Jessica L. O'Connell - Assistant Professor
Colorado State University
Jessica is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at Colorado State University. Her research is centered on landscape ecology and relies on interdisciplinary methods that span the fields of ecology, remote sensing, geospatial informatics, and data science. Her goals are to create research products that facilitate landscape-scale ecosystem conservation. Jessica is a proponent of the open-science philosophy and strives to conduct research that reduces the barriers to accessing scientific results and products. She is also a proponent of long-term ecological research and serves as a Co-PI on the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long-Term Ecological Research Project (GCE-LTER).
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Colorado State University
Jessica is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at Colorado State University. Her research is centered on landscape ecology and relies on interdisciplinary methods that span the fields of ecology, remote sensing, geospatial informatics, and data science. Her goals are to create research products that facilitate landscape-scale ecosystem conservation. Jessica is a proponent of the open-science philosophy and strives to conduct research that reduces the barriers to accessing scientific results and products. She is also a proponent of long-term ecological research and serves as a Co-PI on the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long-Term Ecological Research Project (GCE-LTER).
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Kyle Runion - PhD Candidate
NASA FINESST Fellow, NOAA Davidson Fellow
University of Texas at Austin
Kyle is interested in coastal resilience and in combating climate-change related stressors on wetlands. He joined UTMSI in January 2021 as a PhD student in Marine Science and studies landscape-scale wetland dynamics through remote sensing techniques. Prior to joining the O'Connell Wetland Landscape Ecology Lab, he researched the beneficial use of dredge material for the purpose of wetland restoration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and in his home state of Maryland, Kyle worked with the Chesapeake Bay Program in watershed-scale habitat restoration. He holds a M.S. degree in Marine Studies from the University of Delaware where his thesis research focused on understanding sediment transport in a recently restored tidal salt marsh and a B.S. degree in Environmental Science and Technology from the University of Maryland. Wetland research allows Kyle to combine his passions of nature and data science to promote ecosystem resilience.
NASA FINESST Fellow, NOAA Davidson Fellow
University of Texas at Austin
Kyle is interested in coastal resilience and in combating climate-change related stressors on wetlands. He joined UTMSI in January 2021 as a PhD student in Marine Science and studies landscape-scale wetland dynamics through remote sensing techniques. Prior to joining the O'Connell Wetland Landscape Ecology Lab, he researched the beneficial use of dredge material for the purpose of wetland restoration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and in his home state of Maryland, Kyle worked with the Chesapeake Bay Program in watershed-scale habitat restoration. He holds a M.S. degree in Marine Studies from the University of Delaware where his thesis research focused on understanding sediment transport in a recently restored tidal salt marsh and a B.S. degree in Environmental Science and Technology from the University of Maryland. Wetland research allows Kyle to combine his passions of nature and data science to promote ecosystem resilience.
Megan Podolinsky - PhD student
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Jackson Aikin - MS Student
Colorado State University
Jackson is interested in studying wetland ecosystems and their relationships with climate change and local flora and fauna. He graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, where he also completed a capstone research project studying Spiny Orb Weaver Spiders and their relationship with human disturbance. Prior to joining the O’Connell Lab, Jackson worked for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service studying plant-herbivore interactions, specifically, livestock’s long term grazing effects on rangeland ecosystems. He is very excited to join the lab and for the opportunity to contribute to this important research.
Colorado State University
Jackson is interested in studying wetland ecosystems and their relationships with climate change and local flora and fauna. He graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, where he also completed a capstone research project studying Spiny Orb Weaver Spiders and their relationship with human disturbance. Prior to joining the O’Connell Lab, Jackson worked for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service studying plant-herbivore interactions, specifically, livestock’s long term grazing effects on rangeland ecosystems. He is very excited to join the lab and for the opportunity to contribute to this important research.
Christina Marconi - PhD student in the Trophic Ecology Lab
University of Texas, Co-funded by the Landscape Modeling Lab
Christina Marconi is interested in using molecular techniques to explore marine biodiversity and trophic interactions. She joined UTMSI in April 2022 as a PhD student in Marine Science. Before joining UTMSI, Christina worked at the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve as a research scientist in the Stewardship sector. She earned her Master’s in Marine Conservation from the University of Miami in 2018 and a B.S. in Natural Resources with a concentration in Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation from the University of Connecticut in 2016. Christina is currently working with the O’Connell Wetland Landscape Ecology Lab on a project to create open-source algorithms that map coastal wetlands in South Texas. These should help to evaluate habitat change over time and inform decision-making.
Lab Alumni
Postdoctoral Researchers, University of Texas at Austin: Saket Gowravaram, Hossein Sahour
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