Faculty

Dr. Ustin maintains an active research program, teaches numerous classes, and directs the activities of the CalSpace Center of Excellence at UC Davis. She holds degrees in biology, botany and ecology from Cal State Hayward and UC Davis. She also directs the activities of the Center for Spatial Technologies and Remote Sensing (CSTARS) and the Western Regional Center for Global Environmental Change (WESTGEC). Her home department is Land, Air & Water Resources (LAWR).

Dr. Chen's interests include regional climate, air pollution, model development, severe weather, cumulus parameterization, data assimulation and numerical schemes. She is currently working with Dr. Ustin on the CalSpace project "Studies of Bioshpere-Atmosphere Interactions with a GCM with MODIS Spectral Resolution"

Dr. Cogwill uses regional mapping - based on both field observations and satellite imagery - along with numerous analytical tools like thermochronology to understand the evolution of major fault systems during continental collision. He researches spectacular zones of deformation produced by collisions such as those of Asia with Arabia and India. Understanding where the active structures are can help predict and evaluate risk from earthquakes which happen when sudden motion occurs along faults between plates.

Dr. Fogg focuses on improving long-term sustainability of groundwater quality with several multidisciplinary research projects. Much of his hydrogeology research and modeling utilizes spatial analysis. He teaches classes in Water and Power, Hydrogeology and Contaminant Transport, Numerical Modeling of Groundwater Systems, and Introduction to Geostatistics.

Dr. Gertz does research in databases and information systems, with a particular focus on the management of scientific data, semistructured data, and spatiotemporal data. Dr. Gertz also studies various aspects of database security. In his GeoStreams Project, together with Susan Ustin and Quinn Hart, he studies models and architectures for the real-time management and processing of remotely-sensed streaming geospatial image data.

Research at the Aquatic Ecosystems Lab includes a number of projects that investigate the effects of stressors on aquatic ecosystems. Researchers at the lab often use a comparative approach and perform research in locations that range from California to Alaska. They also work at levels of biological organization that range from the metabolome to the landscape. Dr. Johnson's current research interests include understanding the effects of temperature stress on salmonids throughout their life cycle, understanding watershed processes that contribute to temperature stress on salmonids, and applying sophisticated statistical techniques to evaluate the sources of stressors in watersheds, their impacts on abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem, and measuring aquatic ecosystem health. We also have an active research program in immunogenetics and are specifically interested in the gene-environment (chemical stressors) interactions that shape immune function.

Dr. Paw U teaches courses about weather, biometeorology, atmospheric physics, and meteorological instruments. He researches turbulence in and above plant canopies and studies energy exchange. His research of the atmospheric sciences extends the remote sensing activities of the UC Davis CalSpace Center of Excellence on a daily basis.

Dr. Pearcy researches interactions between plants and their environments. He teaches numerous courses in plant ecology and helps CalSpace researchers refine questions about the ecological systems they are investigating. His interest in sun-shade acclimation, heat tolerance, and sunfleck light regimes are problems which remote sensing helps to address.

He is also the Associate Director for the Western Regional Center for NIGEC (WESTGEC)

Dr. Pettygrove focuses on spatial dependance of crop yield and relationships to environmental factors in agriculture. His work facilitates transfer of spatial technologies used by CalSpace researchers to the agricultural community. He chairs the Precision Ag Workgroup for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) and leads GPS-related outreach activities and workshops for extension advisors, specialists, and crop consultants.

Dr. Plant teaches a variety of courses including "Introduction to Geographic Information Systems" and conducts research on cotton plant mapping, site-specific farming, and modeling of oak woodland vegetation dynamics and crop production systems. His teaching and research interests are an integral part of many of the CalSpace activities at UC Davis.

Dr. Quinn directs activities at the Information Center for the Environment (ICE) and the National Biological Information Infrastructure's California Information Node (NBII-cain). He uses geospatial information technologies to assess biodiversity, land use, water quality, and ecosystem health and restoration - much of it as joint projects with state and federal agencies. Dr. Quinn also teaches several classes in environmental informatics and conservation biology and coordinates efforts with CalSpace researchers involved in joint projects on vegetation analysis and invasive species. He holds degrees from Harvard and U Washington.

Dr. Rocke's interests are in analyzing remote sensing and GIS data, as well as other large, high-dimensional data sets (e.g. high-throughput biological assay data). He co-directs the Center for Image Processing and Integrated Computing at UC Davis (CIPIC).

Dr. Schladow's research explores the linkages between fluid mechanics and the determinants of water quality and environmental health. Using a combination of modeling, laboratory and field experiments, he explores a wide range of natural and engineered systems, including lakes and reservoirs, estuaries, rivers and wetlands. He has used remotely sensed data to measure surface currents and wind-driven upwellings in Lake Tahoe and massive fish kills in the Salton Sea. Classes he teaches include Engineering Hydraulics, Water Quality, Mixing Processes in Rivers and Lakes, and Mixing Processes in Estuaries and Wetlands. Visit the Environmental Dynamics Laboratory website.

Dr. Snyder models evapotranspiration and researches ways to improve irrigation scheduling and protection from frost and freezing. He team-teaches biometeorology with Kyaw Tha Paw U. Other CalSpace activities include improving evapotranspiration-based models for timing irrigation and determining natural hazards.

Dr. Upadhyaya researches improvements to sensors and monitors for precision farming - focusing on soil-machine interaction (traction, tillage, & soil compaction) in design of new field equipment. He is keenly interested in application of GPS in production agriculture. View pdf of his Introduction to GPS. CalSpace researchers rely on his innovations to improve both the precision and accuracy of their in-field measurements. Dr. Upadhyaya teaches classes in modeling, soil-machine relations, design and analysis of engineering experiments, and precision agriculture.

Dr. Joshua Viers' research interests and projects investigate the spatial relationships of ecological phenomena; these include predictive modeling for non point source pollutants in watersheds, the spatial effects of land use activities on riparian and aquatic habitat integrity, the biogeography of invasive species, and the methodological development of hyperspatial / hyperspectral remote sensing for resource inventories.

Dr. Zhang is interested in GIS data base development, using GIS for spatial analysis of groundwater leaching and surface water runoff as affected by pesticide applications in agriculture fields, integrating solute transport modelling in GIS, and remote sensing satellite and aerial photography applications in precision farming.