Dr. Daniel Gann is an assistant professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University (FIU), in Miami, Florida. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Biological Sciences and Environmental Sciences from FIU, where he was a research manager with the Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing Center, from 2005 to 2019. He previously graduated from the Pädagogische Hochschule, Ludwigsburg, in Germany, with the Staatsexamen for Education for the state of Baden-Württemberg. Dr. Gann’s research interests are in landscape ecology and the application and development of remote sensing and data scaling methods to model spatial change of vegetation patterns, across spatial and temporal scales.
Dr. Shimon Wdowinski received a BSc in Earth Sciences (1983) and an MSc in Geology (1985) from the Hebrew University (Jerusalem, Israel), and an MS in Engineering Sciences (1987) and a PhD in Geophysics (1990) from Harvard University. He conducted postdoctorate studies at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1990-1993); worked for a year at the Geological Survey of Israel (1993-1994); served for a decade as faculty at the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University, first as a lecturer (assistant professor, 1994-1998) and then as a tenured senior lecturer (associate professor, 1998-2004); and served for another decade at the Department of Marine Geosciences, University of Miami, first as an associate research professor (2005-2016) and then as a research professor (2015-2016). He joined the Department of Earth and Environment, at Florida International University, in 2016 as a tenured associate professor. In 2019, Dr. Wdowinski was promoted to full professor at Florida International University. Dr. Shimon Wdowinski's research has focused on the development and use of space geodetic techniques that can very precisely detect small movements of the Earth's surface. He has successfully applied these techniques to study tectonic plate motion, earthquakes, land subsidence, sinkhole activities, wetland hydrology, climate change, and sea level rise.
Dr. Erin Hestir is an associate professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Merced. Dr. Hestir earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California Berkeley, and her Ph.D. from UC Davis. Her research focuses on aquatic ecosystems under threat from competing pressures to meet societal needs for water and food security while sustaining biodiversity and other ecosystem services such as water quality. She has expertise in geospatial analytics, hyperspectral and satellite remote sensing, and sensor networks for inland and coastal waters and wetlands. Dr. Hestir also has expertise in the application of remote sensing for water resources and ecosystem management, and in facilitating the adoption of remote sensing for environmental reporting.
Dr. Lukas Lamb-Wotton is a coastal wetland ecosystem/landscape ecologist. He received a BS in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and minors in Chemistry and Anthropology from the University of Maine (2012-2016) and a PhD at Florida International University (2017-2024). His dissertation sought to expand the understanding of rapid elevation losses (e.g., peat collapse) in non-tidal and tidal brackish peat marshes that have been or are experiencing salinization. He spent significant time conducting field-based research in mangrove forests related to blue carbon fluxes and beyond as part of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research Network. He was also frequently involved in science communication endeavors that included speaking events and blogging across various topics, but mainly concerning educating the public and policymakers about the need for continued progress on Everglades restoration initiatives.
Dr. Yuepeng Li is the Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research, National Hurricane Research Center, Florida International University. He received an M.S. in Marine Science from Ocean University of Qingdao in 1997 and a Ph. D. in Marine Science from The College of William & Mary in 2006. His research interests mainly include water quality modeling, meteorology, hydrology, mangroves, wetlands, and water quality.
