People
Lab Director
Hometown: Berkeley, California
Distractions: Competitive trail riding, hiking, playing guitar, skiing
Education: Ph.D. (1987) Geography - University of Colorado, Boulder.
M.Sc. (1979) Geography - Oregon State University, Corvallis. B.Sc. (1977)
Geography - California State University, Hayward.
Phd Student
Hometown:
Education: M.Sc. (2006) Geography - Kansas State University, Manhattan.
B.Sc. (2003) Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN.
Master's student in Geography
Hometown: Littleton, CO
Education: B.S. in Geography, Penn State, 2007
Hobbies: Running, hiking, bicycling, traveling, drawing
Research: Twentieth Century Changes in Vegetation and Suitability of Wildlife Habitat, Lassen National Forest, California
Twentieth Century Changes in Vegetation and Suitability of Wildlife Habitat, Lassen National Forest, California
I have held an intense fascination with the field of Geography since I was a child.
My experience as an undergraduate student at Penn State and as an intern in the
Maps Division at National Geographic was invaluable in developing my formal education in
Geography. I entered the undergraduate program intent on pursuing remote sensing, but soon
found that my interests lay in cartography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and
physical geography. I had the opportunity to serve as an intern for the Peter R. Gould
Center for Geography Education and Outreach and as a teaching intern for Dr. Cynthia
Brewer's Cartography course as a junior and senior, respectively. My interest in physical
geography evolved from courses in biogeography and forest ecology. I found myself fascinated
by vegetation dynamics, disturbance, and succession. During the summer of 2006,
I had the privilege of working as an intern in Dr. Alan Taylor's Vegetation Dynamics
Internship program. I assisted two of his graduate students in collecting data for their
masters' theses research involving aspen-conifer competition and fire history in the
Diamond Mountains of Lassen National Forest, California. This incredible experience
allowed me to recognize my desire for field work. At the same time, my evolving
interest and experience in Geographic Information Science led me to pursue a
graduate education where both areas of interest could be integrated.
I joined the graduate program in Geography at Penn State in 2007 under the guidance and
generous support of Alan Taylor. I expect to complete my Master's degree requirements in
May of 2009 and am considering pursuing a Ph.D. in the future.
Ph.D. student in ecology
Homeotown: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Education: B.S. in Biology from Chiang Mai University, Thailand (2007)
Before coming here, I spent most part of my life in my hometown.
Studying here is such a big change for me. I came here with a scholarship from the
Thai government and I am expected to go back to teach in a university and
do research on plant ecology after graduation. Now, I am a first year grad
student in Ecology and doing the lab rotation to learn by doing. Honestly,
there are a lot of cool things in the Vegetation Dynamics Lab that I am not familiar with.
I can't wait to learn more.
Ph.D. candidate in Geography
Education: BA, Mathematics, Dartmouth College, 2002
MS, Geography, Pennsylvania State University, 2007 - "Spatial Patterns of Regeneration and Interspecific Competition in Mixed Aspen-White Fir Forests in the Northern Sierra Nevada, USA"
Research Interests: My research interests include landscape ecology, disturbance
interactions across space and time, competition, community assembly following disturbance,
and the use of prescribed fire as a management tool.
Projects: I am currently working on a project in Lassen Volcanic National Park
investigating the response of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. murrayana) to a mixed severity
fire that burned in 1984.
I completed my Master's thesis studying the interaction of white fir (Abies concolor) and
quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Lassen National Forest. This study demonstrated the
spatial relationships between conspecific mature and regenerating stems. Stand Dynamics of Aspen, Lassen
National Forest
