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With summer student Duncan Hill in Mexican mangrove forest (left) and with our UAV units in northern Ontario (right).

John M. Kovacs PhD(Western)
Full Professor, Geography-Environmental Earth Sciences, Department of Geography, Nipissing University

Adjunct Associate Professor, TropWATER Centre, James Cook University, Australia

Contact:
Department of Geography Nipissing University
100 College Drive, North Bay, Ontario
P1B 8L7, CANADA

johnmk@nipissingu.ca
Office R215, Lab R220
tel: (705) 474-3461 ext.4336
fax: (705) 474-1947

My research interests include environmental monitoring/modeling, local ecological knowledge and approaches for assessing coastal resources of tropical regions.  Currently my work has focused on the use of various Earth Observing Satellites to map and monitor mangrove forests (tropical coastal wetlands). Locally I have interests in working with farmers and Agriculture Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) on the potential use of new geomatics technologies including the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems. I maintain the remote sensing laboratory (NEOL) at Nipissing (R220).

 

Recent funding/Awards:

  • Recipient, The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research (Nipissing University)
  • 2002-20  Individual Discovery Grant (Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada), PI
  • 2014-18 COSMO-SkyMed/RADARSAT-2 Initiative (Canadian Space Agency & the Italian Space Agency), PI
  • 2013-16  4th Advanced Land Observing Satellite Research and Application Project (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), PI
  • 2014-2020 Gladstone Ports Corporation, Queensland, Australia, PI-Dr. Norm Duke
  • 2011-15 Emerging Technology Program (Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation), Co-PI with Dr. Dan Walters

Professional service (recent):

  • Expert Witness in Mangrove Remote Sensing-International Litigation (twice)
  • Chair, Department of Geography
  • Member, Board of Governors, Nipissing University
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Adjudicator for Biological Sciences Division (2012-13)
  • Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council, Grant Selection Committee 186-Earth Sciences & Ecology (2008-11)
  • Journal Referee-Aquatic Conservation; Biogeosciences; Biotropica; Canadian Journal of Forest Research; Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing; Ciencias Marinas; Economic Botany; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment; Estuaries and Coasts; European Journal of Forest Research; Hydrological Processes; Indian Journal of Marine Science; IEEE Journal Selected Topics Applied Earth Observation & Remote Sensing; Interciencia; International Journal of Remote Sensing; International Journal of Applied Earth Observation & Geoinformation; ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing; Journal of Coastal Research; Journal of Forest Research; Journal of Mountain Science; Landscape & Urban Planning; Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing; Remote Sensing; Remote Sensing of Environment; Science of the Total Environment; Society & Ecology; Wetlands; Wetlands Ecology & Management

Supervision (graduate/undergraduate):

I currently supervise students in the Masters of Environmental Science program at Nipissing.