Company
The right mix of remote sensing scientists, machine learning engineers, systems engineers, and applied social scientists.
We're based in Tampa, Florida and deploying everywhere: From dense mega-cities to remote landscapes
Michael Barnes
Founder and CEO
Michael Barnes is the Founder and CEO of Galileo Group, Inc., an innovator in advanced remote sensing and AI-driven infrastructure intelligence. He brings more than 30 years of operational, technical, and executive leadership experience across commercial, civil, and national-security domains, combining deep scientific training with disciplined company building and full P&L responsibility.
Under his leadership, Galileo Group executed hundreds of successful campaigns across five continents, delivering revenue-generating, actionable intelligence with strong repeat-client relationships. Drawing on more than two decades of experience in hyperspectral imaging, LiDAR, and remote sensing analytics, Mr. Barnes conceived and led the development of SWARMâ„¢, a smartphone-based distributed intelligence platform designed to enable low-cost, scalable, real-time infrastructure monitoring.
Mr. Barnes is the recipient of several awards by the US Government for exceptional field service and achievement. He is the lead inventor on over ten awarded remote-sensing patents. A military veteran, he holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Physics and has completed advanced coursework in Artificial Intelligence.
Dr. Thorsten Mewes
VP Detection and Analytics
Dr. Thorsten Mewes is a senior scientist in image data analysis and applied remote sensing with more than 20 years of experience spanning spectroscopy, hyperspectral imaging, and geospatial analytics. His work integrates physics-based and statistical detection methods with modern AI/ML development, including large-scale model training and rigorous validation, delivering results that are both scientifically defensible and operationally scalable across real-world environments.
A core focus of Dr. Mewes’ work is road infrastructure and civil engineering, where he leads the development of scalable pavement and surface-condition assessment using standard, unmodified smartphones. He has designed low-cost, field-ready sensing pipelines that leverage simple imaging and telemetry sensors, enabling municipalities, agencies, and contractors to collect high-quality infrastructure intelligence through intuitive, deployable workflows at scale.
As a principal investigator and science lead on multiple international programs, Dr. Mewes plays a central role in Galileo’s ARMADA™ and SWARM™ smartphone-based remote-sensing initiatives, directing AI model development, testing, and validation across diverse application domains. He is a co-author of multiple patents in mobile sensing and detection technologies and holds an M.S. from the University of Göttingen and a Ph.D. from the University of Bonn, with a focus on remote sensing and data analytics.
John Merrill
Director of Remote Sensing
John Merrill is Director of Remote Sensing, leading the strategic planning and execution of airborne sensing programs across a broad range of geospatial applications. He oversees all aspects of airborne remote sensing operations, with a focus on hyperspectral imaging, as well as LiDAR and Orthoimagery acquisition. His expertise includes aircraft sensor integration, advanced data processing and analysis, and the management of complex, mission-critical field operations.
His work spans oil, gas, and mineral exploration, advanced agriscience research, wetlands and aquatic vegetation analysis for environmental management, and utilities vegetation management. He brings extensive international experience, delivering high-quality geospatial solutions across diverse and challenging operational environments.
With a Master’s degree in Geography and Environmental Science and 18 years with the company, he has a proven track record of consistent performance and leadership across multiple geospatial disciplines.
Dr. Laura Harrison
Director of Urban Applications
Dr. Laura Harrison is a senior scientist studying interactions between humans, technology, and the built environment. She brings more than 15 years of experience in archaeology, cultural heritage, applied remote sensing, and science communication to her role as Director of Urban Applications at Galileo Group.
Dr. Harrison’s background includes modeling spatial networks of movement and interaction in cities from Bronze Age Anatolia to modern London; digitally preserving a UNESCO world heritage site in Sicily and a disappearing island in Florida, and serving as the founding director of Access 3D Lab, an award-winning digital heritage research facility at the University of South Florida.
Dr. Harrison has authored two edited volumes, and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers on digital heritage, urbanism, applied geospatial technologies, and community heritage. She currently serves as a Commissioner for the City of Tampa Historic Preservation Commission and has previously worked at the Smithsonian Institution and New York State Museum. As Director of Urban Applications at Galileo Group, Dr. Harrison provides strategic guidance on culturally informed remote sensing applications. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Anthropology from the University at Buffalo (SUNY) and a B.A. in Anthropology and Art History from Ithaca College.
Major General Kingsley (ret)
Senior Advisor (Defense)
General Kingsley brings more than 30 years of senior leadership experience leading large, complex organizations operating in high-risk, infrastructure-intensive environments. A retired two-star general, he concluded a 32-year U.S. Air Force career as Chief of Staff of U.S. Africa Command, where he oversaw daily operations for a 1,500-person joint organization spanning military, diplomatic, and partner-nation stakeholders across multiple continents.
Within Galileo, General Kingsley provides strategic guidance on infrastructure-focused business development, operational scalability, risk management, and execution. His background supports disciplined evaluation of emerging technologies for real-world deployability, institutional adoption, and sustained operational value—particularly in environments where resilience, accountability, and performance under pressure are mission-critical.
A highly experienced operational leader, General Kingsley logged more than 3,200 flight hours in special operations and rotary-wing aircraft and served in senior command roles across every major U.S. military conflict from 1989 through 2016. He was the lead pilot in the opening mission of Operation Desert Storm and later commanded task forces during the opening phase of Operation Enduring Freedom, bringing firsthand experience leading and making decisions under extreme operational conditions.
Careers
Galileo Group is a fast-moving technology company building advanced sensing and analytics platforms. We are always looking for curious, technically skilled people who want to apply remote sensing and data science to real-world challenges.
For airborne sensing missions and analytics development, we periodically seek expertise in:
- Remote sensing and spectral analysis
- Geographic information systems (GIS) and geospatial analytics
- Spectral detection algorithms and signal processing
- Software engineering (C++, Python, IDL)
- Field operations and mission support
- Business development and strategic partnerships
- Artificial Intelligence specialists
If you are interested in working at the intersection of sensing technology, data science, and real-world exploration, please submit your resume to info@galileo-gp.com.
Contact Us
Questions, ideas, or projects in mind? We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@galileo-gp.com.