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…

Title: Accounting for Regulatory Zoning in Land Change Science and Modeling Advisors: Dr. Georgina Sanchez, Director of Research Engagement of the Center for Geospatial Analytics and Dr. Ross Meentemeyer, Executive Director of the Center for Geospatial Analytics Abstract: Local land use policies shape when and where economic development, conservation, and hazard mitigation activities occur. Likewise,…

Title: Geospatial Analyses to Assess Population Demographics and Representativeness in Wastewater-Based Public Health Surveillance Advisor: Dr. Helena Mitasova, distinguished faculty fellow and professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Abstract: Wastewater-based public health surveillance analyzes untreated wastewater to detect human pathogens, providing timely information about diseases circulating in a community. After expanding…

Title: Dancing with Data: Geospatial Analytics for Tracing Innovation in Urban Dance Culture Advisors: Dr. Aaron Hipp, faculty fellow and professor in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management & Dr. Laura Tateosian, faculty fellow and associate teaching professor in the Center for Geospatial Analytics Abstract: Culturally innovative dance forms convey identity through movement, but the rapid spread of new…

Title: Advanced Geospatial Modeling through Tangible Interfaces and Computational Notebooks Advisor: Dr. Helena Mitasova, distinguished faculty fellow and professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Abstract: This defense examines how geocomputational tangible user interfaces (G-TUIs) and computational notebooks expand access to advanced geospatial modeling. Following a systematic review of G-TUIs, we present…