Megan Cattau

Megan Cattau is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human-Environment Systems at Boise State University, with affiliations as a Research Scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder. Her work focuses on understanding how anthropogenic and biophysical factors alter disturbance regimes, particularly wildfires, and evaluates interventions to enhance social-ecological resilience. She employs geospatial techniques on large datasets, including drone, satellite, and field-based data to study spatial/temporal patterns of disturbance and recovery.

Education:

• Ph.D., Columbia University
• M.E.M., Duke University
• B.F.A., University of Georgia

Research Interests: Megan’s research integrates remote sensing and ecological modeling to address wildfire management, climate change impacts, and land use dynamics. Her projects emphasize scalable solutions using open-source tools and UAS (drones) for high-resolution data collection. Key themes include wildfire vulnerability assessment, post-fire hydrological responses, and socio-environmental systems analysis.

Publications Trends: Her articles (2023–2025) highlight interdisciplinary approaches to wildfire ecology, leveraging UAS and machine learning for precision monitoring. Recent work examines fire severity’s hydrological impacts, climate-driven shifts in plant species, and policy-relevant insights on fire regimes and conservation easements.

Awards:

• NASA New Investigators Program Fellow
• Fulbright Scholar – Indonesia Scholarship

Grants & Collaboration: Funded by NASA’s New Investigators Program, her research engages with institutions like Earth Lab (CU Boulder) and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). She leads projects bridging ecological data science and community resilience strategies.

Labs & Teams: Active in interdisciplinary teams at Earth Lab and NEON, focusing on cyberinfrastructure for environmental data science education and open-access ecological monitoring.