Dr. Taeyoon Lee has joined the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology as a teaching assistant professor specializing in geospatial software and programming related to precision forestry.
Dr. Taeyoon Lee will join the Ecology and Conservation Biology Department and teach courses on forest management. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)
His research interests focus on ways to expand, improve and create precise technologies and techniques that can be applied to the forest management field to help save managers time and money while optimizing tree productivity.
Lee’s educational goal is to prepare students as the next generation of forestry professionals equipped with traditional and innovative skills, and he plans to extend his students’ training from the classroom to the field through applied science opportunities.
“We focus on fundamental knowledge and traditional methods,” he said, “but we also want students to understand modern technology, know how to use it and translate those skills into good careers.”
Forestry Program Expands Coursework
Lee will initially teach an introductory course focusing on plant diversity and evolution, with future semesters seeing courses in fire ecology, biochemistry, forest management and ecology, and he is also developing coursework that incorporates his strengths in data collection.
Ultimately, Lee’s curriculum will introduce students to concepts, technologies and methodologies such as using remote sensors, light detection and ranging, or lidar, artificial intelligence and/or modeling to develop forest management plans.
His postdoctoral research included analysis of the Talladega National Forest, at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains, for the Advanced Geospatial Initiative on the Accuracy of Forest Assessment Techniques.
Lee said technology will continue to change how forests are managed and how they are valued for maximum value to landowners, with the pre-harvest carbon value of forests being one fast-growing example of how accurate data will shape the future of the industry.
“Students need foundational knowledge, and we want them to have hands-on experience with the plants we work with outside of the classroom,” he says. “We want to incorporate research opportunities into the course that will keep students interested and have applications in other courses and careers.”
Applying technological advances alongside traditional methods is transforming forest management. PhD student Taeyoon Lee trains forestry students in cutting-edge techniques and approaches to keep up with a changing field. (Courtney Sacco/Texas A&M AgriLife)
Discover innovative and impactful learning opportunities
Lee earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental horticulture from Seoul National University in South Korea and his doctorate in forestry and natural resources from the University of Georgia.
Li specializes in plant physiology, studying how plants respond to heat, drought, salinity and other factors that affect their growth, and her PhD research focused on the technical aspects of geographic information systems and forest management.
He has published over 20 academic papers related to various aspects of forestry, including physiological responses of trees to drought, urban tree cover change, assessment tools, and forest management planning.
“I went into this field because I love being in nature,” he says, “and I think that’s common to most forestry students, but I want to help them find their passion and path by providing impactful learning and research opportunities.”
