I am a remote sensing ecologist and an Associate Researcher in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). My research integrates field and remotely-sensed data to characterize cross-scale patterns, drivers and constraints on forest structure, biodiversity, biomass, and wildfires. This research program includes:
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These and related research projects are part of international efforts to model multi-scale ecological processes using space-borne lidar, broadband optical time series, and hyperspectral remote-sensing data with airborne and field data from large ecological observation networks like the NSF’s NEON. Results ultimately seek to support local- to global-scale wildfire and conservation policy, planning, and practice. Here is my curriculum vitae.
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Education
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2017 PhD Ecology
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Harvard University
2007 MA Regional Studies East Asia
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Reed College
2004 BA Chinese Studies
Education
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2017 PhD Ecology
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Harvard University
2007 MA Regional Studies East Asia
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Reed College
2004 BA Chinese Studies
Appointments
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University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
2025– Associate Researcher
Department of Geography
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Northern Arizona University
2025– Collaborative Associate
2022–25 Assistant Research Professor
School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems (SICCS)​
2019–22 Postdoctoral Researcher
GEODE lab (PI: Scott Goetz)
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Rice University
2017– Kinder Scholar
Kinder Institute for Urban Research
2017–19 Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Rice Academy of Fellows & Department of Statistics
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NASA
2014–17 Fellow
Earth and Space Science Program
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2014 Instructor
Department of Geography
2011–14 Teaching Assistant
Departments of Geography and Ecology
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Yale University
2010–11 University Fellow
Forestry and Environmental Science
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Solarbuzz LLC
2007–10 Consultant, San Francisco, CA
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The Nature Conservancy
2007 Communications Assistant, Kunming, China
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Harvard University
2005–07 Research Assistant
Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Cambridge, MA.
2006 Secretary
Harvard Beijing Academy, Cambridge, MA and Beijing, China
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World Wildlife Fund
2005 Research Intern, Kunming, China
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