Matthew E Baker

Matthew E Baker is a Professor of Geography & Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (2002) and specializes in watershed ecology, urban forest ecology, and hydrogeomorphology. His research focuses on urban ecosystems, riparian buffer effectiveness, and the application of geospatial technologies such as LiDAR and remote sensing. Key affiliations include the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Science and Technology Advisory Committee and editorial roles at Freshwater Science.

Dr. Baker’s work bridges ecological and urban systems, with projects on stream restoration, urban heat island mitigation, and forest patch dynamics. He has led studies across the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the eastern U.S., emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to environmental challenges. His teaching spans graduate research methods, watershed science, and landscape ecology.

• Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2002)
• Grants: NSF, Chesapeake Bay Program, U.S. EPA, NOAA, and others.
• Labs/Teams: Leads urban ecology fieldwork and remote sensing applications in collaboration with the Baltimore Ecosystem Study and Smithsonian’s ForestGEO network.

His recent publications explore urban forest governance, tree canopy cooling effects, and geomorphic responses to dam removal. He advises over 20 graduate students and has produced influential tools like the TITAN R package for ecological threshold analysis.