John P. Fay

I arrived at the Nicholas School in the fall of 2005. I currently split my time between teaching some of the GIS courses here and doing various research projects using spatial analysis. Prior to coming here, I spent 8 years at Stanford University's Center for Conservation Biology working on projects ranging from ecological reserve design in Madagascar and Mexico, to mapping butterfly habitat in central Nevada, to creating tools to inventory and map species ranges.

Prior to my work at Stanford, I was an instructor/research analyst in GIS at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment, where I also received my masters degree in conservation biology and ecosystem management. My first exposure to GIS, however, was in 1990 when I was an undergraduate at Bowdoin College looking at nitrogen inputs upstream of a local shellfishery that had recently collapsed.

My interest and motivation in the field of GIS flows from the stimulating mix of analysis and creativity it provides. I am deeply interested in exploring different uses of the technology towards better understanding and better managing our natural environment.