Jennifer "Jen" Pontius

Senior Lecturer

Director, Environmental Sciences Program

Director, Geospatial Technologies Program

Assessment Coordinator for the Rubenstein School

PRONOUNS she/her

Jen Pontius head shot
Pronouns she/her
Alma mater(s)
  • Ph.D. 2004 Earth and Ecosystem Science, University of New Hampshire
  • M.S. 1998 Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire
  • B.A. 1993 Environmental Science: Terrestrial Ecology, University of Virginia
  • B.A. 1993 Spanish, University of Virginia

BIO

Jen's research is cross-disciplinary and sets out to scale field observations and relationships to the landscape level using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) tools to inform the management of northeastern forests. Often this involves working across scales (temporal and spatial), data sources (field, satellite, spatial), and integrating across disciplines. This linking of geospatial and natural science methodologies provides the landscape perspective necessary to mitigate the impacts of environmental stressors, with the information needed to guide activities from local to regional scales. Jen's ongoing projects include the development of novel techniques to map forest structure, phenology, health, and growth, and the creation of a multi-criterion decision support tool to inform sustainable management of the region’s forests.

Much of this work is done in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research StationUSDA Forest Service Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry , and collaborators at the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative for which Jen is Principal Investigator.

Jen is the Director of the Environmental Sciences program in the Rubenstein School.

Courses

  • Introduction to Environmental Sciences
  • Orientation to Environmental Sciences
  • Applied Environmental Statistics
  • Remote Sensing of Natural Resources

Area(s) of expertise

Instructional programs: Environmental Sciences; Forestry; Natural Resources; Sustainability, Ecology and Policy
Research: Forest ecology & health, satellite remote sensing, GIS modeling, experimental design & statistical analyses

Bio

Jen's research is cross-disciplinary and sets out to scale field observations and relationships to the landscape level using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) tools to inform the management of northeastern forests. Often this involves working across scales (temporal and spatial), data sources (field, satellite, spatial), and integrating across disciplines. This linking of geospatial and natural science methodologies provides the landscape perspective necessary to mitigate the impacts of environmental stressors, with the information needed to guide activities from local to regional scales. Jen's ongoing projects include the development of novel techniques to map forest structure, phenology, health, and growth, and the creation of a multi-criterion decision support tool to inform sustainable management of the region’s forests.

Much of this work is done in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research StationUSDA Forest Service Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry , and collaborators at the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative for which Jen is Principal Investigator.

Jen is the Director of the Environmental Sciences program in the Rubenstein School.

Courses

  • Introduction to Environmental Sciences
  • Orientation to Environmental Sciences
  • Applied Environmental Statistics
  • Remote Sensing of Natural Resources

Areas of Expertise

Instructional programs: Environmental Sciences; Forestry; Natural Resources; Sustainability, Ecology and Policy
Research: Forest ecology & health, satellite remote sensing, GIS modeling, experimental design & statistical analyses