Defense Presentation Title: Fields and Foragers: Linking Pesticide Landscapes to Wildlife Demography for Pollinator Risk Assessments Co-Advisors: Dr. Tom Purucker, US Environmental Protection Agency; Dr. Helena Mitasova, Associate Director of Earth and Environmental Sciences Applications Abstract: Invertebrate pollinators are exposed to pesticides during and after chemical applications in agricultural landscapes; these exposures can have wide-ranging consequences…

Defense Presentation Title: Leveraging Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Advanced Landslide Analysis: From Detection to Prediction to Monitoring across Diverse Geo-Environments Advisor: Dr. Karl Wegmann, faculty fellow and associate professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Abstract: Every year, landslides claim thousands of lives worldwide, posing a persistent threat to communities.…

Defense Presentation Title: Observed Mesoscale Surface Air Pressure Waves and In-Cloud Characteristics in the Context of Winter Storm Structures Advisor: Dr. Sandra Yuter, faculty fellow and distinguished professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Abstract: Recent observations of winter storms from ground-based and aircraft-mounted instrumentation allow us to refine our understanding of…

Defense Presentation Title: Using Earth Observation Data of Different Spatial Resolutions to Quantify the Influence of Anthropogenic and Climate Drivers on Surface Water Dynamics Advisor: Dr. Mirela Tulbure, faculty fellow and professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: Surface water—such as rivers, ponds and lakes—is the most accessible and renewable water source.…

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…