OUR TEAM
Dr. Jiwei Li, PI
Jiwei Li, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, School of Ocean Future, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University. He is a biological oceanographer, remote sensing scientist, and computer scientist. Dr. Li’s research stands at the forefront in exploring interactions between human and natural systems, especially at the air-land-ocean interface. His research combines remote sensing with globally scalable physical analytical algorithms, big data analysis, cloud computing, and machine learning to understand the influences of human activities on the aquatic systems (oceans, rivers, and lakes) to protect the Earth’s resources (coral reef, freshwater, fishes) and achieve a more sustainable future. He is currently focused on building the first global coral reef monitoring system to inform conservation and management of shallow coastal ecosystems. His reaserch is supported by NSF, NASA and NOAA. Email: jiweili[at]asu[dot]edu CV | Google Scholar | Twitter | Research Gate |
Thomas Ingalls
Thomas is a Utah native who moved to South Florida after high school to study marine ecosystems. While in Florida, Thomas completed his bachelor's (Marine Biology, 2017) and master's (Marine Science, 2020) degrees at Nova Southeastern University. After completion of his master’s degree, Thomas stayed on at Nova Southeastern University as a Research Associate in the GIS and Spatial Ecology Lab. As a Research Associate, Thomas worked at the forefront of SCTLD intervention, coral restoration, and assisted in NOAA’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program for fish and benthic surveys. Thomas joined the GWRS Lab in Spring of 2022 in the Geophysical Science Ph.D. track. Expanding on his passion of aquatic ecosystems, Thomas is interested in studying the complex inter and intra-energy dynamics of coastal systems, the resiliency of these systems to disturbances, and their economic importance. Utilizing the newest practices in remote sensing, big data analysis, and ecological theory. Outside of the sciences, my passions include exploring the great outdoors (e.g., hiking, camping, kayaking, SCUBA diving), sports, running, architecture, photography, aquariums, and carpentry. When I’m not off on an adventure or working on my newest project, I can be found relaxing on the sofa watching movies and bingeing the latest series. |
Jianghai Peng
Jiang hai is a PhD student, specializing in remote sensing and GIS. He holds a bachelor's degree in Remote Sensing Science and Technology from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, and a master's degree in GIS from Beijing Normal University. He is passionate about research and currently focused on seagrass and air quality. In his free time, he enjoys touring, working out, and reading. Excited to contribute to the lab's scientific endeavors and advance knowledge in his field. |
Will Greene
Will Greene is a PhD student and a NSF Graduate Research Fellow, and a Research Associate at the Perry Institute for Marine Science, specializing in geographic information systems (GIS), coral reef photogrammetry and 3D modeling. He is based in Burlington, Vermont, but often joins the research team in The Bahamas to participate in field work. His goal is to use technology to advance science and to inspire the public to care about the environment and conservation. While underwater, Greene spends most of his time behind a camera. He takes thousands of photos that are stitched together into ultra-high-resolution maps of reef sites. |
Kelly van Woesik
She is a graduate student in the Asner Lab, co-adviosed by Jiwei Li, based in Hawaii, through Arizona State
University’s GDCS center. Kelly graduated summa cum laude from the Florida
Institute of Technology in 2021 with a BSc (Hons) in Biomathematics and also earned a Cultural Competency
Certificate. She is a PADI Divemaster, AAUS Scientific Diver, and has worked as an Environmental Specialist
analyzing water-quality data for natural resources management in Florida. Kelly’s research interests include
linking remote sensing, machine learning, spatial analyses, and ecology to better understand and preserve coral reefs.
She is a graduate student in the Asner Lab, co-adviosed by Jiwei Li, based in Hawaii, through Arizona State
University’s GDCS center. Kelly graduated summa cum laude from the Florida
Institute of Technology in 2021 with a BSc (Hons) in Biomathematics and also earned a Cultural Competency
Certificate. She is a PADI Divemaster, AAUS Scientific Diver, and has worked as an Environmental Specialist
analyzing water-quality data for natural resources management in Florida. Kelly’s research interests include
linking remote sensing, machine learning, spatial analyses, and ecology to better understand and preserve coral reefs.
Alumni
Shan Gao (2021-2023, Arizona State University, research intership)
Swati Mahapatra (2021-2023, Arizona State University, research intership)
Nicholas Johnson (2019-2020, Arizona State University, master student capstone project)
Randy Fulford (2019-2020, Arizona State University, master student capstone project)
Jingwei Lian (2019-2020, Arizona State University, TNC mapping project)
Shan Gao (2021-2023, Arizona State University, research intership)
Swati Mahapatra (2021-2023, Arizona State University, research intership)
Nicholas Johnson (2019-2020, Arizona State University, master student capstone project)
Randy Fulford (2019-2020, Arizona State University, master student capstone project)
Jingwei Lian (2019-2020, Arizona State University, TNC mapping project)