GRI has a visiting PhD student from Exeter University in the UK. Joe Lillis has been working on a thesis that aims to map how greenspace, air pollution, and traffic noise impacts mental health in the UK. While at UC, Joe has helped the GeoHealth Lab create a greenspace national composite for New Zealand based on his work in mapping the greenspace of urban England at high resolution.
When not at UC, Joe made time to help the Zero Invasive Predator team analyse camera trap photos for kea numbers. If the weather holds, he has been invited to take a helicopter to some kea feeding/camera trap sites near the Franz Josef Glacier.
When asked what excites Joe about geospatial research, Joe talked about how it’s the closest thing in research world he’s found to the real world. “It’s a link between reality and analysis vs. guessing. It feels like building/making something and it is creative problem solving.”
It’s been a real pleasure having Joe visit us and we look forward to seeing what his research reveals.
