After several years of experience abroad, Guy Schumann decided last year to come back to Luxembourg to set up his start-up company, RSS-Hydro. Active in the mapping of flood zones, his young company recently joined the Innovation Hub in Dudelange. We met him to learn more about his exciting work.
Floods are phenomena that cannot be avoided and that, unfortunately, are often synonymous with numerous damages and, sometimes, with human losses. This is where satellite remote sensing comes into play: if it can be used to map flood zones and imagine worst-case scenarios, it is obviously during periods of crisis that it proves invaluable: “When this kind of natural disaster occurs, I am often called upon to quickly provide maps to the United Nations, and sometimes also to the World Bank,” comments Guy Schumann.
The advantage of the latter is that he works privately, which allows him to be flexible and therefore responsive when the situation requires it. “When someone wants a map, I can provide it in 30 minutes. The images are almost in real time, since there is a time lag of a few hours between the moment they are captured by the satellites and the moment we receive them”.
A career on both sides of the Atlantic
Also active in fundamental research, Guy Schumann’s career path is rich, as he explains: “I did my PhD in the Grand Duchy, before joining the University of Bristol in 2007, as a professor. In 2012, I decided to move to the United States to work for NASA. There I joined a team that was preparing, at that time, a new satellite mission for hydrology. Afterwards I joined the private sector, still in the USA”.
10 years after leaving Luxembourg, Guy Schumann chose to return, with a very specific idea in mind: to continue what he does in the United States, but in his own country. “At a time when it is possible to create a simplified liability company for 1 euro, and at a time when the government is fully engaged in the conquest of space, I thought there was an opportunity for me. That’s how RSS-Hydro was born in August 2017”.
Following the creation of his start-up, the brand new CEO started looking for an office to settle in. An old relation told him about the Innovation Hub in Dudelange: “It was a coincidence. Luc Schmit, whose start-up WeThink is located in this building, is a long-time friend. We were in the scouts together in Dudelange, then we lost touch, before meeting again 20 years later. When I told him I was looking for an office, he immediately mentioned the Innovation Hub. It couldn’t have come at a better time, especially since the structure here suits me perfectly. I really appreciate what the City is doing to support innovation”.
Within the next few months, Guy Schumann would like a doctoral student to join him to help him carry out his missions. Always with the same idea in mind: to contribute to saving human lives.
