Rutherford Platt

I am Professor, Chair, and Director of the GIS lab at the Environmental Studies Department at Gettysburg College. I teach a variety of Earth Observation/Remote Sensing and GIS courses.  My research interests relate to land systems science, the study of land cover and land use as a coupled human-environment system.  I am particularly focused on the dynamics of the Earth’s wildland-urban interface (WUI), where human-built structures abut or mix with naturally occurring vegetation types.  Much of my research explores the relationship between forest management, land use change, fire risk and ecological integrity in the WUI.  I am also interested in studying land systems through novel applications of Earth Observation/Remote Sensing and GIS, including hyperspectral Earth Observation/Remote Sensing, object-based image analysis, and trend analysis. My study areas are situated within the Rocky Mountain West, the Marcellus Shale Region of Pennsylvania, and the Terai Arc Landscape of India.