We are very excited to have Dr. Megan Cattau and Dr. Matthew Williamson join the HES core faculty team.
Dr. Cattau comes to the team from a position as a Research Scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Earth Lab. She completed her Ph.D. In Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology at Columbia University and her Masters in Environmental Management at Duke University. Megan uses geospatial techniques on large datasets, including satellite data, to explore the spatial and temporal patterns of natural disturbances such as fire. She is interested in how people are altering natural disturbances, for example how vegetation change and land management activities shape the patterns and characteristics of fire. She also evaluates post-disturbance recovery dynamics, including how we define recovery, what environmental and human factors affect the trajectory of recovery, and how effective management strategies are for their intended effect on recovery. View her full profile at this link.
Dr. Matt Williamson is a conservation scientist interested in understanding how the interactions between people, their environment, and the institutions that govern them inspire (or inhibit) conservation action. His work relies on integrating theories from social psychology, public policy, and landscape ecology with diverse datasets to develop spatial models of conservation action at multiple scales to improve outcomes for biodiversity and people. He completed in Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis. View contact information here.