My name is Mobashsira Tasnim, and I am a first-year PhD student in the Department of Geography at Penn State University. I am affiliated with the Landscape Ecology at Penn State (LEAPS) Lab, led by Dr. Erica Smithwick.
My research interests broadly encompass the application of remote sensing and geospatial modeling within the fields of landscape ecology, fire ecology, and climate change. Specifically, I am interested in examining landscape disturbances and their effects on evolving ecosystems through both top-down (climate change and anthropogenic land use/land cover management) and bottom-up (topography and vegetation) approaches across various spatial scales.
I hold an MS in Geography and Geospatial Sciences from Kansas State University, where my thesis research, funded by the National Science Foundation, focused on evaluating the suitability of solar photovoltaic sites on marginal lands in Kansas using multi-criteria decision analysis. I also earned a BS in Geography from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, with minors in Botany, Soil Science, and Geology.
During my PhD, I aim to investigate how shifting climate conditions and related landscape disturbances, such as wildfires, can transform ecosystem structure and function.