Paul D. Pickell

I study the Earth from afar, looking at how humans transform the terrestrial surface and appropriate the biosphere. During the Anthropocene, humans will have a profound impact on the Earth's systems. My research program innovates remote sensing and geomatics solutions to vast environmental change problems. I use wildfire as a research vehicle because it is at the nexus of climate, carbon, resilience, and human safety.

I earned my Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from The Evergreen State College in 2011, with my area of interests in sustainability and environmental studies. I later completed my Ph.D. at The University of British Columbia in forestry. My dissertation focused on mapping human disturbance patterns in space and time across Canada. I have worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia, a lecturer at Simon Fraser University, and more recently as a remote sensing scientist with the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor of Teaching for the Master of Geomatics for Environmental Management Program at the University of British Columbia.

I am a passionate teacher of geomatics. I have been teaching geographic information systems at The University of British Columbia since 2017. I have also taught remote sensing, biogeography, urban forestry field school, research methods, and scientific writing. Currently, I am writing an open access textbook on geographic information systems.