Dr. Jiaguo Qi (pronounced Chee) is Director of the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, and Professor at Michigan State University’s Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences. Dr. Qi also serves as a Project Scientist for NASA’s MAIRS (Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Studies) program. Research Interests Biophysical and social systems Land-use land-cover change (LULCC) Data analysis Coupled natural and human systems (CNH) Quantification of CNH feedbacks and links Geospatial analysis Spatio-temporal patterns and processes Involvement Dr. Qi is involved in projects around the world that seek to understand the nature of CNH, with projects in North America, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, East and West Africa, South America, and Australia. His recent research investigates the consequences of socioeconomic reform on land degradation in China and climate change impact on human systems in East Africa.

Dr. Snapp is the Associate Director of Global Change Science and is both a Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences and Chair of specializations in Ecological Food and Farming Systems (EFFS) and Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at Michigan State University. She has pioneered improved soil management, including multipurpose crops with integrated nutrient management. Dr. Snapp is possibly best known for being the ‘mother’ of the mother and baby trial design, as a means to support participatory research, communication and innovation. Research Interests International agricultural system design Climate change Drivers of soil processes in tropical Africa Resilient cropping system design Biologically-based soil management Nutrient efficiency Soil function Involvement Dr. Snapp coordinates the Sub-Saharan Learning Lab. The majority of this team’s research takes place in Malawi. Additional research is starting up in Tanzania, supported by SIIL, and is also on-going in Ghana, Mali, and Zambia. Visit Dr. […]

Dr. Chen is a Professor of Geography at Michigan State University and a fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, 2011) and  Ecological Society of America (ESA, 2014). He serves as the Editor-in-Chief for two book series: 1) Landscape Ecology (Springer); and 2) Ecosystem Science and Application –ESA (HEP & De Gruyter) as well as the journal Ecological Processes. Also, he is the founder and chief scientist of the US-China Carbon Consortium (USCCC). Research Interests Ecosystem processes and biophysical feedbacks Human activity Forest fragmentation & edge effects Landscape ecology Micrometeorology Coupled nature and human (CNH) systems Carbon/water fluxes Current Projects Dr. Chen leads the Landscape Ecology and Ecosystem Science lab (LEES), which investigates the combination of human actions with environmental functions—particularly within eastern Asia and the Midwest, USA. Much of the research collects and monitors biophysical and land cover changes, such as carbon cycling, evapotranspiration, and plant […]

Dr. Fan is an associate professor of urban and regional planning in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction and the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations. In the past, Dr. Fan has served as a consultant/economist for UNU-WIDER and ADB. She has also served as a consultant/economist for United Nations University – World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) and Asia Development Bank (ADB) regarding the innovation and economic development of emerging countries (China and India in particular) and urbanization in Asia. Research Interests Urbanization Transitional economies Sustainability Climate change Southeast, East, and North Asia (SENA) Development of theories and empirical evidence on innovation Current Projects Dr. Fan’s current research, funded by NASA’s Land Cover and Land Use Change (LCLUC) program, examines 17 major cities of 7 transitional economies in Southeast, East, and North Asia (SENA), which also became the name of the project. Cambodia, Laos PDR, Myanmar, […]

Dr. Li is an Assistant Professor currently researching at the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations at Michigan State University. She applies remote sensing, GIS, and agricultural land suitability/marginal land mapping to determine land use/cover changes and quality of life. Research Interests land use/cover and changes urban population estimation quality of life assessment Involvement Currently, Dr. Li is participating in the project “Bringing perennial grain crops to Africa”, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This project focuses on marginal land mapping, agricultural land suitability assessment, and land degradation that is based on physical land characteristics and productivity captured by satellite images.