Susan Ustin

Susan Ustin is an American earth scientist who is the Distinguished Professor of Environmental Resource Science at the John Muir Institute for the Environment, University of California, Davis. Her research makes use of remote sensing technology to understand the characteristics of plant communities.

Early life and education Ustin is from Eugene, Oregon. After graduating from high school in 1961, Ustin moved to San Francisco with her friends. She remained there for a master's degree, before moving to the University of California, Davis for her doctoral degree. Alongside her doctoral research Ustin started working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Research and career Her work considers remote sensing of environmental and landscape properties, making use of hyperspectral analysis and thermal scanners. She worked with NASA to build space-based imaging spectrometers.

In 2020 Ustin was elected to the Ecological Society of America. Her citation read, “Elected for research pioneering the use of remote sensing technology for detecting changes in plant community characteristics, biological diversity, and land use, and for her continued influence on the field,”.

Awards

2010 Honorary Doctorate from the University of Zurich 2017 Elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union 2020 Elected Fellow of the Ecological Society of America

Selected publications

Books