Education

• B.S. - Geography, Towson State University, Towson, MD 21204 (1969)
• M.A. - Geography, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 (1973)
• Ph.D. - Geography, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 (1984)

Professional Experience

• 2002 - present
  Research Coordinator, School of Natural Resource Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• 1998 - present
  Professor and Associate Director, Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
• 1989 - 1998
  Associate Professor and Associate Director, Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
• 1986 - 1989
  Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
• 1979 - 1986
  Senior Remote Sensing Specialist, Kansas Applied Remote Sensing (KARS) Program, University of Kansas Space Technology Center, Lawrence, KS

Relevant Awards and Selected Recent Professional Activities

• Career Achievements Award, MidAmerica GIS Consortium (2004)
• Editor-in-Chief of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (2002-present; Associate Editor 2001-2002;1987-1998)
• Outstanding Contributions Award, Nebraska GIS/LIS Association (1999)
• Outstanding Contributions Award, Association of American Geographers Remote Sensing Specialty Group (1998)
• John Wesley Powell Award, U.S. Geological Survey. (1997)
• Elected a Fellow of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (1996)
• ERDAS Award for best scientific paper in remote sensing(1994)
• Alan Gordon Award, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (1991)

Selected Recent Grants

2003

• Implementation of the AmericaView Program in Nebraska (Years 1 and 2), U.S. Geological Survey, $234,819; September 2002-August 2004
• Generation of Improved Land-surface Data and an Assessment of its Impact on Mesoscale Predictions, National Science Foundation, $48,391; May 2003-April 2004 (first year of expected three-year grant)
• Causes of Seasonal Variation in Greenness Observed Via Satellite Remote Sensing, U.S. Geological Survey, $55,000, September 2003 - September 2004.
• Satellite-Derived Retrieval of Vegetation Properties for Use in Land Surface Models, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, $46,144, September 2003 - August 2004.
• Geospatial Data Analysis Support for the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (with J. Arnold), Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, $64,299, February 2003 - February 2004.
• Geospatial Data Analysis Support for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (with J. Arnold), Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services,$86,300, April 2003 - June 2004.

2002

• Aquatic Gap Analysis (with G. Henebry), U.S. Geological Survey, $204,999; September 2002 - July 2003

2001

• Land Use Change for the Platte River Cooperative Hydrology Study (with P. Dappen), Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, $153,906; December 2001- May 2003.
• GIS Database Development for Norton and Lovewell Reservoirs, KS (with P. Dappen), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, $26, 235; May 2001 - September 2003
• IKONOS Imagery for Kansas and Nebraska Reservoirs (with P. Dappen), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, $40, 541; May 2001 - September 2001
• Land Use Delineation for the Platte River Cooperative Hydrology Study (with P. Dappen), Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, $160, 137; July 2001- December 2002.

2000

• Development and Implementation of a Comprehensive Lake and Reservoir Strategy for Nebraska as a Model for Agriculturally-Dominated Ecosystems (with six collaborators), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, $1,224,706; January 2001 - December 2003.
• Land Cover Inventory of the Niobrara River Watershed (with P. Dappen), Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, $49,335; November 2000 - October 2001.

1999

• GIS Database Development for the Rainwater Basin (with P. Dappen), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, $250,000; September 1999 - September 2001.

1998

• Geospatial Data Integration for Decision Support, University of Nebraska-Nebraska Research Initiative (NRI); $1, 346, 100; July 1998-July 2004. (Co-PI with 8 other NU faculty)
• Using Satellite-Derived Land Use and Land Cover Data to Improve Numerical Weather Prediction Models, National Science Foundation; $311,708; July 1998 - June 2001
• Nebraska Gap Analysis Program (Phases 1-4), USGS/Biological Resources Division, $755,900; October 1995-September 2002

Selected Publications

2004

• in press, Loveland, T.R. and J. W. Merchant, Ecoregions and Ecoregionalization: Roots, Principles and Perspectives, Environmental Management.
• in press, Merchant, J.W., Developing Remote Sensing Capability Suited to the Organization, Chapter 14 in A Remote Sensing Primer for GIS Managers (S. Aronoff, editor). Redlands, CA: ESRI Press.

2002

• Holland, A., G. Henebry, B. Putz, M. Vaitkus and J. Merchant. Modeling Avian Habitat from Species Occurrences and Environmental Variables: Assessing the Effects of Land Cover and Landscape Pattern, GAP Bulletin (11), 25-27.
• Henebry, G. and J.W. Merchant. Geospatial Data in Time: Limits and Prospects for Predicting Species Occurrences, Chapter 23 in Predicting Species Occurrences (J. Scott and P. Heglund, eds.), Covelo, CA: Island Press, 291-302.

2001

• Vogelmann, D. Helder, R. Morfitt, M. Choate, J. Merchant and H. Bulley. Effects of Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-7 ETM+ Radiometric and Geometric Calibrations on Landscape Characterization, Remote Sensing of Environment, 78 (1-2), 55-70.
• Crawford, T. M., D. J. Stensrud, F. Mora, J. W. Merchant, and P. J. Wetzel. The Insertion of a High-resolution Land Cover Dataset into MM5/PLACE. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 2 (5), 453-468.

2000

• Loveland, T., B. Reed, J. Brown, D. Ohlen, Z. Zhu, L. Yang and J. Merchant. Development of a Global Land Cover Characteristics Database and IGBP DISCover from 1-km AVHRR Data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 21,1303-1330.

1997

• Yang, W and J.W. Merchant. Impacts of Upscaling Techniques on Land Cover Representation in Nebraska, USA. GeoCarto International, 12 (1), 27-39.
• Yang, W, L. Yang and J.W. Merchant. An Assessment of AVHRR/NDVI-Ecoclimatological Relationships in Nebraska, USA. International Journal of Remote Sensing,.18 (10), 2161-2180.

1995

• Loveland, T.R., J.W. Merchant, J.F. Brown, D.O. Ohlen, B. Reed and P. Olsen, Seasonal Land Cover Regions of the United States, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 85 (2), 339-355.

1994

• Merchant, J.W. GIS-Based Groundwater Pollution Hazard Assessment: A Critical Review of the DRASTIC Model, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 60 (9), 1117-1127.

Selected Recent Service

• Research Coordinator, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2001-present.
• Planning committee, Nebraska GIS Symposium, May 13-15, 2003, Lincoln, NE.
• Chair, Search Committee for School of Natural Resources Director, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2003.
• Co-Chair, 17th Annual Symposium, International Association for Landscape Ecology - United States Regional Association, Lincoln, NE, April 23-27, 2002
• Invited keynote speaker, 2001 Iowa GIS Symposium, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, October 4-5, 2001