Matt Dunbar

Graduate Research Assistant

Contact Information Phone: 785-864-1518 Fax: 785-864-1534 E-mail: mdunbar@ku.edu Office: 121 Higuchi Hall

Matt Dunbar received his Bachelor of Science degree from the Environmental Studies Department at the University of Kansas where his work focused on human-land interactions in the American Midwest.

His master’s research work involved the study of sixty years of forest cover change in the Midland, KS USGS Quadrangle. This work was composed of (1) using object-oriented classification techniques to extract forest cover from historic aerial photos: 1941, 1954, 1966, 1976, 1991, 2002, (2) applying landscape metrics analysis to look at the changing size and shape of forest cover, and (3) rendering still and animated 3D visualizations of the forest cover through time.

Matt is currently a graduate student in the University of Kansas Geography Department and a Graduate Research Assistant at the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program. He is employed under a grant from the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), performing geospatial training, data preparation and equipment assessment to aid in minefield mapping and clearance. His PhD research involves evaluating the effectiveness of Handheld GIS Systems.

Links to Project Web Pages

• KU Humanitarian Demining
• Midland, Kansas Historic Aerial Photography Archive
• 3D Visualization Work (Please see this link for examples described in the Earth Observation Magazine Article)
• Wireless Network Visualization Project

Professional Papers and Reports

Slocum, T.A., M.D. Dunbar, and S.L. Egbert. 2007. Evaluating the Potential of the GeoWall for Geographic Education. Journal of Geography (In Press).

Dunbar, M.D. 2005. Mapping, analyzing and visualizing 60 years of forest cover change in northeast Kansas. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. (PDF)

Dunbar, M.D., L.M. Moskal, and M.E. Jakubauskas. 2004. 3D visualization for the analysis of forest cover change. Geocarto International 19(2):103-107. (PDF)

Moskal, L.M., M.D. Dunbar, and M.E. Jakubauskas. 2004. Visualizing the forest: a forest inventory characterization in the Yellowstone National Park based on geostatistical models. P. 219-232 in W. Widacki, A. Bytnerowicz, and A. Riebau (eds.), A Message from the Tatras: Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing in Mountain Environmental Research. Institute of Geography and Spatial Management of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and the USDA Forest Service. (PDF)

Dunbar, M.D., L.M. Moskal, and M.E. Jakubauskas. 2003. 3D visualization of forest cover change: Human impacts in northeastern Kansas and natural disturbance in Yellowstone National Park. Earth Observation Magazine, Oct. 2003:6-12. (PDF)

Proceedings and Other Publications

Schnell, S.M., C.J. Sorenson. S. Larsen, M.D. Dunbar, and E. McGrogan. 2004. Old west and new west in Garden Park, Colorado. Montana—The Magazine of Western History 54(4):34-49. (PDF)

Dunbar, M.D. 2003. 3D Visualization for the analysis of forest cover change.
Proceedings International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Commission IV Joint Workshop: Challenges in Geospatial Analysis, Integration and Visualization, Stuttgart, Germany, September 2003. (PDF)

Dunbar, M.D., L.M. Moskal, M.E. Jakubauskas, J.E. Dobson, and E.A. Martinko. 2003. Computer visualization of forest cover change: Human impacts in northeastern Kansas and natural disturbance in Yellowstone National Park. Proceedings, ASPRS Annual Meeting, Anchorage, AK, May 2003. (PDF)