Revolutionizing Monitoring Systems to Detect Environmental Change From Data to Actions

Lilian Alessa

Program in Landscape Architecture and Center for Resilient Rural Communities

Presented with support of the Provost’s Office and University Honors Program

Biography

Lilian Alessa is a professor of resilient landscapes in the Landscape Architecture program and director of the UI’s Center for Resilient Rural Communities. She conducts research on human adaptation to environmental change, funded by the National Science Foundation, including Arctic Observing Network and Dynamics of Coupled Natural Human Systems projects. Canadian-born and raised, Alessa received a bachelor of science in biology and a doctorate in botany and biodiversity from the University of British Columbia. Her expertise is in social-ecological systems science and the development of highly integrated approaches to better understanding complex environmental processes, particularly through the incorporation of place-based knowledge. Alessa is a member of the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education.