Listed in reverse chronological order of degree or position completion
Jeff Disbrow
Degree Objective: NRSM M.S. 2023
Advisor: Joe Knight
Jeff's research focused on developing methods to use high-resolution satellite-derived surface models to map regressive thaw slumps in Alaska. Jeff is a Lead Geospatial Developer at Anderson Optimization in the DC area.
Danielle Sackett
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2023
Advisor: Joe Knight
Danielle's research focused on developing models to estimate the prevalence of the invasive species Phragmites australis. Danielle is now with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Connor Anderson
Degree: NRSM Ph.D. 2023
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2020
Advisor: Joe Knight
Connor's research focused on developing remote sensing-based methods to map the invasive species Phragmites australis. Connor now works for NASA in the DC area.
Ethan Emick
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2022
Advisor: Chad Babcock
Ethan's research was on developing spatial models utilizing remotely sensed data to predict biomass for application in forest planning and carbon markets.
Audrey Lothspeich
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2021
Advisor: Joe Knight
Audrey's project involved using long time series satellite imagery to track the inter- and intra-annual dynamics of palustrine wetlands over approximately 40 years. Audrey now works with USGS in the Twin Cities.
Patrick Landisch, M.S.
Position: Researcher 5
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2019
Advisor: Joe Knight
Patrick completed his Master's degree in the NRSM program in 2019, and has continued in the lab in a research staff position. His graduate research focused on using terrestrial lidar to estimate biophysical parameters of forests. Patrick's subsequent research as a staff member explored the relationships between land cover/use, including forest structure, and cold water fish habitat.
Ben Allen, M.S.
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2019
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: Thesis
Ben completed his Master's degree in the NRSM program. After working as an undergraduate with Leif Olmanson on lake clarity research, Ben joined our graduate program. His research focused on using lidar and multispectral imagery for improved forest inventory. Ben is now a Ph.D. student at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Norway.
Trevor Host, M.S.
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2017
Staff Position: 2017-2019
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: LinkedIn
Trevor completed his Master's degree in the Natural Resources Science and Management program and then continued into a research staff position in the RSGAL. His research interests included mapping and monitoring tree canopy change using lidar point clouds and object-based image analysis. Trevor worked to incorporate point clouds and their derivatives with aerial imagery for analysis and data visualization. His other experiences in the RSGAL included UAS image processing/operations, land cover mapping, and automated feature extraction. Trevor is now the Remote Sensing R&D Coordinator at Rayonier, Inc.
Whitney DeLong, M.S.
Degree: MGIS M.S. 2019
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: LinkedIn
Whitney completed her Master of Geographic Information Science (MGIS) degree in 2019. She developed object-based image analysis methods for mapping beaver habitat in northern MN. Whitney is now a Conservation Easement Monitoring and Support Analyst at the Minnesota DNR.
Melisa Platson, M.S.
Degree: MGIS M.S. 2019
Advisor: Joe Knight
Melisa completed her Master of Geographic Information Science (MGIS) degree in 2019. Her research focused on analyzing the variability in the ArcticDEM product using ground control points and digital terrain models. She is now with KBR at the USGS EROS Data Center.
Peter Stangl, M.S.
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2019
Advisor: Joe Knight
Peter came to us from Bethel University. He completed his M.S. in NRSM in 2019. His research focused on developing accessible methods for flood modeling using widely available geospatial software and methods. Peter now works for 3M, Inc.
Muratbek Kudaibergenov, M.S.
Position: Visiting Scholar 2019
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: ResearchGate
Muratbek is a PhD student at al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He visited the RSGAL in 2019 to learn techniques to support his doctoral research in the use of geospatial methods to assess land subsidence caused by ore mining in the area of Kentau, Kazakhstan. Among his accomplishments are: learning to use the Erdas Imagine image processing software package, learning the ESA SNAP software package, pre-processing a large amount of Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, and conducting Interferometric SAR (inSAR) analysis of land subsidence in Kentau. Muratbek wrote a report about his stay in Minnnesota, which is available here.
Barry "Ty" Wilson
Degree: NRSM Ph.D. 2018
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: Dissertation | Forest Service
Ty is a Research Forester with the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program at the USDA Forest Service. His research interests are in geospatial modeling, small area estimation, and Bayesian models, and nonparametric models. His NRSM dissertation focused on making FIA relevant to stakeholders.
Neal Pastick, Ph.D.
Degree: NRSM Ph.D. 2018
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: Dissertation | ResearchGate
Neal completed his Ph.D. in the Natural Resources Science and Management (NRSM) program in 2018. Neal came to us from Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, where he was a contractor at the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resource Observation Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, SD. Neal's research focused on quantifying the distribution of near-surface permafrost throughout Interior Alaska with the use of nonparametric modeling and remotely sensed data.
Courtney Blouzdis, M.S.
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2016
Advisor: Joe Knight
Link: LinkedIn
Courtney earned her Bachelor's degree from Purdue University, and subsequently expanded her geospatial knowledge while working for the Plum Creek Timber Company in Michigan and the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. Courtney completed her Master's degree in the NRSM) program. Courtney's Master's project focused on mapping riparian areas using OBIA methods. Courtney is now a GIS Specialist at Hampton, Lenzini, and and Renwick, Inc. in Illinois.
Geovanna Hinojoza, M.S.
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2016
Advisor: Joe Knight
Link: ResearchGate
Geovanna spent the summer of 2012 doing an undergraduate research project. Her summer project focused on developing a land cover map for part of her home country of Mexico. She returned to Minnesota in 2014 and completed her MS in 2016. She continued on to a Ph.D. program in Spain.
Yan Wang, M.S.
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2016
Advisor: Joe Knight
Yan came to the United States from Beijing, China. Her Master's research focused on assessing historical wetland change from the 1930s to today, and sources of uncertainty in random forest classification of wetlands.
Jason Dally, M.S.
Degree: MGIS M.S. 2015
Advisor: Joe Knight
Link: LinkedIn
Jason's MGIS project focused on using lidar to discover sinkholes in Minnesota. He is currently a Designer at Xcel Energy in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jim Klassen, M.S.
Degree: NRSM M.S. 2013
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: SharedGeo
Jim is a wizard with anything to do with programming and geospatial data. His thesis focused on automated creation of 3d aerial image mosaics and point clouds. Jim is now the Chief Programmer at SharedGeo, where he specializes in Open Source solutions.
Jennifer Corcoran, Ph.D.
Degree: NRSM Ph.D. 2013
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: Dissertation | Forestry Dept. | ResearchGate | LinkedIn
Jennifer completed her Ph.D. in Natural Resources Science and Management (NRSM), minoring in Water Resources Science (WRS) in 2013. For her Ph.D. work, Jennifer focused on wetland mapping using RADAR image data. After working as a post-doctoral researcher at NASA JPL, Jennifer is back in the Twin Cities as Remote Sensing Program Consultant for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Division of Forestry.
Lian Rampi, Ph.D.
Degree: NRSM Ph.D. 2013
Staff Position: 2013-2017
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: Dissertation | ResearchGate
Lian was a Research Associate in the lab after graduate school. She completed her Ph.D. in the NRSM program in 2013. Lian came to the United States from Honduras, and joined the lab after completing the U's MAST international exchange program. She brought solid geospatial analysis and programming skills to the group. For her Ph.D. work Lian focused on improved methods to map wetland boundaries using topographic models and image data. Lian had a strong interest in working with lidar and OBIA-based methods. She also managed the statewide land cover mapping project, mentored students, and helped the lab to run smoothly. Lian is now the CEO of Rampi Geospatial Solutions, Inc.
Christopher Anderson, M.S.
Degree: MGIS M.S. 2015
Links: LinkedIn
Chris completed his Master's in the Master of Geographic Information Science (MGIS) program. He came to us from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he earned a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.A. in GIS. Chris was our web development and web mapping guru. He created new versions of the RSGAL website and data portal. He is now a Web Application Developer with RESPEC Consulting and Services.
Don Kilberg, M.S.
Degree: MGIS M.S. 2011
Advisor: Marvin Bauer
Don's Master's project focused on urban tree canopy mapping using remote sensing. He and Molly Martin created the 2009 UTC classifications of the Twin Cities and Woodbury that appear on our Data List page. Don worked in MNDNR's Division of Lands and Minerals as a Conservation Easement Monitoring and Support Analyst. When Don left that position, Whitney DeLong, a 2019 M.S. grad from the lab, took over from him at DNR. Don is now a Senior Program Administrator with the MNDNR.
Molly (Martin) Shoberg, M.S.
Degree: MGIS M.S. 2011
Advisor: Marvin Bauer
Links: LinkedIn
Molly's Master's project focused on urban tree canopy mapping using remote sensing. She and Don Kilberg created the 2009 UTC classifications of the Twin Cities and Woodbury that appear on our Data List page. Molly is now a GIS Principal with the St. Louis County Planning and Community Development Department – Enterprise GIS Division.
Maybelline Frias-Bonilla
Objective: Summer study in RSGAL 2015
Links: LinkedIn
Maybelline is originally from Ecuador, but studied at EAP Zamorano, the same school Lian Rampi graduated from in Honduras. Maybelline spent a summer in the lab learning about remote sensing. She is currently an Especialista de proyecto in the Ministerio de Agricultura for Ganaderia, Acuacultura, y Pesca in Ecuador.
Haleh Shenas, Ph.D.
Degree Objective: NRSM M.S.
Advisor: Joe Knight
Haleh was a Master's student in the NRSM program in 2013-14. After earning a Ph.D. in Computer Science and working in that field for a while, Haleh decided to make a career change and join the NRSM program. Her research involved the use of lidar for forest biomass and structure measurement.
Maggie Voth, M.S.
Degree: MGIS and NRSM Master's degrees 2012
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: LinkedIn
Maggie completed her dual Master's degrees in the Master of Geographic Information Science (MGIS) program and NRSM. Maggie's M.S. work focused on lake clarity as assessed using MODIS image data. Maggie is currently a Project Manager/Biologist at WEST, Inc.
Bryan Tolcser, M.S.
Degree: WRS M.S. 2010
Advisor: Joe Knight
Links: LinkedIn
Bryan completed his Master's degree in the Water Resource Science (WRS) program in 2010. Bryan now works as a Senior Scientist at Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH), a multi-disciplinary engineering and consulting firm.