About George's Work
Professor Hurtt received his Ph.D from Princeton University in 1997. From 1998-2010, Dr. Hurtt worked at the University of New Hampshire in the Institute for the Study of Earth Oceans and Space and Department of Natural Resources, finally becoming Chair of the Natural Resources and Earth System Science Ph.D. Program, UNH's largest doctoral program, and Director the Complex Systems Research Center, UNH's main center focused on Earth System Science. In 2010, Dr. Hurtt joined the University of Maryland Department of Geography as Professor & Research Director, and in 2011 he was named Associate Director of the Joint Global Change Research Institute, and Associate Director of Research Innovations at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). He has served as Chair of the NASA Earth Science Senior Review, Chair of the University of Maryland Research Council, and Chair of the University of Maryland Discovery-Creativity-Innovation Committee for the Strategic Plan. He is the founding Science Team Leader of the NASA Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) and member of the Mission Team for NASA Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI). Dr. Hurtt is a lead architect of Ecosystem Demography (ED) and Land Use Harmonization (LUH) models widely used in studies of the global carbon cycle, land use change, climate change, and biodiversity. He leads the development of the first remote-sensing based forest carbon monitoring and modeling system in official state use, now a global prototype. He is the author/co-author of >100 peer reviewed publications and has contributed to numerous national and international scientific assessments including the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Global Carbon Budget, and the 1st National Nature Assessment. Dr. Hurtt is the recipient of numerous honors and distinctions including the University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award.