Lab group: Dr. Paul Evangelista

Time with NREL: Officially in 2018 but I’ve been collaborating with NREL and NREL-adjacent folks since 2014.

Research interests / skills: 

Much of my work right now involves developing species distribution models of invasive species, using R and Google Earth Engine. I also develop web-based decision support tools to better communicate these data to practitioners. But I’ve also worked on projects related to forest fuel structure and fire ecology (master’s thesis) and climate change modeling. I’m also a past participant and current science advisor for the NASA DEVELOP program at NREL.

Hobbies / personal interests:

I’m an avid baker who is looking forward to a time when NREL folks can help me beta-test new recipes. For most of the past decade I’ve taken an annual trip to Quetico Provincial Park in southwest Ontario where the paddling is placid and the fishing is fantastic. I follow the Packers (shh, don’t tell my Minnesota relatives) and Seattle Sounders and have been playing tennis competitively since the age of 12. My quarantine hobby of choice has been taking up table-top gaming and I’m currently giving the whole dungeon master role a whirl. Other than that, my wife and I are pretty occupied by our menagerie of pets: two pups, a sixteen-year-old cat, and a horse.