Donna Rizzo
Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
BIO
Donna's research focuses on the development of new computational tools to improve the understanding of human-induced changes on natural systems and the way we make decisions about natural resources. In 1995, she co-founded a small Vermont business to help speed the diffusion of research and new technologies into environmental practice. Since joining UVM in fall 2002, she has worked on a number of computational approaches to multi-scale environmental problems, including using artificial neural networks to 1) develop maps of discrete spatially-distributed fields (e.g., log-hydraulic conductivity and soil lithology), 2) predict local disease risk indicators from multi-scale weather, land and crop data, 3) image and analyze the parameter structure of subcutaneous connective tissue in humans, 4) predict the shrink/swell of soils and 4) develop a watershed classification system using hierarchical artificial neural networks for diagnosing watershed impairment at multiple scales.
Area(s) of expertise
Environmental, Water Resources, Environmental & Public Health, Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental, Sustainability & Energy, Infrastructure Systems, Climate Change & Hazard Mitigation
Bio
Donna's research focuses on the development of new computational tools to improve the understanding of human-induced changes on natural systems and the way we make decisions about natural resources. In 1995, she co-founded a small Vermont business to help speed the diffusion of research and new technologies into environmental practice. Since joining UVM in fall 2002, she has worked on a number of computational approaches to multi-scale environmental problems, including using artificial neural networks to 1) develop maps of discrete spatially-distributed fields (e.g., log-hydraulic conductivity and soil lithology), 2) predict local disease risk indicators from multi-scale weather, land and crop data, 3) image and analyze the parameter structure of subcutaneous connective tissue in humans, 4) predict the shrink/swell of soils and 4) develop a watershed classification system using hierarchical artificial neural networks for diagnosing watershed impairment at multiple scales.
Areas of Expertise
Environmental, Water Resources, Environmental & Public Health, Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental, Sustainability & Energy, Infrastructure Systems, Climate Change & Hazard Mitigation