Current WaterMAPS™ Team
Dr. Joanna Endter-Wada
Dr. Joanna Endter-Wada is a Professor of Natural Resource Policy and Social Science in the Quinney College of Natural Resources and the Director of the WaterMAPS™ Initiative at Utah State University. She holds a Ph.D. degree from the School of Social Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Her research focuses on conceptualizing and analyzing linkages between humans and biophysical aspects of ecosystems, with emphasis on water resources, urban ecology, and public land and wetland management. The main emphases of her research projects and extension activities for many years have been urban landscape water use and conservation, and policy and social responses to drought and climate change.
Email: joanna.endter-wada@usu.edu
Phone: (435) 797-2487
Office: BNR 270A
Chris Garrard
Chris Garrard is a Programmer Analyst in the Remote Sensing/GIS Laboratory in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University. She holds a B.S. degree in Statistics and Computer Science and a M.S. degree in Biology. She specializes in web application development, web mapping, GIS programming, and database design. She has participated in a number of research projects, including carbon sequestration, crowd-sourced tree inventories, topographic surveys, and animal movements. She has developed, written, and refined the code for the WaterMAPS™ program and she conducts the WaterMAPS™ analysis for the project partners.
Email: chris.garrard@usu.edu
Phone: (435) 797-2602
Office: JQL 232
Christopher McGinty
Christopher (Chris) McGinty is the Assistant Director of the Remote Sensing/GIS Laboratory in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University. He also serves as the Executive Director of the nationwide AmericaView consortium. His research interests include the use of remotely sensed and geospatial data to evaluate changes in land cover, map invasive species, evaluate ecosystem services, and better understand the use of municipal water in urban environments. He also works to promote the use of Earth observation data through education and outreach, workforce development, technology transfer, and applied research through the AmericaView network.
Email: chris.mcginty@usu.edu
Phone: (435) 797-0653
Office: JQL 146B
Dr. Douglas Ramsey
Dr. R. Douglas Ramsey is a Professor of Wildland Resources in the Quinney College of Natural Resources and the Director of the Remote Sensing/GIS Laboratory. His background is in rangeland and landscape ecology with an emphasis on geospatial science and remote sensing. His research focuses on developing geospatial techniques and tools to support the assessment and monitoring of natural, rangeland, and anthropogenic environments. Many of his tools and protocols involve the use of remotely sensed imagery collected from various platforms.
Email: doug.ramsey@usu.edu
Phone: (435) 797-3783
Office: NR 355A
Former Collaborators
Ellie Leydsman McGinty
Ellie Leydsman McGinty was a Researcher III and UtahView State Coordinator in the Remote Sensing/GIS Laboratory at Utah State University. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Studies and a M.S. degree in Bioregional Planning from Utah State University. Her research interests included working with satellite and aerial imagery to develop information that can be used to support conservation and restoration efforts. Her expertise in geographic object-based image analysis, including the use of Trimble eCognition, enabled her to develop processes for producing high-resolution land cover datasets to be used within the WaterMAPS™ program.
Dr. Roger Kjelgren
Dr. Roger Kjelgren is a former Professor of Horticulture in the Department of Plants, Soils & Climate of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences at Utah State University. His research focused on water conservation in irrigated horticultural landscapes with an emphasis on the use of native plants and landscape designs. He developed and disseminated information on demand-side management through effective irrigation and sustainable landscaping to the green industry, water purveyors, and the general public. Dr. Kjelgren retired in 2021 as the Director of the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka, Florida, which is part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida.
Dr. Christopher Neale
Dr. Christopher Neale is a former Professor of Irrigation Engineering in the College of Engineering and Director of the Remote Sensing Services Laboratory at Utah State University. His research interests are in developing remote sensing applications in hydrology, irrigated agriculture, and for monitoring natural resources. He developed a low-cost airborne remote sensing system that was used to map spatially distributed energy balance terms and evapotranspiration of riparian and agricultural vegetation. Currently, Dr. Neale is the Director of Research for the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska.
Diana T. Glenn (NKA Diana T. Wuenschell)
After receiving her M.S. degree in 2010 (more below), Diana T. Glenn (NKA Wuenschell) was a Senior Research Technician with the Center for Water-Efficient Landscaping through 2019. She contributed valuable social science expertise, interdisciplinary perspectives, and practical knowledge in developing the WaterMAPS™ analytics during her time as an undergraduate and graduate student and as a full-time employee.
Graduate Students
Jessica Ivy Harvey Thomson (Former, M.S., 2020)
Jessica Ivy Harvey Thomson was a Graduate Research Assistant with the Center for Water-Efficient Landscaping. She completed a M.S. degree in the Department of Environment and Society of the Quinney College of Natural Resources. She previously received her B.S. degree with Honors in University Studies at USU and is completing her MPSH degree in Horticulture from the Plants, Soils and Climate Department. Her research focuses on understanding how to implement water conservation and work directly with people on behavioral solutions to environmental problems.
Clayton S. Lewis (Former, M.E. and Ph.D., 2016)
Dissertation: Evapotranspiration Estimation: A Study of Methods in the Western United States
Clayton S. Lewis integrated image processing, evapotranspiration estimation, data visualization, and reporting through programming and technical support for the WaterMAPS™ program in connection with the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District Project. He was a Graduate Research Assistant/Associate with the Remote Sensing Services Laboratory and completed his Ph.D. in 2016 from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering.
Adrian P. Welsh (Former, M.S., 2011)
Thesis Project: Software for Analyzing Municipal Water Data to Design Water Conservation Strategies
Adrian P. Welsh developed an early version of the WaterMAPS™ software as a Graduate Research Assistant. His area of expertise is GIS and he was instrumental in providing the spatial components and analysis capabilities of the software. Adrian earned his M.S. degree in 2011 from the Department of Environment and Society in the Quinney College of Natural Resources. Since graduating, he has worked for the Utah Department of Transportation and Meridian Engineering. He is currently a GIS Specialist at Avenue Consultants.
Diana T. Glenn (Former, M.S., 2010)
Thesis: Residential Landscape Water Check Programs: Exploring a Conservation Tool
Diana T. Glenn (NKA Wuenschell) contributed social science expertise and connected interdisciplinary perspectives in developing the WaterMAPS™ analytics. She interviewed and surveyed participants in several research projects over the years (including Logan City and Weber Basin Water Conservancy District projects) and brought her expertise as a Master Gardener to bear on those interactions. Diana earned her M.S. degree in 2010 from the Department of Environment and Society in the Quinney College of Natural Resources. After graduating, she spent several years working for Utah State University Extension with the Center for Water-Efficient Landscaping.
Christina O. Klien (Former, M.S., 2004)
Thesis: Understanding Household Landscape Water Conservation
Christina O. Klien focused her research on analyzing the human behavioral aspects of household and business landscape watering practices by utilizing survey data collected in the Layton City project. Christina earned her M.S. degree in 2004 from the Department of Environment and Society in the Quinney College of Natural Resources. She spent several years working as a water conservation coordinator in Scottsdale, Arizona and now resides and works in Germany.
Fayek A. Farag (Former, Ph.D., 2003)
Dissertation: Estimating Farm and Landscape Water Use at the Rural-Urban Interface Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems
Fayek A. Farag worked on developing the analytic techniques for estimating farm and landscape water use using remote sensing and geographic information systems. He worked on the Layton City project as a Graduate Research Assistant and earned his Ph.D. in 2003 from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering. Fayek was lead author on a 2011 article (published in Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing) which received the 2012 award for ESRI Best Scientific Paper in Geographic Information Systems. Fayek is currently as a civil engineering professional in Australia.
Douglas C. Kilgren (Former, M.S., 2001)
Thesis: Implementing Water Conservation in an Institutional Setting
Douglas C. Kilgren researched institutional landscape water conservation through an experimental approach of working with custodians in charge of maintaining landscaping on school properties in the Granite School District. His work provided unique insights into varying contexts within which landscape maintenance occurs in the institutional sector and effective approaches for promoting conservation in those settings. Doug earned his M.S. degree in 2001 from the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. He currently works as a landscape professional in Seattle, Washington.