In 2009, I completed my PhD in the Geography Department within the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). My dissertation research developed and applied new methods for improving global measurements of subpixel fire sizes and temperatures, using data from multiple satellites. Results from this research can improve fire-spread modeling and forecasting, help to reduce some hazards that fires pose to property and health, and improve scientific understanding of the impacts that fires have on ecosystems and atmospheric composition. My sources of support for this research included: a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship, a Brython Davis Fellowship, Jack and Laura Dangermond Scholarships, a NASA California Space Grant, and the encouragement and assistance from my friends, family, students, committee members, and colleagues. Thank you to everyone who helped!

My Master's thesis, completed in the UCSB Geography Department in 2005, developed new methods to enhance transportation safety by improving forecasts of visibility reductions due to fog.

My broader interests include almost everything. I particularly like cirrus clouds, good music, teaching, and outdoor activities. My class websites provide access to huge collections of links for weather forecasting that I maintain, so they can see when it will be a nice day for hiking, kayaking, camping, or any other outdoor activity, and MODIS images centered on UCSB from nice days in the past.
 

See the UCSB Geography Department's ranking among PhD programs,
according to PhDs.org and the United States National Research Council