I am an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Geography where I teach in the undergraduate program and the Online Geospatial Program, which offers certificate and master's degree options in geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial data science.
I am active in several research projects at Penn State's Institute of Energy & the Environment (IEE) that span two topical areas: geographic information science and the land use implications of energy production. My GIS-related research interests include spatial databases, online data discovery tools, interactive mapping applications, and cloud-based GIS services. I am the lead developer and system administrator for the Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (PASDA) clearinghouse and the Penn State Data Commons, among other projects. My energy-related research interests include the spatial modeling of land use change, quantifying the amount of land resulting from land change processes like cropland abandonment, and assessing the suitability of land for the production of renewable energy, such as biomass and solar.