Jennifer Santoro

Jennifer Santoro is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment (GEV) at Villanova University, where she teaches courses in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Environmental Science. Jen is originally from northern New Jersey where she grew up learning about trees from her dad. She studied Environmental Science at Hamilton College and received both a Master of Forestry and Master of Environmental Management degrees from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Currently, she is finishing her Ph.D. in Natural Resources (Applied Forest Ecology) at the University of Vermont while she teaches at Villanova. Jen’s research focuses on spatial modeling of forest disturbances in the northeastern United States; she’s particularly interested in the long-term impacts of climate change and invasive pests on forest diversity. Jen strives to foster a love of maps and nature in her students, and she hopes her research will promote a greater understanding of the importance of trees and managing forests to be resilient in the face of climate change.

Areas of Interest:

• GIS applications to ecological conservation
• Applied forest ecology
• Impacts of climate change on northeastern forests
• Forest change modeling
• Cartography and science communication

Education:

• ABD: Natural Resources (University of Vermont)
• M.F.: Forestry (Duke University) 2013
• M.E.M.: Environmental Management (Duke University) 2013
• Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Analysis (Duke University) 2013
• B.A.: Environmental Studies (Hamilton College) 2011

Companies

• Visiting Instructor Villanova University (2019)
• Research Assistant University of Vermont (2016)
• GIS Instructor University of Vermont (2018 — 2019)
• Course Instructor University of Vermont (2019 — 2019)
• Graduate Teaching Assistant University of Vermont (2016 — 2017)
• Visiting Assistant Professor of GIS Lake Superior State University (2016 — 2016)
• Project Forester F4 Tech (2014 — 2015)
• Forestry Seminar Teaching Assistant Duke University (2013 — 2013)
• Forest Restoration Intern The American Chestnut Foundation (2013 — 2013)

Publications:

• Mattheus, C.R., T.P. Diggins, and J.A. Santoro. (2020) Issues with integrating carbonate sand texture data generated by different analytical approaches: A comparison of standard sieve and laser-diffraction methods. Sedimentary Geology 104.
• Mattheus, C.R., K.W. Ramsey, and J.A. Santoro. (2020) Evaluating continental shelf seabed-elevation changes from archived sediment-core records: Issues with vertical positioning and implications for integration with subsurface geophysics. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(1): 41-53.
• Santoro, J.A. & A.W. D'Amato. (2019) Structural, compositional, and functional responses to tornado and salvage logging disturbance in southern New England hemlock-hardwood forests. Forest Ecology & Management 444: 138-150.
• Rosenheim, B.E., J.A. Santoro, M.A. Gunter, and E.W. Domack. (2013) Improving Antarctic sediment 14C dating using ramped pyrolysis: an example from the Hugo Island Trough. Radiocarbon 55(1): 115-126