Jay Oliver is a post masters research associate in our lab. Jay received a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and policy from the University of South Florida in 2014. He went on to earn his master’s degree in environmental economics and management in 2019 from the University of York. Jay is most passionate about studying the interactions between anthropogenic effects on the environment and finding ways to sustainably use the Earth’s resources. He is currently working on a project that examines land use dynamics. This entails developing detailed land use map products that can be used to simulate future land cover change in the United States. Jay is also working on a project that deals with environmental flow analysis within the state of Texas. His work consists in helping determine what stream segments are being altered by examining discharge data with respect to climate and human alterations. The end goal of the project will be to identify hydrologic alteration thresholds for rivers to sustain ecological function. One of Jay’s favorite accomplishments during his time in our lab is being able to develop technical capabilities performing spatial analysis and working with data through GIS and programing software. Jay is involved in SACNAS, an organization that encourages Hispanic and Native American involvement in STEM fields. Jay was born and raised in Ecuador, where he lived for 26 years. Meet Micah Bowman, a Ph.D. student in our lab. Micah completed his undergraduate degree in biology at Pensacola Christian College in 2008 and went on to receive a master’s in biology at the University of Nebraska Kearney in 2013. Prior to pursuing a Ph.D. at Baylor, he taught biology at his alma mater, Pensacola Christian College. Micah is happily married with four children and is passionate about studying animals. He discovered his love for animals when his family moved to a house with land in junior high. He currently has 15 ball pythons. Micah's PhD research is working to test the ability of optical imaging and artifical intelligence (AI) technologies to autonomously detect and identify small aquatic organisms, like benthic invertebrates and fish. Specifically, the technology he is using includes an optical imaging system that utilizes AI and machine learning to identify and count organisms to aid with collecting stream data. This machine drastically cuts down the time it takes to collect and obtain data, allowing researchers to move through their research process more quickly. The SAO imager takes pictures of what passes through the machine directly at the research site. Based on the training of the machine, AI is used to identify and count what is in the water. Micah’s role is to train the AI for the machine to enable it to identify the organisms most accurately in the sample. He is currently in the midst of the publication process for a paper about the SAO, specific to zooplankton. |
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May 2024
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