 Rod Hanley - Associate Professor and Chair - Earth Systems Science & Policy
Rod Hanley
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Associate Professor and Chair
Rod's research is organized around several complementary themes, including the biogeography of invasive species, phylogenetic systematics, and the evolution of insect/host associations. These themes greatly overlap in their relationships to one another and routinely require the use of common approaches in their study. Most recently, Rod has produced predictive distributional models of various infectious diseases, including West Nile encephalitis and Lyme disease. This work combines the use of remotely sensed data (aerial and satellite imagery), GIS technologies, and bioinformatic techniques to examine their geographic spread and predict areas of invasion.
Rod joined the Earth Systems Science Institute in August 2001 after receiving a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Kansas. While at KU, Rod worked in the Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center on a large NSF funded research project dealing with the biodiversity of rove beetles. Some of this work was highlighted in an issue of Science Magazine dealing with bioinformatics and biodiversity (vol. 289, 29 Sept. 2000, pp. 2305-2308). Rod has also participated in numerous field research expeditions, including ones to Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama, and Venezuela. Rod also holds B.S. (1991) and M.S. (1993) degrees in Environmental Science from Eastern Illinois University.
Dr. Hanley is also adjunct faculty with the Departments of Geography and Computer Science at the University of North Dakota. |
Michael J. Hill - Professor - Earth Systems Science & Policy
Michael J. Hill
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Professor
Michael joined ESSP in September 2006 from the Bureau of Rural Sciences, a science-policy agency within the Australian Government.
Michael received his B Agr Sci in 1975 and M Agr Sci in 1980 from La Trobe University in Melbourne, and his PhD from The University of Sydney, in Australia in 1985.
He has a background in grassland agronomy, but has been working with spatial information and remote sensing of land systems for the past 15 years. He has published widely on agronomy, ecology, biogeography and production of grasslands, and radar, multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing of grasslands, and more recently has been involved in development of scenario analysis models for assessment of carbon dynamics in agricultural and rangeland systems, multi-criteria analysis of coupled human-environment systems and carbon cycle modeling in tropical savannas.
Michael worked for 12 years for CSIRO, the national science agency of Australia before joining the BRS in 2000. Michael was a project leader and member of the Management Team of the Co-operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, based at the Australian National University, from 2001 to 2006. His current interests are in coupling Earth Observation data with process models, multi-criteria and decision support systems for terrestrial landscapes, methods and approaches to application of spatial data for land use management, and hyperspectral remote sensing. |
Andrei Kirilenko - Associate Professor - Earth Systems Science & Policy
Andrei Kirilenko
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Associate Professor
Andrei joined ESSP in 2006 after working as a Research Associate with the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. His research interests are concentrated around the environmental modeling and sustainability issues, especially the global and regional impacts of changing climate, simulation the land use change, GIS-integrated and web-based models. In addition to research and teaching, Andrei is also a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4th Report, 2nd working group, Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability.
Previously Andrei was employed as a Senior Scientist with the Center for Forest Ecology and Production at the Russian Academy of Science in Moscow, Russia, held a Visiting Scientist position at the European Forest Institute in Joensuu, Finland, was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the US EPA research laboratory in Corvallis, OR, and worked as a Junior Scientist at the Russian Academy of Science' Computing Center in Moscow, Russia.
Andrei received his M.S. degree in the Applied Mathematics in 1984 from Moscow State University and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Russian Academy of Science in 1990. More information on Andrei's research, teaching, and selected publications are available here. |
Soizik Laguette - Assistant Professor - Earth Systems Science & Policy
Soizik Laguette
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Assistant Professor
Team leader for the Team Express project: Rapid Integration of Remote Sensing Data into In-Field Management Decisions. Research activities focus on the use of satellite data in crop modeling as well as on helping end-users integrate remote sensing as a tool in land management practices.
Soizik Laguette joined UMAC in September 1999. Previously, she worked for two years as a research fellow with the Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group at the University of Montana's School of Forestry. Soizik conducted her Ph.D. research in Italy at the Joint Research Centre, the European Union's scientific and technical research laboratory. She earned her Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from ENGREF, the French Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Environmental Engineering in Paris in 1997.
For more than 10 years, Soizik's research activities have focused on agronomy and remote sensing and the use of spatial information as a tool in agricultural and agronomy. Soizik has expertise in crop modeling and yield estimates, drought effects on crop production, and sustainable land management. Her research has highlighted the importance of research-partner relationships with end-users, to ensure the transition from pure research to field practices. Soizik has an M.S. in Land Reclamation and Rural Development from the University Paul Valery, Montpellier, France, and a B.S. in Vegetal Biology from the University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. |
Rebecca Romsdahl - Assistant Professor - Earth Systems Science & Policy
Rebecca Romsdahl
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Assistant Professor
Rebecca Romsdahl joined ESSP in 2006 after completing an AAAS postdoctoral fellowship working with the US EPA's Global Change Research Program and the US Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) in Washington, DC. Her research interests focus on the human dimensions of global environmental change and government interaction with stakeholders in developing environmental policies. Some of her recent research topics include: decision support for climate adaptation planning, challenges for collaboration between government agencies and stakeholders in public land management, public participation in environmental policy-making, evaluating internet-based deliberation for environmental policy-making and challenges to the use of social science research in environmental policy-making.
Romsdahl has worked with the US National Academies of Science, as a graduate research fellow for the Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change and as a liaison between the Committee and the CCSP. She has also worked seasonally with the US Forest Service headquarters in Washington DC, as a researcher, and with the US National Park Service, as an Interpretive Ranger, at Isle Royale and Shenandoah National Parks.
Romsdahl is a native of Minnesota, where she received her BA in Environmental Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College. She completed her MS in Resource Development at Michigan State University and received her PhD in Environmental Science & Public Policy from George Mason University. |
George Seielstad - Director - Northern Great Plains Center for People & the Environment
George Seielstad
Director
Dr. George A. Seielstad is Director of the Northern Great Plains Center for People and the Environment at the University of North Dakota. In this position he develops and promotes the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium (UMAC), a major research initiative Seielstad founded in 1994. Before coming to UND, Seielstad had an active career as a radio astronomer, first at the California Institute of Technology's Owens Valley Radio Observatory, then at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, where he was Site Director. He earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Dartmouth College. His Ph.D. in Physics is from the California Institute of Technology. Seielstad has been published widely: he has authored more than 60 refereed articles and three books, among them Cosmic Ecology: The View from the Outside In, and At the Heart of the Web: The Inevitable Genesis of Intelligent Life.
Seielstad came to UND in 1993 as Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs in The Odegard School and Professor in the Department of Space Studies. In 1994, he was named Associate Dean of the School, and Director of the Earth System Science Institute, a multi-disciplinary research organization dedicated to studying global environmental issues. In October 1997, Seielstad was named The Oliver Benediktson Professor of Astrophysics. In 2006, he was named Senior Advisor to the President of the University of North Dakota.
Currently Seielstad is Chairman of the Executive Management Board for NASA's Deep Space Network (click here for an interview by UND about Dr. Seielstad's DSN work.) He also served on a National Science Foundation's Committee of Visitors for the Atmospheric Sciences. He is a nominee for the U.S. Geological Survey's National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Active Archive Advisory Committee. |
Xiaodong Zhang - Associate Professor - Earth Systems Science & Policy
Xiaodong Zhang
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Associate Professor
Xiaodong Zhang joined UMAC in April 2002 after receiving a Ph.D. in Oceanography from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, where he studied the optical properties of microbubbles in the ocean and their effect on the hyperspectral reflectance at surface. Xiaodong had been working for 7 years at Ocean Remote Sensing Institute, Ocean University of China, studying satellite remote sensing and its application in oceanography. He also holds a M.S. degree in Oceanography from Dalhousie University, and a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Nanjing University, China.
Xiaodong teaches the ESSP 502 Hydrologic Cycle block and ESSP 520 Earth System Modelling. His general research interests include radiative transfer, applications of remote sensing, and geographic information system. Currently, his researches include 1) satellite remote sensing of evapotranspiration, 2) atmospheric correction for AgCam, which was built by the UND's students and faculty and will be launched onto the International Space Station in September 2008, 3) a decision support system for precision farming, and 4) ocean optics in China seas.
Xiaodong also leads the Digital Northern Great Plains Project, Digital-NGP, an online database system providing easy and intuitive access to end users with remote sensing images that are being collected at UMAC. |
Kathy Ebertowski - Administrative Secretary - Center for People & the Environment
Kathy Ebertowski
Administrative Secretary
Kathy Ebertowski joined UMAC in August 2001. Before coming to UMAC, Kathy was an Administrative Secretary with the University of North Dakota's Law School. At UMAC, Kathy's responsibilities include receptionist tasks, purchasing, payroll, travel, mail, telephones, and the UMAC library. |
Craig Helgason - Scientific Visualization Specialist - Center for People & the Environment
Craig Helgason
Scientific Visualization Specialist
Craig Helgason joined UMAC in February 2006. He works on web site, web application, and multimedia development projects. Craig has twenty years of experience developing interactive systems and applications for academia and industry. |
Diane Hillebrand - Senior Business Officer - Center for People & the Environment
Diane Hillebrand
Senior Business Officer
Diane Hillebrand joined the Center for People & Environment in June 2005. She works with the budgets and financial aspects of the Center. The Center also coordinates the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium and operates the National Suborbital Education and Research Center. Diane has responsibility for financial aspects of these units as well.
Other areas Diane works with are human resources within the department and record keeping processes. Prior to joining the Center, Diane worked in the central Grants & Contracts Administration office at the University of North Dakota for nearly ten years. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Management. |
Karen Katrinak - Science Analyst - Center for People & the Environment
Karen Katrinak
Science Analyst
Karen Katrinak came to UMAC in June 2001. She assists with administrative tasks. Prior to joining UMAC, she worked on consulting projects for the coal-fired electrical utility industry for ten years. Karen has a Ph.D. in Geology from Arizona State University, where she developed electron microscope techniques for characterizing aerosol particles. She also holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in Geology. |
Hojin Kim - Geospatial Analyst - Center for People & the Environment
Hojin Kim
Geospatial Analyst
Hojin joined UMAC in 2006. He works on satellite imagery; Landsat, ASTER, and MODIS processing; and sensor calibration and validation. He is also conducting research projects focused on drought impact using remotely-sensed data.
Hojin received his Ph.D. in Soil, Water, and Environmental Science with remote sensing minor from the University of Arizona in 2006. During his Ph.D. Hojin worked as a graduate research assistant for several NASA funded projects. Projects included vegetation indices validation for NASA MODIS and EO-1 Hyperion sensor and SMEX04-NAME (North American Monsoon Experiment) project. His dissertation was about monitoring vegetation using hyperspectral AVIRIS and MODIS data. |
Doug Olsen - Acting Associate Director - Center for People & the Environment
Doug Olsen
Acting Associate Director
Doug Olsen joined UMAC at the University of North Dakota in March of 1997 and served as project manager for a number of efforts before beginning development of AEROCam and AgCam in the spring of 2001. Doug works closely with NASA representatives, with students and faculty in the UND School of Engineering and Mines in the design, development, and test of AEROCam and AgCam, and with UMAC faculty and staff to ensure the sensor systems meet scientific objectives and the needs of the end users of the data. As Acting Associate Director, Doug helps direct activities of AEROCam, the Geospatial Laboratory, and various other elements of the Center.
Prior to joining UMAC, Doug worked as a systems engineer and project manager at Hughes STX (now Raytheon) at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Projects included design and test of software systems on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and a series of Small Explorer spacecraft, as well as environmental testing of various sensors onboard TRMM. Previous experience includes design and test of avionics systems for both military commercial aircraft in Los Angeles and Seattle, respectively.
Doug received an M.S. degree in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, and a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from North Dakota State University in Fargo ND, and grew up on a farm in northeastern North Dakota. |
Jane Peterson - Environmental Information Specialist - Center for People & the Environment
Jane Peterson
Environmental Information Specialist
Jane Peterson joined UMAC in September 2000. She is a producer, videographer, and host of UMAC's televised environmental information series, Our Changing Planet. The 90 second episodes about climate change and the environment are distributed to Public Television stations throughout the U.S.
Jane earned her degree in Broadcasting from the University of North Dakota. Before joining UMAC, Jane worked for 13 years as a news anchor and reporter for WDAZ TV in Grand Forks, ND. Jane also provides multimedia support for the National Suborbital Education and Research Center (NSERC), which operates UND-NASA's DC-8 research aircraft. |
Rick Shetter - Director of NSERC - National Suborbital Education & Research Center
Rick Shetter
Director of NSERC
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Clint Streeter - Pilot/Data Specialist - Center for People & the Environment
Clint Streeter
Pilot/Data Specialist
Clint joined UMAC in the summer of 2006 as a Pilot/Data Specialist. During the summer he is busy flying around the region collecting data for the AEROCam project.
Clint's past history includes working on various cattle ranches in Montana where he grew up and guiding elk hunters in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, where he also worked on a trail maintenance crew for six summers, while living in Choteau. In 1997, he moved to St. Paul, MN where he did residential carpentry work. In the spring of 2005, he graduated from the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) with a B.S. in Natural Resources/Aviation and in August of 2005 from the University of North Dakota with a B.S. in Aeronautics with a Commercial Aviation emphasis. In the fall of 2005, Clint instructed aviation students at UMC, until being hired at UMAC. |
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