Current Group Members

Andrew Richardson (Google Scholar)

Professor, School of Informatics, Computing & Cyber Systems (SICCS)
and Core Faculty, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (Ecoss)

PhD (2003) Yale University, Forestry & Environmental Studies
AB (1992) Princeton University, Economics

Email: andrew.richardson@nau.edu
Telephone: 928 523 3049

Research interests: Terrestrial ecosystems and global change; Forest ecology; Biosphere-atmosphere interactions and feedbacks; Carbon allocation in plants; Phenology; Model-data fusion.

Kai Begay

NAU Undergraduate Student
CCC2NAU “Pathways to the Skies” intern

PhD Student

BS (2023) University of Arizona, Natural Resources

Email: jjb573@nau.edu

Research interests: Terrestrial carbon and water cycling, biosphere-atmosphere interactions, dryland ecohydrology, remote sensing

Jen Diehl

PhD Student

BS (2019) University of Vermont, Environmental Sciences & Geospatial Technology

Email: jld664@nau.edu

Research interests: Near-surface Thermal Remote Sensing; Forest Productivity; Climate Change

Perry Giambuzzi (Curriculum Vitae; Google Scholar; ResearchGate)

PhD Student

BS (2020) University of the Sciences, Environmental Science

Email: pjg238@nau.edu

Research interests: Autumn phenology; remote sensing; climate change; forest ecology; land surface modeling; biosphere-atmosphere interactions

Mostafa Javadian (Google Scholar; ResearchGate; Website)

Postdoctoral Research Associate

PhD (2022) University of Arizona, Hydrology
MS (2018) Sharif University of Technology, Water Resources Management
BS (2015) Shahid Beheshti University, Civil Engineering

Email: Mostafa.Javadian@nau.edu

Research interests: Global environmental change; remote sensing; plant temperature; vegetation dynamics

Yujie Liu (ORCID; Google Scholar; ResearchGate; X; LinkedIn)

Postdoctoral Research Associate

PhD (2021) ETH Zurich, Agricultural Sciences
MS (2016) Beijing Forestry University, Nature Conservation
BS (2013) Beijing Forestry University, Soil and Water Conservation

Email: yujie.liu@nau.edu

Research interests: phenology; surface-atmosphere fluxes of energy; water and carbon measured by eddy covariance; climate change impacts

Francisco Salgado

Visiting PhD Student (September to December 2024)

Newcastle University, United Kingdom
Universidad del Azuay, Ecuador

Email: F.D.Salgado-Castillo2@newcastle.ac.uk 

Research interests: Climate change; Phenology, Remote sensing, Computer vision.

David Basler (ResearchGate; Google Scholar)

Affiliated Research Scientist (2017 to Present)

PhD (2014) University of Basel, Botany
MS (2008) University of Basel, Ecology
BS (2006) University of Basel, Biology

Koen Hufkens

Affiliated Research Scientist (2017 to Present)

Visiting from Ghent University (October to December 2018, 2019)
PhD  (2009) University of Antwerp

Email: koen.hufkens@gmail.com

Research interests: modeling ecosystem processes, such as vegetation growth or drought / disturbance resistance, using various -retrospective- proxy measurements in a model data fusion approach, including among others remote sensing, dendrochronology and recovered historical data records

Deklan Mengering

Visiting Master’s Student (January to May 2023)

BS (2021) Dalhousie University, Physics and Ocean Science

Email: deklan.mengering@dal.ca

Research interests: Climate change; Land-atmosphere interactions; Boundary-layer meteorology.

Tom Milliman

Affiliated Research Scientist

Visiting from University of New Hampshire (September to December 2021)
Email: Thomas.Milliman@unh.edu

Research interests: Tom manages the data and website for the PhenoCam network and collaborates on phenology manuscripts.

NAU Alumni

Elis Brown

Northern Arizona University — Sevilleta REU student (Summer 2024)

Drew Peltier (Google Scholar; Website)

Postdoctoral Research Associate (2020-2022)
Assistant Research Professor (2022-2023)

Email: Drew.Peltier@nau.edu

Research Interests: Forest ecology; tree physiology; drought; tree rings; radiocarbon; non-structural carbohydrates; memory; modeling

Natasha Wesely

Aaron Teets

Postdoctoral Research Associate, 2023

PhD (2022) Northern Arizona University, Biological Sciences
MS (2018) University of Maine, Forest Resources
BS (2008) Virginia Tech, Biological Sciences

Email: aft49@nau.edu

Research interests: Forest carbon dynamics; Phenology; Woody biomass increment; Non-structural carbohydrates; Eddy-covariance

Samantha Watson

PhD Student (2021-2023)

MS (2021) California State University Los Angeles, Biology
MEd (2016) National University, Education
BS (2010) California State University Los Angeles, Biology

Email: sjw425@nau.edu

Research interests: Climate change; Forest ecology; Phenology; Land-atmosphere interactions; Data synthesis and statistical modeling

Raul Valencia

University of Texas, El Paso – Sevilleta REU student (Summer 2023)

Xin Huang

Postdoctoral Research Associate (2023)

PhD (2023) Northern Arizona University, Informatics

Alison Post

Postdoctoral Research Associate (2021-2023)

PhD (2021) Colorado State University, Ecology
BS (2014) University of Maryland, Biology

Email: alison.post@nau.edu
Telephone: 928 523 1263

Research interests: Climate Change; Grasslands; Precipitation Extremes; Phenology; Ecosystem Modeling

Raquel Alfaro Sanchez

Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher (May 2022)

Postdoctoral Researcher (2020 to Present) Wilfrid Laurier University
PhD (2014) Agricultural Sciences, University of Castilla La Mancha, Spain
BS (2009) University of Murcia, Spain, Environmental Sciences

Research interests: Post-fire regeneration, Forest ecology, Dendroecology, Climate change

Don Aubrecht (LinkedIn)

Affiliated Research Scientist (2017 to 2023)

PhD (2013) Harvard University, Applied Physics
SM (2008) Harvard University, Applied Physics
BS (2006) Cornell University, Engineering Physics

Email: don.aubrecht@gmail.com

Research interests: Vegetation dynamics; Remote Sensing; Process-based modeling;  Sensor development for eco-physiological measurements

Christina Schädel (ResearchGate; Google Scholar)

Assistant Research Professor

PhD (2009) University of Basel, Switzerland
MS (2005) University of Basel, Switzerland and University of Vienna, Austria
BS (2004) University of Basel, Switzerland

Eric Beamesderfer (Google Scholar)

Postdoctoral Research Associate 2019 to 2022: Eric Beamesderfer conducted a ceilometer model comparison, studied atmospheric mixing layer heights with radiosonde and ceilometer measurements, and examined relations among environmental conditions, mixing layer heights, and ecosystem fluxes. He worked for the Washington State government after leaving NAU .

PhD (2020) McMaster University, Earth & Environmental Sciences
MS (2015) University of Wyoming, Atmospheric Sciences
BS (2012) California University of Pennsylvania, Meteorology

Email: eric.beamesderfer@nau.edu

Research interests: Forest-atmosphere interactions; Boundary-layer meteorology; Phenology; Eddy covariance.

Jim LeMoine 

Lab Manager 2018-2022

MS (2005) University of Toledo
BS (2001) Michigan Technological University

Katharyn Duffy

Postdoctoral Research Associate 2018 to 2020: Kate Duffy developed the Phenosynth tool while in the lab. She continued supporting the SICCS T3 graduate program at NAU after her time in the lab.

PhD (2018) Northern Arizona University,
Earth Sciences & Environmental Sustainability
MS (2012) Northern Arizona University, Climate Science & Solutions
BS (2011) Portland State University, Geology

Email: katharyn.duffy@nau.edu

Research interests: terrestrial biosphere-Earth system interactions; Climatic change effects on phenology and land-atmosphere carbon exchange

Shawna Greyeyes

National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates 2019 and Laboratory Assistant 2020. Shawna worked with mentor Tim Rademacher on the Twittering tree project. She subsequently pursued a career in nursing.

BS (2022) Northern Arizona University, Nursing

Email: shawna99g@gmail.com

Gary Kong

National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates 2021. Gary worked on a project measuring methane and carbon dioxide and spectral reflectance from biological soil crusts.

BS (2023) University of California Santa Barbara, Biology

Email: garyvincentkong111@gmail.com

Elise Miller

National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates 2019: Elise continued working on her REU project for he senior thesis and submitted it for publication with her mentor Tim Rademacher. She continued her graduate studies at the University of Minnesota-Duluth after her time in the lab.

BS (2020) College of St. Benedict, Biology

Email: E1Miller@csbsju.edu

Amberlee Pavey

Undergraduate Student Worker

Autumn 2018: Amberlee processed leaf samples and helped build a training dataset to identify cloudy, hazy, and snowy PhenoCam images. She continued her studies in Forensic Science after her tenure in the lab.

Email: ap2728@nau.edu

Tim Rademacher (Google Scholar)

Postdoctoral Research Associate 2017 to 2021 worked on phloem flow manipulation experiments to better understand the relationships between nonstructural carbohydrates and growth in plants.

PhD (2016) University of Cambridge
BA   (2012) University of Cambridge

Email: tim.rademacher@nau.edu

Research Interests: Eco-physiology of terrestrial vegetation

Gabby Sequeira

Undergraduate Student Worker

BS (2022) Northern Arizona University, Environmental Studies

Spring 2019: Gabby processed wood samples for and helped with non structural carbohydrate analyses. She continued at NAU after her tenure in the lab.

Email: gls228@nau.edu

Bijan Seyednasrollah (Home page; Google scholar)

Postdoctoral Research Associate (2017–2020)

PhD (2017) Duke University, Environment
MS (2006) Sharif University Technology, Mechanical Engineering
BS (2003) University of Semnan, Mechanical Engineering

Kevyn Sisante

Undergraduate Student Worker

BS (2020) Northern Arizona University, Computer Science

Fall 2018 to Spring 2019: Kevyn processed leaf samples and helped build a training dataset to identify cloudy, hazy, and snowy PhenoCam images. He also worked on code to automate snow detection. He continued his computer science studies at NAU after his tenure in the lab.

Email: kps243@nau.edu

Kat Taylor

National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates 2021. Kat worked on a project measuring methane and carbon dioxide and spectral reflectance from biological soil crusts.

BS (2024) Penn State University

Email: Kmt5918@psu.edu

Angelina Valenzuela

Undergraduate Student Worker

BS (2022) Northern Arizona University, Environmental Studies

Spring 2019: Angie processed wood samples for and helped with non structural carbohydrate analyses. She continued at NAU after her tenure in the lab.

Email: abv46@nau.edu

Adam Young

Postdoctoral Research Associate

PhD (2018) University of Idaho

Email: adam.young@nau.edu

Adam modeled phenological effects on ecosystem energy balance and water fluxes before moving to a research scientist position at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in November 2021.

Kevin Bórnez Mejías

Predoctoral Researcher (September to December 2018)

Visiting from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
MS  (2013) Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
MS (2014) Universidad de Málaga (2014)

Email: k.bornez@creaf.uab.cat