Research Interests
I am interested in applied topics including exploring interactions between forest management and disturbance, improving estimation of forest biomass and carbon, understanding fire and fuel dynamics in forests, and developing tools for forest managers to improve forest health and management techniques. To address these topics I have experience and interest with US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, LiDAR, Bayesian analyses, spatial analyses, and simulation modeling.
When I'm not in the woods, I'm...
Trail running, fishing, hunting, building things and DIY projects, watching Formula 1 and college football, visiting family, traveling and road trips (mostly out West).
Projects I'm working on are...
Understanding the impacts of extreme drought in forests of east Texas.
Utilizing terrestrial LiDAR to improve standing dead tree volume estimates.
Modeling dead wood dynamics using FIA data.
Developing forest resource web applications for the Upper Midwest.
Education
PhD Texas A&M University, Ecosystem Science and Management 2019
MS University of Minnesota, Natural Resources Science and Management 2012
BS Purdue University, Agricultural and Biological Engineering 2006
Favorite Tree: Pine savannas (e.g., ponderosa, longleaf, shortleaf)...but if I have to pick a single species, bald cypress (Taxodium distichum).