Joshua Viers

Joshua Viers is a Professor at the University of California, Merced, affiliated with the School of Engineering and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. His research focuses on agroecology, water and watershed management, climate change adaptation, and geospatial technologies.

• Ph.D. in Ecology, 2003, University of California, Davis
• B.S. in International Agricultural Development, 1994, University of California, Davis
• A.A. in Liberal Arts, 1991, Sierra College

His research interests include:

• Agroecology and Conservation Agriculture
• Climatic and Hydrological Change
• Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Strategies
• Ecosystem Service and Biodiversity Inventory
• Geospatial Technologies (GIS/Remote Sensing)
• Water Footprinting

Joshua's recent publications emphasize water allocation, climate change, and agricultural sustainability. Key themes include optimizing water use in arid regions, integrating AI into conservation planning, and assessing the economic and ecological impacts of water management policies.

Joshua leads experiential learning initiatives and collaborates on projects involving machine learning, floodplain restoration, and hydropower-environmental tradeoffs. His work bridges computational methods with practical water resource challenges.

His lab develops tools for drone-based remote sensing, water budget modeling, and decision support systems for climate-resilient agriculture. He actively engages in regional water market case studies and hydroclimatic stress testing.