Graduate Students

Liam Gilson. I’m a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Bianca Eskelson, and started my program in fall of 2020.  My research interests center around applying techniques from statistics and biometrics to answer challenging questions surrounding forest management under climate change. Existing decision support tools, such as growth models, often lack adequate sensitivity to climatic factors. For my dissertation work, I will develop methods and tools to examine genotype-environment interactions in the timber species of BC in order to better predict growth performance under future conditions.

I did my undergraduate work at the University of Minnesota, from which I graduated in 2018 with a BSc. in Forest Management. I decided to pursue forest biometrics at a graduate level, and I graduated from Oregon State University in 2020 with my MSc in Sustainable Forest Management; my thesis examined the environmental drivers of Douglas-fir growth in Oregon and New Zealand, quantifying the principle causes of improved exotic-range growth performance.

Supervisor: Bianca Eskelson

lgilson@mail.ubc.ca

Christina Howard. I am a PhD student within the UBC Forest Measurements and Biometrics Lab under the supervision of Dr. Bianca Eskelson. I completed my BSc in Natural Resources Conservation in 2017 and went on to defend my MSc in Forestry thesis in December 2020, obtaining both degrees within UBC’s Faculty of Forestry. My past research has been focused on bioenergy and biomass supply throughout BC, and I am broadly interested in how climate change is affecting the forest sector and how we can better inform forest managers and policy makers on appropriate climate change mitigation strategies. My PhD dissertation is focused on developing climate sensitive growth model components for tree species in Southern Québec, to support the continued development of climate sensitive decision support tools. I am an avid hiker, completing a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2017, while also training for and competing in triathlon, cycling, and running races.

Supervisor: Bianca Eskelson

christinahoward@alumni.ubc.ca

Hsiao-Chi Lo. I am currently pursuing my MSc under the supervision of Dr. Tzeng Yih Lam at UBC since May 2024. Born and raised in New Taipei City, Taiwan, I completed my undergraduate studies at the National Taiwan University, specializing in forestry and resource conservation with a focus on tree biology and statistics. Driven by my passion for fieldwork and forest inventory, my research focuses on comparing the effectiveness of different sampling methods in tree measurements, conducting them at the same sample points and analyzing the varying outcomes.

Supervisor: Tzeng Yih Lam

kiki0208@student.ubc.ca

Rachel Pekelney. I am a second-year MSc student co-supervised by Drs. Bianca Eskelson and Lori Daniels. My research examines the carbon impacts of fuel treatments in the seasonally dry, fire-prone forests of southeastern British Columbia. My objective is to better understand the role of carbon in wildfire mitigation efforts. Combining field data and fire effects modelling, I will quantify potential carbon emissions from forest stands with and without fuel reduction treatments. The findings from this work will build ecosystem-specific knowledge at a management relevant scale to help inform forest managers of what intensities and types of fuel treatments are effective at increasing short-term carbon storage and long-term carbon stability. This project is in collaboration with the BC Community Forest Association.

I completed my BSc in Conservation & Resource Studies from UC Berkeley in 2022. Prior to beginning my MSc, I worked with Dr. John Battles at the University of California (UC), Berkeley on dendrochronology for the US Fire & Fire Surrogates study. I also worked with the Stephens Lab at UC Berkeley studying the impacts of high-severity wildfires on giant sequoias in the southern Sierra Nevada.

Supervisors: Bianca Eskelson and Lori Daniels

pekelney@student.ubc.ca