Pacific Southwest Research Station

Education

• Ph.D., Statistics. University of California, Berkeley, 1977.
• M.Sc., Statistics. American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 1972.

Research Interests/Duties

My current work is focused on developing probability risk models and data analytic techniques necessary for assessing and predicting impacts of disturbances on forest ecosystems.

Current Emphases, Studies, Projects

• Probability modeling and forecasting fire risk (occurrence and size).
• Modeling and analysis of interactive effects of fire and insect epidemics in a changing climate.
• Stochastic modeling of animal movement subjected to human disturbance.
• Analytic technique for assessing the contribution of wildfire and other anthropogenic and climactic factors on air quality in the Sierra Nevada.

Past Research

From 1997 through 2011, I was with the Environmental Statistics Unit at Albany. Prior to that, I was the research statistician for the Forest Insect Population Unit (4503) also at Albany. My research with the Forest Insect Unit was concerned with the statistical aspects of dose-response bioassays; modeling of bark beetle attacks; modeling chemotaxis of bark beetle's and spread of root disease in forest stands. I earned my Ph.D. in Statistics from the university of California, Berkeley in 1977 and joined the Forest Service in 1984.