I am a remote sensing ecologist, an Associate Researcher in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and an Affiliate Faculty in UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES). 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 currently 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. 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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