New faces at the GI: Jen Schmidt

Jen Schmidt, woman with short light brown hair, crouches in the snow next to a drone control unit. A white drone hovers in the air between her and the camera.
Schmidt in the field collecting data. Photo by James Evans

Jennifer “Jen” Schmidt was appointed research associate professor of remote sensing at the Geophysical Institute and a member of the Geographic Information Network of Alaska team in May. Her research interests are broad, but she typically uses geographic information systems, or GIS, to address issues important to society and the natural world. She holds a Ph.D. in wildfire biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, with a focus on interdisciplinary work.

Schmidt expects to split her time between Anchorage and Fairbanks for the foreseeable future. She has worked to build community relationships in rural and urban Alaska through interdisciplinary research. She plans to keep up this work at GINA, expanding a community-engaged research portfolio. At GINA and UAF she hopes to build additional relationships with UAF faculty and staff, the Fairbanks community and to mentor students. Her research will continue to focus on social-environmental systems with a GIS angle. 

“I am very much looking forward to joining the strong wildfire research community at UAF and collaborating on future projects,” Schmidt said.

Outside of work, Schmidt enjoys biking, triathlons and scuba diving.

Access Jen Schmidt's research website here: Alaska Natural Resource Management

About

Since it was established by an Act of Congress in 1946, scientists at the Geophysical Institute have studied geophysical processes from the center of the Earth to the surface of the sun and beyond, turning data and observations into information useful for state, Arctic and national priorities.

Contact info

The GI is located on the West Ridge of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

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