Steve is a GIScientist and biogeographer who studies forested ecosystems, with a focus on forests prior to European settlement in the Northeastern US Steve's research examines the factors that shaped past geographic distributions of tree species, as well as methodological issues surrounding this area of inquiry (e.g. spatial representations of ecological phenomena, positional uncertainty in species data). His research utilizes geospatial tools and quantitative methods, such as geographic information systems (GIS), predictive modeling, statistical computing, and programming. Steve's research also utilizes – and studies the usefulness of – unconventional or "found" data sources, such as original land survey records of the 17th to 19th centuries CE. His dissertation explored the impacts of Native American settlement upon tree species composition in Chautauqua County, New York (ca. 1800 CE). Steve's teaching interests include GIS, environmental issues, and geospatial and statistical software. Future research interests are in applying recent methods and paradigms in geographic study – such as information retrieval, text mining, and citizen science – to the pursuit of comprehending past forest conditions in the Northeast.
National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research
Classes
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GEOG 286: Intro Geographic Info Sys-Lab
This course introduces the basics of collecting, storing, visualizing, and analyzing geographic data. Often using environmental, social, and economic data as examples, the course teaches students about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and associated software - both its underlying concepts and its practical use. Since it is commonly used in government, industry, education, and nonprofit organizations, knowledge of GIS is an asset in many careers, including environmental- and sustainability-related professions. The course examines fundamental concepts of spatial relationships, spatial data representation, geographic data models, spatial data acquisition, spatial analysis, and map design. Laboratory exercises emphasize hands-on applications on a variety of topics that require students to perform common GIS tasks and design quality maps.
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GEOG 286: Intro Geographic Info Sys-Lec
This course introduces the basics of collecting, storing, visualizing, and analyzing geographic data. Often using environmental, social, and economic data as examples, the course teaches students about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and associated software - both its underlying concepts and its practical use. Since it is commonly used in government, industry, education, and nonprofit organizations, knowledge of GIS is an asset in many careers, including environmental- and sustainability-related professions. The course examines fundamental concepts of spatial relationships, spatial data representation, geographic data models, spatial data acquisition, spatial analysis, and map design. Laboratory exercises emphasize hands-on applications on a variety of topics that require students to perform common GIS tasks and design quality maps.
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GEOG 358: Mountain Environments
Covering one-quarter of Earth's land surface, mountains possess great ecological, spiritual, cultural, economic, and recreational importance. They provide critical resources such as food and water, as well as economic resources such as minerals and timber. They contain high levels of biological and cultural diversity. They are often places for recreation and tourism, and can also possess sacred value. This course covers the many facets of mountains. The first part introduces mountains and the geography of major mountain regions globally. The second part covers the physical geography of mountains, including mountain formation processes, climate, natural hazards, landforms, soils, vegetation, and wildlife. The third part covers the human geography of mountains, including attitudes towards mountains, mountain life, agriculture, land use, and sustainable mountain development. The course covers throughout pressing environmental issues such as climate change, economic development, and natural resource use in mountain environments.