NASA SARI Core Team Member
Dr.Ruth DeFries is a Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology at Columbia University, USA. Her research examines human transformation of the landscape and its consequences for climate, biogeochemical cycling, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services that make our planet habitable. Her research focus is also on tropical deforestation and its impacts on atmospheric carbon emissions and conservation. Her research analyzes land use changes over broad scales through the lens of satellite observations. She is actively involved in linking scientific information into policy decisions. She is a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and many other academic awards, as well as author of over a 100 scientific papers related to how people are manipulating the planet and its consequences for humanity.