She investigates the relationships between human activities, the land surface, and the biophysical and biogeochemical processes that regulate Earth’s habitability. She is interested in observing land cover and land use change at regional and global scales with remotely sensed data and exploring the implications for such ecological services as climate regulation, the carbon cycle, and biodiversity. Dr. DeFries obtained a Ph.D. in 1980 from the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in 1976 from Washington University with a major in Earth science. Dr. DeFries has worked at the National Research Council with the Committee on Global