Emmerson Chivhenge completed his B.A. (Hons) in Geography at the University of Zimbabwe and an M.Sc. in Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology at the University of Göttingen, Germany. In 2021, he moved from Zimbabwe to the University of Maine to pursue a Ph.D. in Forest Resources under the supervision of Dr. Aaron R. Weiskittel. During his time in Maine, Emmerson focused on the spatio-temporal dynamics of stand density across diverse forests of the continental United States (CONUS). Emmerson also served as an ORISE fellow at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Missoula Fire Sciences Lab in Montana, where he collaborates on the development of a regeneration model using machine-learning approaches for forests surrounding the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. In Fall 2025, Emmerson joined the Growth and Yield Lab to focus on integrating tree improvement into growth and yield models in Alberta.

Ben holds dual master’s degrees from the University of Padua, Italy, and the University of Alberta, both awarded in 2023. Previously, he completed a B.Sc.F. from the university of New Brunswick and a diploma in Forest Technology from Sir Sanford Fleming College in Ontario. He joined the G&Y Lab as a forest resource analyst in 2023. 

Shuxiang Yang began his academic journey at the UBC where he earned both his Bachelor of Science in Forestry (Honours) and Master of Science. His graduate research integrated hydrology, wildfire resilience, and quantitative forest modeling.

He is now a Registered Professional Forester (Alberta) specializing in growth and yield modelling. As a Resource Analyst with the Growth & Yield Lab at the UofA, he manages and contributes to major initiatives including the Mixedwood Long-Term Study, Mixedwood Regeneration Modelling Project, Model Comparison Project, and the ongoing Model Development Project. 

Outside the world of predictive models and forest inventories, Shuxiang is a rookie tree feller, licensed drone pilot, and amateur winter truck driver.

Ergin completed his M.Sc. at Virginia Tech in 2018, under the supervision of Phil Radtke and Harold Burkhart. Previously, he completed a B.Sc. in International relations and B.Sc. in Forest Engineering in Turkey. His resaerch interests include forest biometrics, applied statistics in forest growth models, remote sensing and application of LiDAR technology from handheld, stationary ground and airborne platforms.

Xinran Hu completed her bachelor degree in forestry at Nanjing Forestry University in China. She then completed the Master of Forestry degree at the University of New Brunswick in 2023. During this time, she focused on the sensitivity of the growth of different tree species to climate change, especially under global warming and drought conditions. In September 2023, she joined the University of Alberta, doing research with Dr. Froese on topics including the use of terrestrial and drone remote sensing to characterize tree structure and dimensional change and monitor change in time, short-term growth responses in experimentally thinned stands, and validation and re-calibration of taper models for commercial-thinning sized trees.

Fergus initially entered the B.Sc. Forestry program at the University of Alberta with little idea as to what the program would entail other than the opportunity to work outdoors. In 2021, he graduated with distinction while simultaneously working for Blue Ridge Lumber in the harvest planning department during the last year of his degree. Post graduation, he moved to Hinton and worked as a Planning Forester for Hinton Wood Products where he proceeded to obtain his Registered Professional Forester designation.

Fergus has worked with the Growth and Yield Lab since September 2024. His research is focused on mixedwood regeneration modelling through applied statistics with the goal of creating a model capable of predicting post-harvest forest composition to assist forest managers.

Fergus no longer works outdoors.

Lucille completed a B.Sc. in Environmental Science with distinction at U of A and joined the Growth and Yield Lab in 2024. She is currently an MSc student studying how pre-commercial thinning alters canopy structure and how different measures of forest structure relate to understory vegetation responses in lodgepole pine forests of west-central Alberta.

Santosh completed his B.Sc. in Forestry in Nepal then pursued graduate studies in Canada to develop advanced skills in data-driven forest modelling and remote sensing. He is currently an M.Sc. student in Forest Biology and Management at the University of Alberta, supported by a Graduate Research Assistantship Fellowship (GRAF). His studies are focused on the evaluation of forest growth and yield models for simulating thinning responses, and on the use of LiDAR-based remote sensing data to understand forest structure–growth relationships. His broader research interests include forest management, forest biometrics, silviculture, climate change and carbon dynamics, forest ecology, and the application of artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and LiDAR technologies for sustainable forest management.

Coralie is a graduate student in the Transatlantic Forestry Master’s Program, currently completing her degree at the University of Alberta after a first year at BOKU Vienna. Originally from Switzerland, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences from ETH Zurich (2024). Her bachelor's thesis focused on woody and epiphytic lichen diversity in Swiss wooded pastures and its relationship to environmental conditions and management. 

Since joining the Growth and Yield Lab in September 2025, her research has shifted northward to boreal forests, where she explores how species asynchrony between aspen and spruce contributes to the stability of productivity in mixedwood stands.

Ph.D. Conferred 2022, now Geospatial and Surveying Engineer for South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota, USA.

Dissertation: Individual Tree Parameter Deliniation from Terrestrial LiDAR Point Clouds

Paul started doctoral studies under Dr. Curtis Edson, but on Curtis' departure in 2019 I became his PhD Advisor. I continued as Paul's advisor after my departure from Michigan Tech in 2021, through mid-2022. While I was not part of Paul's defense, his dissertation reflects a multi-year collaboration, and I am proud of his accomplishments as my final PhD advisee at Michigan Tech. Paul's first chapter is now in print at Canadian Journal of Forest Resaerch.

Ph.D. Conferred 2017, now Biometrician, American Forest Management, Inc. Formerly State Forest Biometrician, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Dissertation: Evaluation of Hybrid Poplar Management, Production Potential, and Estimation of Impacts to Water Resources in the Upper Great Lakes Region

Ph.D. Conferred 2015, now Assistant Professor of Silviculture and Forest Management, Univeristy of Maine, Orono ME. Formerly, R&D Coordinator, Pacific Region for Rayonier, in Hoquiam, Washington, USA.

Dissertation: Evaluating the Long-Term Effects of Logging Residue Removals in Great Lakes Aspen Forests

Ph.D. Conferred 2014, now Research Scientist - Remote Sensing for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Dissertation: Application of an Imputation Method for Geospatial Inventory of Forest Structural Attributes Across Multiple Spatial Scales in the Lake States, USA

Ph.D. Conferred 2012, now Head of Nature-Based Research and Monitoring, Rubicon Carbon. Formerly Science Director - Forestry, NCX, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Former Chair of the SAF Forest Science & Technology Board.

Dissertation: Evaluating Northern Hardwood Management Using Retrospective Analysis and Diameter Distributions

Ph.D. Conferred 2008, now Beatriz Galindo Senior Distinguished Professor, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain.

Dissertation: Towards Greater Accuracy in Individual-Tree Mortality Regression

Ph.D. Confered 2008, now Professor and Department Head of Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture at Tennessee State University, Nashville Tennessee, USA.

Dissertation: A Critical Evaluation of Diameter Increment Modelling in the Great Lakes Region

Dr. Ara completed her Ph.D. at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in April, 2022. At the University of Alberta, she was involved in a project involving the assessment and modelling of trees and stands that have been commercially thinned.

Sarita completed her Ph.D in Natural Resources Management at the State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in 2018. At the University of Alberta, her research was focused on quantitative silviculture and the assessment of responses to disturbance of forests of Western Canada. 

Sarita is now a researcher at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala

M.Sc. 2025

Thesis: Plant community response to operational use of glyphosate for conifer release

M.Sc. 2021

Thesis: Understory Dynamics Across 62-Years of a Northern Hardwood Management Gradient Study

M.Sc. 2021

Thesis: Evaluating Long-Term Growth and Yield in Upper Great Lakes Region Northern Hardwoods Cutting Trials

M.G.I.S. 2019

Masters Project: Comparing Methods for Forest Biomass Estimation using LiDAR 

M.Sc. 2019

Thesis: Re-Examining the Utility of Existing Climate Adaptation Frameworks Through Application on a Northern Forest

M.Sc. 2018

Thesis: Estimation of DBH Using Tree Variables Derived from Aerial LiDAR for Ford Forest, Baraga, Michigan

M.Sc. 2017

Thesis: Assessing Growth, Yield, and Carbon Dynamics in Upper Great Lakes Jack Pine and Hybrid Poplar Managed for Biomass Production

M.Sc. 2017

Thesis: Models of Forest Inventory for Istanbul Forest Using Airborne LiDAR and Spaceborne Imagery

M.Sc. 2013

Thesis: Applications of LiDAR Remote Sensing of Forest Structure in the Upper Great Lakes Region, USA

M.Sc. 2011

Thesis: The Growth Response of Planted Red Pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) to Alternative Thinning Regimes

M.Sc. 2008

Thesis: The Economic Feasibility of Afforestation of Abandoned Agricultural Land with Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) for Production of Coal Co-Fire Feedstock in Presque Isle County, Michigan