Talk

Stream Assessment and Restoration: A Case Study in Appalachian Surface Mining

Thursday, Nov 15, 2018 - 11:00am
Event Location
Schmidt Conference Center

Event Details

Summary:
Matthew Baker is a Professor of Geography & Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. 
His current research involves using drones to monitor sediment releases following the Bloede Dam removal on the Patapsco River; assessing stream restoration projects with low-altitude aerial imagery; characterizing the ecological diversity of urban woodlands in Maryland; describing heterogeneity within the Baltimore Ecosystem Study; ForestGEO long-term forest inventory; and automated mapping of high-resolution stream maps from LiDAR across the Chesapeake Bay watershed (with the Chesapeake Conservancy).  About five years ago, Matt began testifying in lawsuits that tried to hold the coal industry accountable for the effects of mountaintop mining under the Clean Water Act.  He has now testified in five federal cases.

Matt earned his masters from the University of Michigan in 1996 in Forest Ecology and a Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology in 2002. He was a postdoctoral research associate at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and an assistant professor at Utah State University before returning to Maryland in 2008. Matt is a broadly trained landscape ecologist and ecohydrologist. 

Our Thursday science seminars are free and open to the public. Because they are directed towards a scientific audience, they are more technical than our evening lectures. Visit our Evening Lecture Page to learn more about our free evening lecture series.