I am an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Geography within the College of Earth & Mineral Sciences. I teach courses for the Penn State Online Geospatial Program, which offers Certificate and Master's Degree options in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and I teach undergraduate GIS courses in the Department of Geography.
I am active in several research projects at Penn State's Institutes of Energy & the Environment (IEE) that span two topical areas: geographic information science and the land use implications of energy production. My GIS-related research interests include spatial databases, online data discovery tools, interactive mapping applications and cloud-based GIS services. I am the lead developer and system administrator for the Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (PASDA) clearinghouse and the Penn State Data Commons. My energy-related research interests include the spatial modeling of land use change, quantifying the amount of land available for bioenergy feedstocks, and assessing the suitability and productivity of energy crops, such as switchgrass and winter rye.