The Lab Team
Faculty
Peter Z. Fulé, Professor, Charles O. and Mary Minor Professor
Research Interests: Forest ecology, wildfire, climate, dendrochronology, simulation modeling, ecological restoration
CV Link
Google Scholar Link
Email: Pete.Fule@nau.edu
Phone: +1 928-523-1463
Current Students
Graduate Students
Gabrielle Ayres, Ph.D.
Gaby is co-advised by Dr William Flatley (University of Central Arkansas). Her research involves the use of an interactive landscape model, LANDIS-II, to look at the effects of climate change across a latitudinal gradient in the Rocky Mountains. Using this model, she is investigating the impacts of climate change on forested landscapes and in turn, will design and test innovative management strategies to maximize the production of climate-resilient ecosystem services in three national forests. Gaby is from South Africa and previously carried out research in Antarctica, looking at lichen communities.
Professional Link
Sam Ebright, M.S
Sam is a M.S. Forestry student, with a B.S. Forestry and B.A. Modern Languages, Spanish. Graduating from NAU in 2018, he has been working as a wildland firefighter for the Coconino N.F. in Flagstaff, AZ. Sam’s research will investigate climate change and wildfires as drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Vietnam. His work will utilize remote sensing techniques, and aims to complete fieldwork in-country as well. Research and career interests focus on fire ecology and international conservation.
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Christopher ONeill, M.S.
Leo is a M.S Forestry student that was apart of the Forest Ecology Lab for his undergraduate term (2020). His interests include fire ecology, ecoinformatics, and remote sensing. While preliminary, Leo's project will utilize Unmanned Aerial Systems in fire management.
Emma Louise Sautter, M.S.
Emma is a first generation M.S. Forestry Student who earned her Bachelor of Science in Forestry in 2021 from the NAU School of Forestry. Since then, she has gained some outside experience by working with Forest Health Protection within the USFS and is now applying what she learned to her own research on Engelmann spruce. Her research focuses on the connection between climatic shifts and their impacts on Engelmann spruce across a latitudinal gradient.
Erin Todd, Ph.D.
Erin is a Ph.D. student with a M.S. in Forestry from Southern Illinois University and a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan. Her previous research partnered with the Fire Ecology Program at Bandelier National Monument to investigate the effects of prescribed fire on Jemez Mountain Salamander habitat. Her current research at NAU is co-advised by Dr. Pete Fulé and Dr. Alicia Azpeleta-Tarancón and will focus on developing tree-ring chronologies for Chihuahua pine and modeling potential range shifts under various climate change scenarios.
Erin Todd, Ph.D.
Erin is a Ph.D. student with a M.S. in Forestry from Southern Illinois University and a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan. Her previous research partnered with the Fire Ecology Program at Bandelier National Monument to investigate the effects of prescribed fire on Jemez Mountain Salamander habitat. Her current research at NAU is co-advised by Dr. Pete Fulé and Dr. Alicia Azpeleta-Tarancón and will focus on developing tree-ring chronologies for Chihuahua pine and modeling potential range shifts under various climate change scenarios.
Lionel Whitehair, Ph.D
Lionel is a Ph.D. student with a M.S. and B.S. in Forestry from Northern Arizona University. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and has worked for various natural resource agencies throughout his career which include recreation, wildland fire, and timber. His current research is in collaboration with the Navajo Nation and Diné College, in which the project expands into research on food and agricultural dynamics related to forest ecosystems on the Navajo Nation. Lionel is also from the Navajo reservation and currently resides in Flagstaff, AZ.
Professional Link
Lionel Whitehair, Ph.D
Lionel is a Ph.D. student with a M.S. and B.S. in Forestry from Northern Arizona University. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and has worked for various natural resource agencies throughout his career which include recreation, wildland fire, and timber. His current research is in collaboration with the Navajo Nation and Diné College, in which the project expands into research on food and agricultural dynamics related to forest ecosystems on the Navajo Nation. Lionel is also from the Navajo reservation and currently resides in Flagstaff, AZ.
Professional Link
Hilina Yohannes, Ph.D.
Hilina has a background of climate change and forestry that focused on topics of ecosystem services, species diversity, climate change adaptation. Currently, Hilina is working on her Ph.D. with Matthew Bowker, Anita Antoninka and Peter Fulé on ‘’Pelletized fire mosses to enhance soil health after high severity forest fire". Hilina is from Ethiopia and she has previously studied in Italy and Spain.
Undergraduate Students
Tracey Begaye
Tracey is from the Navajo Nation pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with a passion for hardware design for computers/laptops plus renewable energy fields. She has a background in developing computer hardware and software. In the lab, Tracey will be applying Structure from Motion (SfM) technology and collecting images that are useful for applications such as predicting forest fire behavior, wildlife habitat, or climate vulnerability on Tribal (Navajo Nation), Forest Service, and state lands.
Tracey Begaye
Tracey is from the Navajo Nation pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with a passion for hardware design for computers/laptops plus renewable energy fields. She has a background in developing computer hardware and software. In the lab, Tracey will be applying Structure from Motion (SfM) technology and collecting images that are useful for applications such as predicting forest fire behavior, wildlife habitat, or climate vulnerability on Tribal (Navajo Nation), Forest Service, and state lands.
Serena Felix
Serena is working towards a B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Statistics. She is from the sunny city of Yuma, Arizona, where she was raised with an appreciation for the lower Colorado river system and was eventually inspired to pursue climatology as a career. Her areas of interest include paleoclimatology and dendroclimatology.
Gabriel Sensibar
Gabe is from Tucson, AZ and is pursuing a degree in Forestry with a certificate in Human Dimensions of Forest Management from NAU.
Gabriel Sensibar
Gabe is from Tucson, AZ and is pursuing a degree in Forestry with a certificate in Human Dimensions of Forest Management from NAU.
Recent Graduates
Undergraduate
Joachim Maniam
Joachim graduated with his forestry undergraduate degree in May 2022. During his time in the lab, Joachim helped us with tree core sample preparations as well the dating of these tree cores. Joachim is now working towards becoming an arborist for the Bartlett Tree Experts based in Phoenix, AZ.
Graduate
Barney Gregg, M.S.
I am White Mountain Apache where I work as a carbon coordinator, surveying timber stands and managing the carbon sequestration program. I am married and have two beautiful girls. I did my undergraduate in Environmental Sciences with an emphasis in biology. My research interest is in climate change and reforestation for tribal lands. After completing my education at NAU I would like to return to help in management of the tribal forestry program.
Lulu Peach, M.S.
At NAU, Lulu studied the effects of hybrid index and drought on growth of hybrid Pinus strobiformis / Pinus flexilis individuals under Drs. Pete Fulé and Kristen Waring. Currently, she is a Ph.D. student at Washington State University under Dr. Henry Adams. She studies the effects of bark beetle infestation on resin duct formation in loblolly pine in the southeastern U.S.
Professional Link
Henry Grover, Ph.D.
My research interests lie within applied ecology and ecological restoration. Working with Professors Matt Bowker & Pete Fulé, we are developing a novel Burned Area Emergency Response technique to minimize some of the most devastating impacts of high severity wildfire using the "fire mosses" Ceratodon purpureus, Funaria hygrometrica, and Bryum argenteum. These species naturally colonize severely burned areas quickly and may prove to reduce post fire soil erosion.
Professional Link
Suzy Owen, Ph.D.
Currently, Suzy is a Natural Research Specialist for USDA Forest Service, forming part of the team involved in the Resource, Motoring and Assessment Program for the Pacific Northwest Research Station in Portland, Oregon.
Professional Link
Diny Hartiningtias, M.S.
Diny earned a CIFOR/USAID Master Degree Fellowship scholarship to complete her Master's degree at the School of Forestry, graduating in 2019 . Her research focused on the impact of forest fires on Pinus merkusii and other ecosystems in Indonesia under supervision of Peter Fulé, Margaret M Moore, and Andrea E Thode. Prior to her masters, Diny worked at the Research Center for Climate Change Universitas Indonesia as an assistant program manager. She completed her undergraduate study at the Department of Biology, Universitas Indonesia in 2013. Currently, she is working for an environmental NGO in Indonesia called Belantara Foundation, exploring her journey to contribute to forest protection and restoration in Indonesia.
Google Scholar Link
