Matthew Fagan

Matthew Fagan is a geographer, ecologist, and associate professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Systems at UMBC.

Dr. Fagan’s research focuses on conservation and restoration in human-dominated landscapes. To understand how forests and crop fields are changing over time, his work integrates ecological field data with the analysis of satellite imagery.  Presently, his lab is studying forest degradation, ecological restoration, and tree plantation expansion in the eastern US, Central America, South America, and south Asia.  As part of this work, they collaborate with a variety of international and local conservation partners. 

Dr. Fagan received his Masters from Dartmouth College and his Ph.D. from Columbia University. His dissertation work evaluated forest conservation efforts outside protected areas in northern Costa Rica. Before joining the UMBC faculty in 2016, he completed a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowship at the Goddard Space Flight Center.