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Erica Smithwick is a distinguished professor in Geography and the Director of the Earth Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State University. With a focus on landscape ecosystem ecology, she has been promoting interdisciplinary environmental research, particularly during her tenure as the Associate Director of the Ecology Institute from 2017 to 2021. Smithwick is noted for her work on understanding disturbances, such as fire, and their effects on ecosystem function at landscape scales. Her current research emphasizes socio-ecological resilience and sustainability, with a specific interest in protected area management in both Africa and the U.S. She has served as a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa at Rhodes University and has received numerous research awards from organizations such as NSF, NASA, DOE, NPS, and USGS. Her projects advocate for collaboration between indigenous knowledge systems and scientific research to address climate variability and forest sustainability. Smithwick is also engaged in teaching transdisciplinary graduate training focused on the Food-Energy-Water nexus.
Penn State University • University Park, PA
Teaching and researching in the field of Geography with a focus on landscape ecology and environmental systems.
Earth Environmental Systems Institute • University Park, PA
Leading research initiatives and projects at the intersection of geography and environmental science.
GRE scores are highly recommended but not strictly required for Applied Linguistics.