Fall 2025 Geospatial Forum Rewind
Revisit the Center for Geospatial Analytics' Fall 2025 Geospatial Forum series.
Each semester, our Geospatial Forum event series brings together researchers, educators, practitioners and students in the geospatial data sciences for lectures, interactive studios and panel discussions focused on important topics and cutting-edge techniques.
This fall, guest speakers presented topics ranging from monitoring dryland ecosystems using remote sensing and spatial modeling of the distribution of marine megafauna to leveraging geospatial analytics to surveil emerging contaminants across watersheds or to analyze human activity spaces for improving public health outcomes.
Expand each title below to learn more and click the play button to revisit each recorded discussion.
Remember you can watch the recordings from past semesters anytime on our YouTube channel.
SEP 11 – Monitoring Dryland Ecosystem Function with Multi-Source and Multi-Scale Remote Sensing | Lecture
Lecture
Speaker: Dr. Matt Dannenberg, Associate Professor, School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability, University of Iowa
Hosted by: Dr. Chris Jones, Senior Research Staff and Faculty Fellow, Center for Geospatial Analytics, NC State
Summary: Drylands make up ~40% of Earth’s land surface and are home to >2 billion people and numerous rare and endemic organisms. Their large size and dependence on intermittent water availability also make drylands important regulators of the global carbon cycle, but monitoring dryland ecosystem function with remote sensing poses many challenges not encountered in more humid regions. In this talk, Matt discusses the potential for multi-source and multi-resolution remote sensing of dryland primary production (carbon fixation through photosynthesis) and evapotranspiration, ranging from near-surface sensors at individual sites to global-scale satellite-based approaches.
About the speaker: Dr. Matt Dannenberg is a global change ecologist specializing in responses of forests and drylands to climate variability and change, especially to human-caused changes in the water cycle. He received both his M.A. and Ph.D. in Geography just a short drive down I-40 (UNC Chapel Hill) and then did his postdoctoral research at the University of Arizona, where he discovered his love for drylands. He’s been a professor at the University of Iowa since 2019. In Matt’s free time, he enjoys building things, playing disc golf and Magic: The Gathering, reading sci-fi/fantasy novels, and listening to death metal.
SEP 25 – From Software Distribution to Species Distribution: an Engineer’s Journey into Marine Spatial Ecology | Lecture
Lecture
Speaker: Mr. Jason J. Roberts, Associate in Research, Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University
Hosted by: Dr. DelWayne Bohnenstiehl, Professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and CGA Faculty Fellow
Summary: Species distribution models increasingly drive regulatory and policy decisions for the ocean by providing data needed to balance ecological and economic priorities. This trend will only accelerate as additional satellites and drones come online, providing new modes of remote sensing and ever-expanding coverage. In this talk, Jason will discuss his career transition from a software engineer focused on operating system development to a marine ecologist who specializes in modeling spatial distributions of marine megafauna. Jason will describe what he does, what he’s learned on this journey so far, and how he thinks the field will continue to develop.
About the speaker: Originally a software engineer with a passion for scuba diving and other marine hobbies, Jason left Microsoft in 2003 to pursue a full time career in marine research and conservation. At the Duke Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab since 2006, Jason splits his time between writing software tools and conducting scientific research. Jason’s interests include facilitating progress in marine ecology and conservation by developing, applying, and helping others apply advanced software tools, statistical methods, and modeling approaches. Currently, Jason spends most of his time developing species distribution models for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale and other marine mammals that inhabit the western North Atlantic.
<< Link to presentation slides >>
NOV 6 – Leveraging Geospatial Analytics for Watershed-Scale Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance and Pesticides | Lecture
Lecture
Speaker: Dr. Jacelyn Rice-Boayue, Assistant Professor, NC State’s Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, and CGA Faculty Fellow
Introduction by: Dr. Georgina Sanchez, CGA’s Director of Research Engagement
Summary: Municipal wastewater discharges are an increasingly important resource amid climate-driven water stress, but also a significant source of contaminants that threaten ecosystems and public health. This talk presents geospatial frameworks for watershed-scale surveillance of emerging contaminants, with a focus on down-the-drain pesticides and antibiotics. In California, a Pesticide Vulnerability Index integrating hydrology, climate, and pollution sources identified elevated pesticide risks overlapping endangered species habitats. In parallel, a National Antibiotic Pollution Vulnerability Index was developed to assess antibiotic pollution and resistance risks nationwide. Together, these frameworks support targeted monitoring and inform policy to protect ecosystems from wastewater-derived contaminants.
About the speaker: Dr. Jacelyn Rice-Boayue is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University. Previously, she was a Fulbright Scholar at the International Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering in Burkina Faso and a postdoctoral research fellow at Duke University’s Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology. Dr. Rice-Boayue earned her Ph.D. in Civil, Sustainable, and Environmental Engineering from Arizona State University. Her research group focuses on advancing sustainable water resource management by integrating modeling, laboratory, and field studies, as well as social science approaches. Her work examines water quality, focusing on anthropogenic drivers of emerging contaminants in urban water systems, providing insights to guide effective management strategies.
NOV 20 – GIS Week | Leveraging Geospatial Science to Better Understand How We Live, Work and Play | Lecture
Lecture
Speaker: Dr. Enbal Shacham, Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the College for Public Health and Social Justice at Saint Louis University
Hosted by: NC State’s Geospatial Graduate Student Organization
Summary: Geospatial science has transformed our understanding of how people navigate their communities, making it easier to analyze movement patterns and opening new avenues for improving public health practices. Dr. Shacham’s research identifies and addresses the inequities rooted in place, recognizing that where we are born often shapes the opportunities available to us. In this talk, she discusses how her work aims to create more equitable neighborhoods that foster healthier outcomes for all.
About the speaker: Dr. Enbal Shacham is a professor and Associate Dean for Research at the College for Public Health and Social Justice at Saint Louis University. She has been intersecting health and geospatial research throughout her career. Her research has explored social and physical environmental factors and their impact on infectious and chronic diseases with the goal of leveraging technological advancements and data to improve health equity. The research she conducts is committed to growing insightful methods to better understand and provide real-time data, analyses, and interventions for improving health equity across communities both domestically and internationally. She also serves on the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation Board of Directors, the St. Louis City Board of Health and Hospitals, and the Ashrei Foundation Board of Directors.
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