My research interests include the exploration of geospatial data to describe and characterize biophysical phenomena and the interactions with society.  One of my focus areas is biomass burning, specifically wildland fires, in a changing physical and social environment.  I explore methods to estimate biomass burning emissions and fuel consumption using satellite and in-situ estimates of fire energy.  The goal is to provide both localized and synoptic level information about how fire is changing in time and space. 

I am a Joint Polar Satellite System (NOAA and NASA) Suomi NPP science team member tasked with VIIRS Active Fire product calibration and evaluation.  I have been the Principle Investigator for NOAA's Proving Ground and Risk Reduction (PGRR) project focused on the VIIRS AF products.  The purpose of this project is to couple capacity building with the wildland fire research and operations communities while simultaneously conducting product evaluation.   

An additional component of my research is focused on investigating land-cover and land-use change as a result of globalized teleconnections of commodities trade and the phenomenon referred to as Large-Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLA). Funded by NASA, our project explores the pace and breadth of change and the impacts these changes may have on the landscape and people.

From exploring wildland fire disturbance in a changing climate to investigating the drivers of land cover change, my research is multidisciplinary and multi-scale and incorporates the latest geospatial science to examine timely topics that span the physical and human dimensions of geography.