Holly Gibbs

Holly Gibbs is a Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, leading the Global Land Use and Environment Lab (GLUE). Her research bridges physical science, social science, and policy to address tropical land-use change, deforestation, and carbon emissions.

• Expertise in GIS, remote sensing, and supply chain analysis
• Focus on Brazil's Amazon and Cerrado biomes, U.S. agricultural systems
• Recipient of the 2024 Piers J. Sellers Global Environmental Change Mid-Career Award

Research Interests span interdisciplinary land change science, combining Big Data with field surveys to evaluate environmental impacts of agricultural expansion. She assesses zero-deforestation commitments and their real-world implementation challenges, particularly in Brazil's cattle and soy sectors.

Scientific Contributions include:

• $7 million in grants since 2011 for land use research
• Development of VISIPEC, a cattle traceability system
• Creation of global carbon maps through AI and remote sensing
• Over 13,000 citations for work in Science, Nature, and PNAS

Student Mentorship highlights her lab's success: Amintas Brandão Jr. (Rising Star Alumni), Erich Masson (Roy F. Weston Fellowship), Tara Mittleberg (Outstanding Master Thesis Award), and Seth Spawn (Olmstead Award).