Wayne S. Walker

Wayne S. Walker
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Woods Hole Research Center
149 Woods Hole Rd.
Falmouth, MA 02540-1644
Phone: 508-540-9900 x141
Fax: 508-540-9700

Education

Ph.D. - University of Michigan
2006, Remote Sensing
Dissertation: Toward regional- to continental-scale estimates of vegetation height: An empirical approach based on data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.

M.S. - University of Michigan
1999, Forest Ecology
Thesis: Landscape ecosystems of the Mack lake burn, northern Lower Michigan, and the occurrence of the Kirtland’s warbler.

B.S. - University of Michigan
1994, Resource Ecology and Management

Professional Experience

  • 2006 - present: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Woods Hole Research Center
  • 2005 - 2006: Visiting Research Associate, Woods Hole Research Center
  • 2002 - 2005: NASA Earth System Science Fellow, University of Michigan
    Project title: Forest structure from multispectral fusion
  • 2000 - 2002: Graduate Student Research Assistant, University of Michigan
    Project title: Forest structure from multispectral fusion
  • 1999: Computer Specialist, USDA Forest Service, North Central Research Station
  • 1995 - 1998: Graduate Student Research Assistant, University of Michigan
    Project title: Landscape ecosystems of the Mack lake burn, northern Lower Michigan, and the occurrence of the Kirtland’s warbler
  • 1994: Research Assistant, University of Michigan
    Project title: The diversity of landscape ecosystems in the river valleys of the Huron-Manistee National Forests, northern Lower Michigan
  • 1993: Forest Pest Specialist, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Forest Management Division

Teaching Experience

  • 1997 - 1998: Graduate Student Instructor, University of Michigan
    Course: Remote Sensing of Environment (two terms)
  • 1997 - 1998: Graduate Student Instructor, University of Michigan
    Course: Map and Image Interpretation (two terms)
  • 1995 - 1997: Graduate Student Instructor, University of Michigan
    Course: Forest/Terrestrial Ecology (three terms)

Research Interests

Applications of remote sensing and GIS technologies to the assessment and monitoring of forests at regional- to continental-scales, mapping of multidimensional attributes of forest structure (e.g., canopy height, aboveground biomass, etc.), analyses of land cover/land use change.

Recent publications

Hyde, P., R. Dubayah, C. Hunsaker, W. Walker, J. Keane, G. Steger, J.B. Blair, and M. Hofton. In Preparation. Mapping California spotted owl habitat using old-growth signatures retrieved from LiDAR, RaDAR, and passive optical remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment.

Kellndorfer, J.M., W.S. Walker, E. LaPoint, M. Hoppus, and J. Westfall. In Review. Development of a U.S. National Biomass and Carbon Dataset for the year 2000 through exploitation of InSAR and optical remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment.

Walker, W.S., J.M Kellndorfer, E. LaPoint, M. Hoppus, and J. Westfall. In Review. An empirical SRTM-based approach to mapping vegetation canopy height for the conterminous United States. Remote Sensing of Environment.

Walker, W.S., J.M. Kellndorfer, and L.E. Pierce. In Review. Quality assessment of SRTM C- and X-band interferometric data: Implications for the estimation of vegetation canopy height. Remote Sensing of Environment.

Pierce, L., J. Kellndorfer, W. Walker, and O. Barros. In Press. Evaluation of the horizontal resolution of SRTM elevation data. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing.

Hyde, P., R. Dubayah, W. Walker, J.B. Blair, M. Hofton, and C. Hunsaker. 2006. Mapping forest structure for wildlife habitat analysis using multi-sensor (LiDAR, SAR/InSAR, ETM+, Quickbird) synergy. Remote Sensing of Environment 102:63-73.

Hyde, P., R. Dubayah, B. Peterson, J.B. Blair, M. Hofton, C. Hunsaker, R. Knox, W. Walker. 2005. Mapping forest structure for wildlife habitat analysis using waveform lidar: Validation of montane ecosystems. Remote Sensing of Environment 96:427-437.

Kellndorfer, J., W. Walker, L. Pierce, C. Dobson, J.A. Fites, C. Hunsaker, J. Vona, and M. Clutter. 2004. Vegetation height estimation from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and National Elevation Datasets. Remote Sensing of Environment 93:339-358.

Nashashibi, A.Y., K. Sarabandi, S. Oveisgharan, M.C. Dobson, W. Walker, and E. Burke. 2004. Millimeter-wave measurements of foliage attenuation and ground reflectivity of tree stands at nadir incidence. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 52(5):1211-1222.

Kashian, D.M., B.V. Barnes, and W.S. Walker. 2003. Ecological species groups of landform-level ecosystems dominated by jack pine in northern Lower Michigan, U.S.A. Plant Ecology 166:79-91.

Walker, W.S., B.V. Barnes, and D.M. Kashian. 2003. Landscape ecosystems of the Mack Lake burn, northern Lower Michigan, and the occurrence of the Kirtland's warbler. Forest Science 49:119-139.

Kashian, D.M., B.V. Barnes, and W.S. Walker. 2003. Landscape ecosystems of northern Lower Michigan and the occurrence and management of the Kirtland's warbler. Forest Science 49:140-159.

Current projects

  • Mapping of canopy height and aboveground biomass; "The National Biomass and Carbon Dataset 2000: A High Spatial Resolution Baseline to Reduce Uncertainty in Carbon Accounting and Flux Modeling." (NASA, Office of Earth Sciences, Carbon Cycle Science)
  • Mapping deforestation; "Forest Biomass and Land-Use Change in Central Africa: Reducing Regional Carbon Cycle Uncertainty." (NASA Land Use Land Cover Change Program)
  • Land cover/land use change analyses; "Integrating Earth Science Enterprise Results into Protected Area Decision Support for the African Albertine Region." (NASA)

Synergistic activities/Achievements, awards, other activities

  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth System Science Fellowship (2002-2005)
  • Samuel A. Graham Award for "outstanding scholarship and superior capability in writing," University of Michigan (2000 and 2003)
  • Jeffery Lund Forest Ecology Award for "demonstrating academic excellence, research capability, and professional promise," University of Michigan (2003)
  • Resource Ecology and Management Superior Teaching Award, University of Michigan (1998)
  • Member of the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
  • Member of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
  • Member of the American Geophysical Union
  • Member of the Ecological Society of America