{"id":1671,"date":"2008-01-16T17:36:22","date_gmt":"2008-01-16T22:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?p=1671"},"modified":"2014-12-16T17:37:01","modified_gmt":"2014-12-16T22:37:01","slug":"macarthur-fellowship-ruth-defries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2008\/01\/macarthur-fellowship-ruth-defries\/","title":{"rendered":"A MacArthur Fellowship for Ruth DeFries"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1672\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 364px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Ruth-DeFries.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1672\" src=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Ruth-DeFries.jpg\" alt=\"Ruth DeFries\" width=\"354\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Ruth-DeFries.jpg 354w, https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Ruth-DeFries-246x300.jpg 246w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Environmental geographer Ruth DeFries: Thinking globally.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Ruth DeFries<\/strong> can see the forest through the trees, or more precisely, through satellite data.<\/p>\n<p>DeFries, PhD \u201981, has spent the better part of the past two decades using sophisticated satellite- imaging systems to obtain a clearer picture of the processes transforming our planet.<\/p>\n<p>An environmental geographer, she uses this imagery to detect human modifications of the landscape and its impact on the biochemical processes that regulate the Earth\u2019s habitability. She\u2019s been able to observe land cover and land use change at regional and global scales to explore the implications on climate regulation, the carbon cycle, and biodiversity.<\/p>\n<p>To honor her work, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently named DeFries a MacArthur Fellow. Often referred to as a \u201cgenius grant,\u201d the award comes with $500,000 in no-strings-attached funding over five years.<\/p>\n<p>DeFries, a professor at the University of Maryland College Park, has focused her research on land use in tropical regions, an area that has witnessed a substantial shift toward agriculture at the expense of forests. She initially studied Central Africa and moved on to map areas in Southeast Asia and the Brazilian Amazon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe tropics are a region in transition. It\u2019s dynamic and rapidly changing,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to understand precisely what is going on. We\u2019re looking at the implications of deforestation and changes in the climate, specifically the levels of carbon emitted into the atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the past, the deforestation rate was cobbled together using national statistics on forest cover and coarse-resolution satellite imagery, which didn\u2019t always paint an accurate picture, DeFries says.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe\u2019re looking at the implications of deforestation and changes in the climate, specifically the levels of carbon emitted into the atmosphere.\u201d<cite>Ruth DeFries<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Recognizing the limitations of this approach, she and a team of collaborators developed a more precise methodology to map land cover using remote imaging data. With this method, DeFries has compiled spatially explicit datasets that have significantly changed the scale and focus of ecosystem research. The method allows scientists to make more plausible projections of future climate change and better understand how human activities alter habitats.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re looking to develop the scientific underpinnings for land use and find that proper balance for what is best for us in the long run,\u201d she says. \u201cWe tend to think in terms of economic benefit, but there are implications to be considered: How does land use impact ecosystems, climate, biodiversity, and water quality?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace S. Brush, a Hopkins professor of geography and environmental engineering who was DeFries\u2019 mentor at the Whiting School, says her former student capitalized on technical advances in satellite imagery to advance the field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRuth is certainly very deserving of this award, for the truly elegant work she does,\u201d says Brush. \u201cShe is very clear in her thinking, very smart, and I\u2019m really happy that her work is being recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ruth DeFries can see the forest through the trees, or more precisely, through satellite data. DeFries, PhD \u201981, has spent the better part of the past two decades using sophisticated satellite- imaging systems to obtain a clearer picture of the processes transforming our planet. An environmental geographer, she uses this imagery to detect human modifications&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-development","issue-winter-2008"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A MacArthur Fellowship for Ruth DeFries - JHU Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2008\/01\/macarthur-fellowship-ruth-defries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A MacArthur Fellowship for Ruth DeFries - JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ruth DeFries can see the forest through the trees, or more precisely, through satellite data. 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