Karsten Heia received the Cand. Scient. (M.S.) and Dr. Scient. (Ph.D.) degrees from the University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway, in 1990 and 1996, respectively. His doctoral dissertation was on studies of microwave radar backscatter from the ocean surface.
He is currently a Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Tromsø, Norway. His research interests include signal and image processing, physical measurement techniques, and remote sensing.