agricultural ecosystems. He has led the formulation of a methodology for rapid mapping of irrigated and rainfed areas at large spatial scales through time series analyses of remote sensing data. This method was used to produce continental-scale irrigated area maps for Asia and Africa.

He also helped identify potential sites for the nomination of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Kiran has taught GIS and remote sensing courses for PhD and MSc students at ATREE, NCBS and GKVK.

Kiran holds an MSc in Geography from the University of Madras and a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Calicut.