Carlos Portillo-Quintero has been named an assistant professor in Texas Tech University's Department of Natural Resources Management, according to officials within the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. He officially stepped into his new teaching and research post on Sept. 1.

Portillo-Quintero's research has been mainly focused in understanding extent, productivity and disturbance patterns in forests by analyzing data collected from airborne, space borne and ground optical sensors (remote sensing) using geographic information systems (GIS). The Venezuela native indicated that he is particularly interested in using these technologies to understand processes in plant communities and plant-animal interactions at different scales in space and time.

One of his primary goals here at Tech is to develop a research and teaching program on geospatial technologies applied to questions in biogeography, biological conservation and natural resource management.

Prior to joining the Tech faculty, Portillo-Quintero worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Center for Earth Observation Sciences at the University of Alberta, Canada; and at the Center for Botanical and Agroforestry Studies at the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

He also worked as a graduate research and teaching assistant in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta-Edmonton; and as GIS and remote sensing advisor and analyst at the Conservation NGO PROVITA in Caracas, Venezuela. Portillo-Quintero received his bachelor's degree in Biology from the Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela. His doctorate in Earth and Atmospheric sciences is from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

Written by Norman Martin

CONTACT: Mark Wallace, Chairman, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2841 or mark.wallace@ttu.edu

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