Listed in order of arrival to the lab.

Kyla Marie Dahlin, PhD

I'm an ecogeographer with interests in remote sensing, GIS, and Earth system modeling and an assistant professor in the Department of  Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences at MSU. I am also an affiliated faculty member in the interdisciplinary program in ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavior (EEBB), the environmental science and policy program (ESPP), and AgBioResearch. In addition to my time in academia, I've worked as an urban forester in New York City, a restoration ecologist and GIS tech in San Francisco, and on a number of field projects around the US and abroad. When I'm not being a scientist I still spend a lot of time thinking about plants, as well as riding bicycles, crafting, and hanging out with my family.

GoogleScholar
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Ryan Nagelkirk, PhD Candidate

Ryan received B.S. degrees in Kinesiology and Environmental Geosciences from Michigan State University in 2007 and 2012, respectively. Following his first degree, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in Depoe Bay, Oregon. In 2010, Ryan came back to school to study climate change and its effects on the planet, especially wildlife.  Ryan’s research focuses on detecting and predicting impacts of climate change and land use / land cover change on wildlife habitats in Serengeti National park through the use of remote sensing and modeling. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys cycling (both riding and building bikes), photography, and reading.

​GoogleScholar
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Aaron Kamoske, PhD Candidate

Aaron received a B.S. in Natural Resource Conservation and a certificate in GIS Science and Technologies from the University of Montana’s College of Forestry in 2015. During and following his undergraduate work, he worked on vegetation monitoring projects in the Northern Rockies and as a cartographer for an international NGO. Aaron’s current research examines the influences of environmental and anthropogenic variables on closed-canopy forests through the use of imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR remote sensing, spatial statistics, ecological modeling, and field sampling. When he is not writing code or sampling forest canopies, he is usually on his bicycle, in the woods, or playing guitar a bit too loud.

GoogleScholar
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Donald Akanga, PhD Student

Donald received B.S in Environmental Studies & Community Development from Kenyatta University -Kenya and M.S in Geospatial Science from University of North Alabama in 2013 and 2018 respectively. He held Project Management Associate and Ag. Nursery Manager positions at Komaza until May 2016 and interned at Lawrenceburg Utility System’s GIS department in Summer 2018. Donald’s research interests include remote sensing, Earth system modeling and GIS applications to nature-society interactions. He has previously used remote sensing to analyze spatiotemporal occurrence of drought in Kenya. Donald’s current research examines past and future carbon cycle in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River Watershed. He’ll always find something to laugh about – isn’t laughter the best medicine?

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Meicheng Shen, PhD Student

Meicheng is a new PhD student in the department of Geography. She received her bachelor’s degree in Geographic Information Science from South China Normal University (Guangzhou, China) and her master’s degree in the Environmental Science Graduate Program from the Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio).  She attempts to understand the causes and effects of vegetation changes in the context of climate change by integrating multi-scale observations and statistical/ecological modeling. She is very excited about joining Dr. Kyla Dahlin’s ERSAM lab and the following PhD life. 

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​Manaswini Ganjam, MS Student

Manaswini completed an M. Tech in Environmental Geomatics from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (Hyderabad, India), for her master's dissertation work she mapped forest burnt area and degradation of forests in Andhra Pradesh, India. Later she worked at the National Geophysical Research Institute, India, on generating tsunami inundation maps using Geospatial technologies. Also, she has experience working as a Project scientist using high-resolution data for mapping coffee growing regions in India.

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ERSAM Lab Holiday Party 2019

2019 was a busy and fun year! Everyone made great strides and we're looking forward to 2020!

Including (~L to R): Hazel, Kyla, Nathan, Heather, Ryan, Meicheng, Mercy, Donald, David, Aaron, and Marigold.

ERSAM Lab Holiday Party 2018

2018 was another exciting year with lots of new people and great accomplishments. This year, since the basement climbing wall is up, folks got to test their climbing skills against the kiddos.

Including (L to R): Nathan, Marigold, David, Lynn, Morgan, Kyla, Hazel, Ryan, Donald, Gabriela, Aaron, and Paul.

ERSAM Lab Holiday Party 2017

2017 has been a roller coaster of a year, but with many great accomplishments by our group. We had a great time celebrating, playing with toddler toys, and eating lots and lots.

Including (L to R): Logan, Gloria, Ryan, Lynn, Morgan, Kyla, baby Marigold, Nathan, Hazel, Cadi, Brad, Aaron, Marielle, Heather, and David.

Lab Alumni

Gloria Desanker - 2018 (MSU Forestry MS student) - working as an Environmental Analyst for the San Francisco Estuary Institute
Sarah Igwe - 2018 (MSU Physiology undergrad)
Opal Jain - 2018 (MSU GEO undergrad)
Logan Brissette - 2017 (MSU FW undergrad) - working as a biological technician at UC Davis
Dom Del Ponte - 2015 (MSU GEO MS-GISci)
Emily Setlock - 2015 (MSU GEO undergrad)
Zach Adham - 2011 (Univ. of Rochester undergrad) - MD student
Alex Kindel - 2011 (Stanford undergrad) - PhD student at Princeton
Julie Ralph - 2009 (Stanford undergrad) - working for Google
Sara Maatta - 2008 (Stanford undergrad)
Chris Fedor - 2008 (Stanford undergrad)