Ecosystems & Environment
Sep. 14, 2026
Bernardo Cândido
Cândido’s research brings together remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and soil science to advance precision agriculture and sustainable land management. The work examines how agricultural landscapes change, with a particular focus on pasture biomass, soil erosion, and the use of environmental data to support practical decisions by farmers and land managers. A major focus of Cândido’s work is precision pasture management. He integrates satellite imagery, ground-based sensors, and machine learning to estimate pasture biomass and understand changes in forage availability. Through PastureCast, Cândido and his colleagues combine these observations with information about weather, soils, and management practices to help…
Aug. 30, 2026
Davide Dal Pos
Dal Pos studies parasitoid wasps, one of the most diverse yet least understood groups of animals on Earth. As a taxonomist, he discovers and describes new species and builds global resources such as the World Ichneumonidae Database (WID) to chart their diversity. A core part of his research asks why insects look the way they do, combining detailed anatomy, imaging, and anatomical ontologies that make morphological data standardized and machine-readable across studies. This connects to his broader work in biodiversity informatics, building interrelatable, open-access databases such as the World Ichneumonidae Database (WID) and Syrphidae of Italy (SoI), and in…
Dec. 18, 2025
Marcelo Barbosa
Marcelo Barbosa’s faculty appointment includes research (60%) and Extension (40%). His program focuses on integrating cutting-edge technologies to advance and support modern agricultural production systems. His work centers on the use of remote sensing, unmanned aerial systems (UAS/drones), robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence to enhance data collection and improve the speed, sustainability, and precision of on-farm decision-making. More specifically, his research includes the development of predictive and forecasting models for crop yield, quality, and plant health; autonomous and semi-autonomous crop management solutions; and decision-support systems that translate complex data into actionable recommendations for growers. He is particularly interested in…
Aug. 18, 2025
Shokhrukh (Shok) Jalilov
Shokhrukh specializes in agricultural and environmental economics, water economics and policy, integrated water resource systems, and the water–food–energy nexus, with a focus on the complex interactions between biophysical and economic systems. His research employs theoretical, empirical, and numerical approaches and involves close collaboration with experts from diverse fields, including engineering, hydrology, soil science, and plant science. Before joining the University of Missouri, he worked at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Australia’s national science agency), the Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability at the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, and Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland.
Aug. 6, 2025
Christine C. Brodsky
Christine Brodsky is an Assistant Professor of Urban Ecology at the University of Missouri in the School of Natural Resources. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, M.S. from the University of Delaware, and B.S. from the University of Massachusetts. Her dissertation research was conducted within the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. After completing her Ph.D., she worked as a faculty member within Pittsburg State University’s Biology Department. She is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Urban Biodiversity and Design (URBIO) international network. Brodsky also has…
July 17, 2025
Rick Relyea
Educational background Courses taught…
March 30, 2025
Xiaoping Xin
Dr. Xin’s research focuses on soil biogeochemistry processes, climate-resilient soil management, soil remediation, soil-plant interactions, crop production, precision agriculture, nanotechnology-enabled agriculture, and environmental risk assessment. She is committed to bridging the gap between academic research and practical agricultural applications, aiming to lead innovative studies in soil fertility and plant nutrition that enhance agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability in Missouri and beyond. Educational background Courses taught…
Aug. 14, 2024
Alejandro Plastina
Plastina is the Director of the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF) at the University of Columbia-Missouri. His area of specialization is agricultural production and technology, with an emphasis on farm business and financial management. He has received multiple awards, including the 2023 Iowa State University (ISU) ANR Extension Team Award, the 2023 Outstanding Choices Magazine Article Award from the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, the 2022 Dean’s Citation for Extraordinary Contributions to the ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the 2021 Farm Foundation Agricultural Economics Fellowship, the 2021 ISU Office of the President Excellence…
Aug. 12, 2024
Kate Nelson
Nelson’s research focuses on issues related to the sustainability of communities and agricultural landscapes (SCALEs). Nelson’s team addresses challenges related to climate change adaptation and social equity, with an emphasis on rural and agricultural systems in the U.S. This work includes studies of: the equity of flood mitigation policy implementation, relationships between landscape structure and resilience of crop production, and rural sustainability assessment. Nelson’s research frequently applies large-scale quantitative spatial analysis to interrogate the bounds of relationships and identify scalar influences but also employs mixed methods approaches to ground and contextualize findings. Educational background…
July 30, 2024
Kristin E. Gibson
Kristin Gibson is an Assistant Professor of Conservation and Environmental Education in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. She holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining the University of Missouri, she served as a Teaching Assistant for the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science, and Research through Fulbright Austria (2018–2019), worked as a Coastal Community Engagement Specialist AmeriCorps Member with the North Carolina Coastal Federation (2017–2018), and held several seasonal positions in natural resources communication and outreach.