Benjamin Mark Van Doren

Benjamin Mark Van Doren is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. His research focuses on understanding migratory bird behavior, nocturnal migration patterns, and the development of bioacoustic monitoring tools for conservation purposes.

Research Interests:
- Analysis of interspecies social networks during nocturnal migration
- Bi-axial orientation mechanisms in migratory songbirds
- Large-scale detection/classification of flight calls using machine learning
- Urban impacts on migratory bird collisions
- Individual and seasonal variation in avian vocalizations

Key Contributions:
Developed BirdVoxDetect system for automated bird migration monitoring (IEEE/ACM Transactions 2024)
Discovered link between weather patterns and bird collision risks in NYC (Journal of Applied Ecology 2024)
Advanced understanding of Magnolia Warbler vocal individuality (Ornithology 2024)

Collaborations:
- Global network including Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Fransson), Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Farnsworth)
- Cross-disciplinary teams involving computer scientists (Lostanlen/Bello) and ecologists

Awards & Recognition:
Research widely covered by 35+ news outlets and social media (including Bluesky/X platforms)