Tara Hudiburg

Tara W. Hudiburg is an American forest scientist who specializes in ecosystem modeling. She is an associate professor at the University of Idaho in the department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences. Hudiburg was honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2019.

Early life and education Hudiburg attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, graduating in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in biology. She measured the greenhouse gas emissions from harnessing certain biofuels.

Career and research Hudiburg began her post-doctoral research at the University of Illinois where she focused on the impact of global warming on forests. She was then hired by the University of Idaho in 2014 where she still resides as an associate professor in the department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences in the College of Natural Resources. The National Science Foundation awarded Hudiburg with a career award and research grant of roughly $650,000 in 2016. With this grant, Hudiburg will research the relationship between forests and the atmosphere in our changing climate, specifically relating to droughts and fires. The study focuses on three crops and their viability as a source of fuel in comparison to fossil fuels. The study uses a process called biogeochemical modeling.

Hudiburg is also a researcher for the MILES (Managing Idaho's Landscapes for Ecosystem Services) program. This project measures human impact on the environment, and how it alters ecosystem services and their value. She earned this award through her study of forestry and the relationships between forests and their carbon intake. Hudiburg found links between forest type and residence time of carbon in these forests, which are critical in understanding future carbon sequestration tactics to reduce climate change.

Publications The following are Hudiburg's highest cited publications on google scholar.

Carbon dynamics of Oregon and Northern California forests and potential land‐based carbon storage Regional carbon dioxide implications of forest bioenergy production Altered dynamics of forest recovery under a changing climate Impacts of a 32-billion-gallon bioenergy landscape on land and fossil fuel use in the US Cost of abating greenhouse gas emissions with cellulosic ethanol

Awards and honors Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers