Defense Presentation Title: Betting the Farm: Does Homogenization Threaten Smallholders' Climate Resilience? Advisor: Dr. Josh Gray, faculty fellow and associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: Smallholder farms (<2 ha) contribute 80% of the food supply in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Their ability to produce high yields will largely determine the…

Defense Presentation Title: Reducing Global Pest Forecast Uncertainty with Text Mined Media Records Advisor: Dr. Ross Meentemeyer, center director and Goodnight Distinguished Professor of Geospatial Analytics Abstract: Invasive species, especially plant pests, pose growing threats to ecosystems and food security. Geospatial predictive models and early alerts help manage these risks, but gaps, biases, and delays…

Defense Presentation Title: Spatial Predictive Modeling of Particulate Matter Related to Health Effects Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, faculty fellow and associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: Epidemiological studies have provided strong evidence that exposure to PM 2.5 , including Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM), is associated with adverse cardiovascular and respiratory health effects.…

Defense Presentation Title: The Role of Bridgehead Effects on the Global Spatiotemporal Spread of Invasive Insects Advisor: Dr. Ross Meentemeyer, Ph.D. Graduate Program Director and Director, Center for Geospatial Analytics Abstract: Invasive insect species threaten biodiversity, agriculture, human health and economies worldwide. Although there has been considerable work done to describe and model invasive insect spread…

Defense Presentation Title: The Geography of Participation: A Geospatial Analysis of Socio-spatial Gaps in US Participatory Science Advisor: Dr. Caren Cooper, faculty fellow and professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: Popular participatory science projects generate big data that advances scientific research, informs natural resource management and policy, and produces outcomes benefiting participants. Hundreds of…

Defense Presentation Title: Advancing Climate-Resilient Agriculture and Disaster Management: Applications of Remote Sensing and Machine Learning in Data-Scarce Bangladesh Advisor: Dr. Mirela Tulbure, faculty fellow and professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: Timely, accurate, and high-resolution flood maps are essential for estimating the impact of flooding on agriculture and infrastructure. In Bangladesh,…

Defense Presentation Title: Oaks & Pines: Forecasting the future of forests across North America Advisor: Dr. Robert Scheller, faculty fellow and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Natural Resources Abstract: Long-term resilience and function of temperate forests in the United States will be challenged by novel climate futures compounded by region-specific legacies of land use. Southern…

Presentation Title: Quantifying the Ephemeral: Tracking Wetland Inundation from Space to Understand Methane Dynamics Advisor: Dr. Josh Gray, faculty fellow and associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: Small-scale, ephemeral inundation events drive substantial variability in wetland methane emissions. However, existing satellite products often lack the spatial and temporal resolution needed to…

Defense Presentation Title: Policy, Place, and Practice: Mapping Data into Decisions for Environmental Investment Advisor: Dr. Bethany Cutts, faculty fellow and associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management Abstract: Data gives us the power to understand environmental challenges and the decisions we make to address them. Yet gaps and misalignments between how…

Defense Presentation Title: What’s all this then?: Managing Piedmont forests for balanced ecosystem service delivery Advisor: Dr. Robert Scheller, faculty fellow and associate dean for research in the College of Natural Resources Abstract: Ecosystem services are the goods and services that nature provides to society and the wider ecosystem. Tradeoffs are inherent in any ecosystem, but attempts…