Matt has been part of TRU since 2011 as a student and since 2021 as a full-time Research Associate. His Master of Science project assessed the soil legacy effects of spotted knapweed and the potential use of industrial fly ash as an amendment to restore invaded soils. Currently, he assists in the direction, support, and analysis for projects carried out by undergraduate and graduate students of Dr. Courtney Mason and Dr. Lauchlan Fraser. In addition to his researcher roles, he developed and teaches the course “Ecological Modelling”, guiding students in the use of open-sourced software to develop complex regression and classification based geospatial models.
With the growing rate of wildfire occurrence, Matt has been analysing satellite spectral data from 1985-2020 to determine patterns of recovery across various ecosystem types, fire sizes, and fire severity. This work harnesses his spatial analytical skills and enables further questions to be asked surrounding the impacts of fire and ecosystem responses.
Outside of the field, lab, and office, Matt is a proud father of a 3-year-old boy. They keep active in the summer on their bikes around the smaller trails in Kamloops, and in the winter snowboarding at Sun Peaks and Harper Mountain.