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                    D. Scott Mackay 
                       
                          Professor 
                          Department of Geography 
                          State University of New York 
                          105 Wilkeson Quadrangle 
                          Buffalo, NY 14261 USA 
                    Phone: +1-716-645-0477 
                        Fax: +1-716-645-2329 
                      dsmackay at buffalo dot edu 
                    Home 
                      
                    NEWS 
                     
                    April 2023: 
                      Bhaskar Mitra (PhD 2011) starts new tenure track  
                      position at 
                      James Hutton Institute 
                       
                      September 2022: 
                      New DOE grant to study 
                      hydraulic redistribution and  
                      rhizosphere processes 
                       
                      PhD student Greg Bream 
                      joins the group 
                       
                      Plant, Cell & Environment 
                      paper explores 
                      physiological trait networks 
                     
                    March 2022: 
                      Nature Reviews E & E paper 
                      on woody-plant mortality 
                     
                    June 2021: 
                      Welcome Do Hyoung Kim! 
                      Postdoctoral Associate 
                       
                      January 2020: 
                      Diane Wang starts new 
                      faculty position at 
                      Purdue University 
                       
                      November 2019: 
                      Paper by X. Tai, in JGR 
                      adds a plant hydraulic 
                      mechanism for trees 
                      survival of bark beetles 
                     
                    July 2019: 
                      Paper in New Phytologist 
                      suggests conifers survive 
                      drought using deep roots 
                     
                    March 2019: 
                      JXB paper by Diane W. 
                      advances integration 
                      of genomics and 
                      biophysical modeling 
                     
                    August 2018:  
                      Xiaonan joins 
                      University of Utah 
                      as Post Doc  
                       
                      June 29 2018: 
                      Xiaonan and Jon 
                      successfully defend 
                      their dissertations  
                       
                      June 2017: 
                      Welcome Diane Wang! 
                      Postdoctoral Associate  
                       
                      April 2017: 
                      Jon Pleban awarded 
                      CAS Diisertation Fellow 
                       
                      April 2017: 
                      Xiaonan Tai a finalist 
                      in UB 3-minute thesis  
                       
                      January 2017: 
                      Xiaonan Tai awarded 
                      CUAHSI Pathfinder 
                      for field research  
                       
                      September 2016: 
                      New NSF grant on 
                      biophysical modeling 
                      and plant genomics 
                       
                      July 2016: 
                      New paper on roles of 
                      plants hydraulics and 
                      topography on SAD 
                      Tai et al New Phytol.  
                       
                      June 2016: 
                      Phil Savoy joins the 
                      Biology Department at 
                      Duke University 
                      as a post doc 
                       
                      June 2016: 
                      Phil Savoy successfully 
                      defended his PhD 
                      dissertation  
                       
                      December 2015: 
                      New paper on 
                      Massive Conifer Mortality  
                      Nature Climate Change 
                      Report at
                          LANL 
                       
                      AGU's From the Prow: 
                      The Next 50 Years of WRR 
                       
                      August 2015: 
                      New paper on coupling 
                      plant hydraulic traits 
                      and canopy process 
                      published in 
                      Water Resources Research  
                       
                      May 2015: 
                      Two new NSF grants 
                      from Plant Genome  
                      and Integrated Ecology 
                      Physiology programs 
                       
                      April 2015: 
                      Phil Savoy awarded 
                      CAS Dissertation Fellow  
                       
                      May 2014: 
                      Jon Pleban receives 
                      Abrahams-Woldenberg 
                      award for field research 
                       
                      August 2013 
                      Huicheng Chien 
                      joined SUNY New Paltz 
                      as Assistant Professor  
                       
                      August 2012: 
                      Mike Loranty 
                      joined Colgate U. 
                      as Assistant Professor 
                       
                      April 2012: 
                      Jonathan Pleban 
                      awarded an IGERT 
                      fellowship  
                    February 2011: 
                      Bhaskar Mitra  
                      joins the U. Arizona 
                      as a Post Doc  
                       
                      Huicheng Chien 
                      successfully defends 
                      his Ph.D. dissertation  
                       
                      October 2010: 
                      Bhaskar Mitra 
                      successfuly defends 
                      his Ph.D. dissertation  
                    May 2009: 
                      Bhaskar Mitra receives 
                      Abrahams-Woldenberg 
                      award for field research 
                       
                      March 2009: 
                      Mike Loranty's PhD 
                        reported by NSF 
                      
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                           Ecohydrology Group's
                            Personnel 
                      Faculty 
                       
                      D.
                            Scott Mackay (Ph.D.
                          1997, University of Toronto) 
                        Professor & Department Chair 
                        ORCID ID 0000-0003-0477-9755  
                       
                       
                      Postdoctoral
                          Associates (Current) 
                           
                           
                          
                         Ph.D. Students
                            (Current) 
                         
                                    Mitchell
                              Hitchcock (Ph.D., Ecology, Evolution &
                              Behavior, 2026 anticipated) 
                            ResearchGate 
                            Dissertation title: 
                            Funding: CAS, NSF, DOE 
                            Awards: Schomburg Fellow  
                         
                       
                        Master's Students
                            (Current) 
                         
                             
                              
                       
                         Undergraduate
                            Students 
                         
                           
                         
                        Alumni 
                         
                        Alumni who were doctoral students or postdocs
                        with the EcoHydrology Group hold academic
                        positions (U. Wyoming, Colgate U., SUNY New
                        Paltz, James Hutton Institute, Purdue U., NJIT)
                        or non-academic positions within government or
                        industry. Other alumni of the group include software
                          engineers, teachers, consultants, GIS
                          analysts, and water scientists for
                        local governments. 
                         
                        Douglas
                              E. Ahl (Ph.D. 2002; Post-Doc 2002;
                            UW-Madison) 
                          Dissertation title: A measurement and
                            modeling perspective on requirements for
                            future remote sensing vegetation indices and
                            classification  
                          Funding sources: USDA McIntire-Stennis, NASA;
                           
                          Previous positions: Technical Director, Energy
                          Center of Wisconsin;  
                      Director
                              of research, Seventhwave  
                             Current position: Vice
                          President of Information Technology,
                          Slipstream LLC 
                           
                          Katherine Appleman (NSF REU, Summer 2025) 
                          Project: Threats of massive forest die-off in
                          a rapidly changing environment 
                          Current position: Undergraduate at Hamilton
                          College, Hamilton, NY 
                           
                        Kathryn M. Brown (M.A. 2014) 
                        Project title:
                            Investigating the death of a river:
                            Identifying correlation between channel
                            processes and state of channel decline 
                          Current position: Teacher, Fredonia Central
                          School District  
                           
                          Sean
                              N. Burrows (Ph.D. 2002; UW-Madison) 
                          Dissertation title: Geostatistical
                            estimation of leaf area index and net
                            primary production of five North american
                            biomes 
                          Funding sources: USDA McIntire-Stennis, NASA;
                           
                          Current position: Chief Technology Officer and
                          co-founder of Ascend Analytics 
                           
                        Zeshing Cai (M.S. 2013) 
                          Project title: TOPMODEL add-in: A GIS
                          extension for ArcMap that implements TOPMODEL
                          to simulate streamflow within a watershed 
                          
                        Ryan Cassens (M.A. 2009) 
                          Thesis title: Using Aster L1A
                            data to identify locations of Japanese
                            knotwood (Fallopia japonica) along the West
                            Kill and Schoharie creeks in Green County,
                            NY 
                      Erin
                              Cavagnaro Beyer (M.A. 2014)  
                            Current position: Management Consultant,
                            ARCADIS, Buffalo & New York City 
                             
                          Shana Chapman
                              (M.A. 2015) 
                            Project title: Comparison of
                              side scan sonar substrate classification
                              methods to assess accuracy 
                               
                              Eileen Chen (M.S. 2002; UW-Madison) 
                            Project
                              title: Effects of combining
                                non-spatial simulation units and
                                explicit models of sediment delivery on
                                an agricultural nonpoint source
                                pollution model 
                              Funding source: USDA Hatch 
                            Current position: Groundwater Resources
                            Scientist, Alameda County Water District,
                            Fremont, California  
                             
                          Matthew Chen
                              (M.S. 2016) 
                             
                          Zhuo Chen (M.A.
                              2012) 
                          Current position: Software
                            engineer, Apple Corporation 
                            
                          Huicheng Chien
                                (Ph.D. 2011) 
                              Dissertation title: Time-series analysis
                              of watershed scale predictions of water
                              quantity and quality export from
                              agricultural watersheds 
                              Funding sources: EPA, NSF Hydrology 
                              Previous position: Post-doc, University of
                              Saint Louis 
                              Current position: Associate Professor,
                              SUNY New Paltz  
                             
                          Brian Conley
                              (M.A. 2012)  
                           Current position: GIS Research
                            Analyst, University at Buffalo Regional
                            Institute 
                             
                          Jose
                              Covarrubias Rocha (M.A. 2007) 
                          Thesis title: Multi-temporal
                              Remote Sensing Evaluation of vegetal
                              coverage in the Bolivian Andean Plate
                              (Kori Kollo Mine) 
                            
                            Larry Cutforth (M.S., 2003;
                              UW-Madison) 
                            Current position: GIS State Coordinator,
                            Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade,
                            and Consumer Protection, Madison, Wisconsin 
                           
                      Noah Deer (M.S., Geographic
                                Information Science, February 2025) 
                       
                      Brian
                              W. Dudek (M.A. 2009)  
                          Thesis
                            title: Water stress and scarcity in
                              metropolitan Phoenix using the Water
                              Poverty Index: An examination of
                              vulnerability 
                             
                            Brent
                                E. Ewers
                              (Postdoctoral Fellow, 1999-2002;
                              UW-Madison) 
                            Funding source: NASA  
                              Current position: Professor &
                              Department Head, Department of Botany and
                              Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming
                             
                             
                            Thomas W. FitzHugh (M.S. 1999;
                              UW-Madison) 
                            Thesis title: Spatial aggregation of an
                              agricultural nonpoint source pollution
                              model 
                            Funding source: Wisconsin Department of
                            Natural Resources 
                            Current position: Supervising Water
                            Resources Scientist, MWH Global, Bellevue,
                            WA, 2015-present 
                            Previous positions: Water Resources Modeler, Bureau
                              of Reclamation; Global Freshwater Water Management
                            Analyst, The Nature Conservancy; GIS
                            Analyst, The Nature Conservancy 
                         
                        Mary (Freiss) Masse
                                  (NSF REU Summer 2010) 
                                Project: Modeling plant
                                  hydraulic strategies under drought
                                  conditions in a northern hardwood
                                  forest 
                                Funding source: NSF REU 
                                Current: Ph.D. student, Department of
                                Geology, University at Buffalo  
                      Michael
                              Graham (M.A. 2007) 
                             
                            J. Lynn
                                  Hickerson (NSF REU Summer 2014) 
                            Project: Quantifying the
                                    stress response of Brassica rapa
                                    genotypes, with experimental drought
                                    in two nitrogen treatments 
                          Funding
                                sources: NSF REU 
                         
                        Sanhanat Isama Ael
                                          Rtn (M.S. Geographic
                                          Information Science, 2024) 
                                  Current position: GIScience
                                  Instructor, Thailand Navy  
                             
                      Alexander
                              Jackson (M.A. 2012) 
                              
                          Shikai Jin
                              (M.S. 2013)  
                          Project: Analysis of crime
                                  cases distribution pattern of Buffalo
                                  City, NY: On spatial and space-time
                                  scale 
                                  Past position: MS Computer Software
                                  Engineering, San Jose State University 
                                  Current position: Software development
                                  engineer, Amazon, Sunnyvale, CA 
                      Do Hyoung Kim
                                  (June 1, 2021 to July 31, 2025) 
                                Funding: NSF, UB CAS 
                                Google
                                  scholar 
                               
                      Steven
                              Knapp (M.A. 2004) 
                            Current position: Geologist at National Fuel
                            and Gas, Amherst, NY 
                            Previous position: GIS Analyst, Verdi &
                            Company, Buffalo, NY 
                           
                      Chang Liu (M.S. Geographic
                                Information Science, 2023) 
                      Yang
                                    Liu (M.S. GIScience,
                                      2020) 
                                      
                          Michael M. Loranty
                                (Ph.D. 2009) 
                              Dissertation title: Towards a
                                mechanistic understanding of spatial
                                patterns of forest transpiration, and
                                its implications for scaling 
                              See NSF Discoveries: Taking
                                the pulse of the forest  
                              Funding sources: NSF Hydrology 
                              Awards: NSF IGERT Fellow, UB Dissertation
                              Fellowship 
                              Past position: Post Doc, Woods Hole
                              Research Center, Falmouth, MA 
                              Current position: Professor, Department of
                              Geography, Colgate University (see Loranty Lab)  
                         
                        Kristina M. Macro
                                  (Summer 2014) 
                                Past
                                  position: MS Environmental
                                  Engineering, University at Buffalo 
                                  Current position: Hydroinformatics
                                  Engineer at Xylem, Buffalo, NY 
                         
                                      Judy Malas (NSF REU Summer
                                    2017) 
                              Project:
                                    Quantifying chloroplast movement
                                      as part of a broader use of rapid
                                      phenotyping in understanding crop
                                      produciivty responses to the
                                      environment 
                            Funding
                                  sources: NSF REU 
                                  Current position: PhD student,
                                  University of Illinois Chicago 
                         
                        Shelby Marshall (NSF
                                  REU Summer 2011) 
                        Project: Spatial dynamics
                                  of nitrate in Conewango Creek, New
                                  York 
                        Funding
                              sources: NSF REU 
                         
                        Bhaskar Mitra
                                  (Ph.D. 2011) 
                                Dissertation title:
                                  Role of plant hydraulics in
                                    influencing the spatial distribution
                                    of carbon flux across the
                                    sagebrush-steppe ecosystem: A
                                    quantitative analysis 
                                  Funding sources: DOE NICCR 
                                Awards: Presidential
                                  Fellowship,
                                  Abrahams-Woldenberg Scholarship, Mark
                                  Diamond Fellowship 
                                Past positions:
                                  Post Doc, The University of Arizona,
                                  NC State / Texas
                                          A&M / Northern Arizona
                                          University 
                              Current position: James Hutton Institute,
                              Tenure-Track  
                             
                            Chukwumerije Bryson Okeoma (M.A. 2006) 
                           
                          Jonathan R. Pleban (Ph.D., 2018,
                            Post-doc Aug-Dec 2018) 
                        Dissertation title:
                            Advances in phenotyping photosynthesis: An
                            experiment modeling approach using crop
                            species Brassica rapa 
                            Funding: NSF (IGERT, ISEP, PGRP)  
                            Awards: NSF IGERT Fellow 
                           
                        Spencer
                                    Podsiadlo (M.A Geography, 2018) 
                               Research:  
                           
                        David E. Roberts (M.S.
                            2012) 
                          Thesis title: Development
                                  of a coupled ecosystem exchange plant
                                  hydraulic model to explore drought
                                  related plant mortality 
                          Funding source: NSF Hydrology,
                          DOE NICCR 
                            Current position: Senior Software Engineer,
                            Resource Data Inc., Portland, OR 
                         
                        Michael Ruffino (M.A. 2014)  
                          Thesis title:
                                    A survey of recovery, and geography
                                    in the program of Alcoholics
                                    Anonymous: A case study of location
                                    and recovery from alcoholism 
                                    Current position: Information
                                    Technology Engineer - GIS, Erie
                                    County Division of Sewerage
                                    Management, Buffalo, NY 
                                    
                          Xiaohan Rui (M.S.
                                    GIS, 2018) 
                               Research:  
                           
                            Sudeep Samanta (M.S. 2001, Ph.D.
                              2005; UW-Madison) 
                            Ph.D. dissertation title: Bayesian
                              analysis of a conceptual transpiration
                              model with a comparison of canopy
                              conductance sub-models 
                            M.S. thesis title: Influence of event
                              characteristics on predictive uncertainty
                              of a hydrologic model 
                            Funding sources: UW Graduate School,
                            USDA Hatch, NASA, NSF 
                            Current position: Assistant Scientist, Woods
                            Hole Research Center  
                             
                          Philip
                                      Savoy (Ph.D. 2016) 
                               Research:
                              Modeling the seasonal course of canopy
                              dynamics: Incorporating physiology into
                              phenological models 
                              Funding: College of Arts & Sciences 
                              Awards: CAS Dissertation Fellow 
                              Past position: Post Doc, Duke University,
                              USGS 
                              Current position: Physical Scientist, USGS 
                             
                            Aga Shirazi (B.A. 2005) 
                              Funding source: NSF 
                              Previous position: GIS Analyst, First
                              American Flood and Data Services, Virgina 
                              Current position: Sr. Task Leader, Undus
                              Corporation, Washington D.C.  
                                
                          Marta Szumski (B.S.
                                      Biology, 2018) 
                                Project: Leaf
                                        growth dynamics of Brassica rapa 
                              Funding
                                    sources: CAS 
                                    Current position: Science Teacher,
                                    Buffalo Academy of Science Charter
                                    School, Buffalo, NY 
                             
                            Warit Silavisesrith
                                (Ph.D. 2008) 
                              Dissertation title: Contextually-based
                                framework for improved data reduction in
                                regional scale analytic element
                                groundwater models 
                              Current position: Senior GIS
                              Applications Developr, Wendel Companies,
                              Buffalo, New York.  
                             
                          Ryan Stotz
                              (M.S. 2012) 
                            Current position: Asset manager,
                            Veolia Water North America, Buffalo, NY  
                            
                          Xiaonan
                                        Tai (Ph.D., 2018) 
                                 Dissertation
                                title: Spatial variations of
                                drought-induced forest mortality:
                                Integrating plant hydraulics and
                                distributed hydrology 
                                Funding: NSF IOS, State 
                                Awards: UB Presidential Fellow, CUAHSI
                                Pathfinder, 3MT finalist 
                                Past position: Postdoctoral Associate,
                                University of Utah 
                                Current position: Assistant Professor,
                                New Jersey Institute of Technology 
                             
                            Kevin Tan (B.S. GIS,
                                      2018) 
                                Project: Using
                                        Forest Inventory and Analysis
                                        data to quantify and predict
                                        tree mortality responses to
                                        drought 
                              Funding
                                    sources: CAS 
                            
                          Taryn V.
                              Tomasik (M.A. 2011) 
                            Funding source: DOE NICCR 
                              Current position: New York Department of
                              Conservation  
                             
                            Patricia
                                Trawinski (Ph.D., 2007) 
                              Dissertation title: Spatio-temporal
                                landscape models for West Nile Virus
                                vector population abundance and
                                distribution 
                              Current position: Assistant
                              Professor, Erie Community College,
                              Buffalo, NY 
                                
                        Danqing
                                Wang (M.S. GIScience, 2019) 
                              Project title: 
                             
                        Diane R.
                                      Wang (Post doc, June 2017 to
                                    December 2019)  
                                Funding:
                                    NSF PGRP, CAS 
                                    Current position: Assistant
                                    Professor, Purdue University 
                                   
                      Jiaqi Wang (M.A.
                            2013) 
                             
                            Aileen Zebrowski (NSF REU, summer 2016) 
                          Project: Influences of nitrate
                          concentration on the productivity of four Brassica
                            rapa genotypes 
                          Funding sources: NSF REU, NSF PGRP 
                          Current position: Environmental Engineer, K.
                          Singh & Associates, Inc, Madison,
                          Wisconsin 
                           
                            
                           
                     
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