Many undergraduate and postgraduate training courses provide opportunities to work with a diverse range of organisations within Wales, the wider UK and internationally. Whilst engagement activities (e.g., work experience, targeted dissertation, internships, volunteering) are widely advertised and promoted by participating organisations and universities, there is significant scope to increase capacity for placements and coordinate within and between topic areas, thereby increasing knowledge and skills across Wales. This slot provides an opportunity for the community to discuss actual and potential opportunities for students across a range of disciplines and how these might be aligned with existing or proposed university courses.
About the Speaker
Professor Richard Lucas (Aberystwyth University’s Department of Geography and Earth Science) has over 35 years of experience in multi-scale temporal characterisation of primarily vegetated environments from Earth observation data in support of ecological, biogeographical, carbon cycle and climate science, with this obtained primarily through academic research/teaching and government-related positions in Australia and the UK. He continues to lead the conceptual development and implementation of the globally applicable Living Earth approach for consistent characterisation, mapping and monitoring of environments from spaceborne data and has provided significant contributions to the generation of global products including forest extent (with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)), woody above ground biomass (with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Climate Change initiative) and mangrove extent and change (the Global Mangrove Watch, with Wetlands International and The Nature Conservancy). At national to regional levels, he has developed innovative products on secondary forests vegetation structure and land cover (including in Amazonia, Africa, Australia, Wales), that have increased understanding of ecosystem states and dynamics and environmental change. He has also contributed to public understanding of Earth observation science and global issues.
Staff Profiles : Department of Geography & Earth Sciences , Aberystwyth University
