I am a remote sensing scientist with a PhD from Boise State University, Idaho. For my dissertation, I developed a framework to characterize semi-arid vegetation structure, function and diversity. My current research examines the post-fire carbon recovery trajectory of Western US conifer forests and its fundamental drivers. I am interested in combining remotely sensed observations and in situ data to understand vegetation structure-function relationships.

Earth Lab takes a collaborative, big-data approach to answering some of our most pressing questions related to fire. We seek to understand what controls fire in the landscape, how fire is changing, and what this means for society.
This project will advance fundamental understanding of how aboveground biomass recovery trajectories vary as a function of fire size and severity, drought, and conifer forest type (1984-present) across the western U.S.
In the face of increasing frequency and severity of disturbances to western U.S. forests, this effort integrates data from individual trees to entire ecoregions to advance understanding of western forest recovery.
We convened the first community organized NEON Science Summit to build community and better utilize NEON data for ecological research and education.
Ilangakoon