As a geographer and landscape ecologist, Assistant Professor Adam Naito integrates field work, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing and simulation modeling to improve understanding of landscape-scale changes in vegetation and its implications for cross-scale interactions and ecosystem services in terrestrial systems. His work has spanned multiple environments, including the montane forests of northern California, Arctic Alaska, the Appalachian Mountains, Southwestern rangelands, and the North Woods and agricultural landscapes of the Upper Peninsula.
Over his career, Naito has employed and mentored more than 110 undergraduate and graduate students. Many of these have been academic advisees or have been instrumental in the field and lab work components of his projects. They have won college- and departmental-level awards and scholarships, and many have success in job placement and graduate school.
Naito teaches undergraduate courses in Physical Geography, Environmental Science, Biogeography, Landscape Ecology, Geographic Information Systems, and Remote Sensing. He was the recipient of the 2023-2024 Excellence in Teaching Award.