Iryna Dronova

Iryna Dronova is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at the University of California, Berkeley, affiliated with the Rausser College of Natural Resources. She also holds roles as Affiliate Professor in the Department of Geography and Faculty Affiliate in the Global Metropolitan Studies program. Her work bridges landscape ecology, remote sensing, and environmental planning to address challenges in wetland ecosystems and urban environments.

Education: PhD in Environmental Science, Policy & Management from UC Berkeley (2012), MS in Natural Resources/Terrestrial Ecology from University of Michigan (2004), BS in Ecology from National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (2001).

Research Interests: Focuses on wetland vegetation dynamics, urban ecosystem services, and remote sensing applications. Key themes include:

• Multiscale analysis of wetland structure and function
• Impact of urbanization on ecological processes
• Thermal-vegetation interactions in cities
• Remote sensing for restoration monitoring

Awards:

• 2017 Hellman Fellows Faculty Fund Award
• 2018 NASA Early Career Investigator Grant
• 2018 Berkeley Collegium Teaching Innovation Grant

Grants & Projects: Principal investigator for NASA-funded research on wetland phenology and co-investigator on Delta Stewardship Council’s carbon sequestration project. Collaborates on SALURBAL initiative studying Latin American urban environments.

Labs & Teams: Leads research group integrating field data with remote sensing to inform sustainable management strategies for wetlands and urban landscapes.