Principal Investigator (PI)
Pinki Mondal
Dr. Mondal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware and a Resident Faculty at the UD Data Science Institute. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at UD. She is an interdisciplinary scientist trained in environmental remote sensing and Geographic Information Science (GIS). She is interested in understanding the dynamics of coupled natural and human systems by developing geospatial methods for landscape-level monitoring and assessments. Her current research focuses on climate change impacts and adaptation in multifunctional landscapes. Mondal serves as an Editor for Earth Interactions, an American Meteorological Society journal, and as an Editorial Board Member for Environmental Research: Food Systems. She was named a 2023 AAG Elevate the Discipline scholar in Climate & Society.
Prior to joining UD, she was a Senior Research Associate at the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) - a center within the Earth Institute at Columbia University and an Adjunct Professor in the Spitzer School of Architecture at City University of New York - City College. She has worked as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the DeFries Lab at Columbia University, New York and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has a Ph.D. in Land Change Science from the University of Florida (Go Gators!!).
At UD, she has served as the Associate Director for the MS in Data Science program (2024-2026) and the Director of the Environmental Science undergraduate program (2021-2025). She primarily teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in remote sensing (GEOG 480/680, GEOG 481/681) and GIS (GEOG 372).
Email: [email protected]; Bluesky: @environmondal.bsky.social; Google Scholar; Linkedin
Dr. Mondal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware and a Resident Faculty at the UD Data Science Institute. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at UD. She is an interdisciplinary scientist trained in environmental remote sensing and Geographic Information Science (GIS). She is interested in understanding the dynamics of coupled natural and human systems by developing geospatial methods for landscape-level monitoring and assessments. Her current research focuses on climate change impacts and adaptation in multifunctional landscapes. Mondal serves as an Editor for Earth Interactions, an American Meteorological Society journal, and as an Editorial Board Member for Environmental Research: Food Systems. She was named a 2023 AAG Elevate the Discipline scholar in Climate & Society.
Prior to joining UD, she was a Senior Research Associate at the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) - a center within the Earth Institute at Columbia University and an Adjunct Professor in the Spitzer School of Architecture at City University of New York - City College. She has worked as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the DeFries Lab at Columbia University, New York and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has a Ph.D. in Land Change Science from the University of Florida (Go Gators!!).
At UD, she has served as the Associate Director for the MS in Data Science program (2024-2026) and the Director of the Environmental Science undergraduate program (2021-2025). She primarily teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in remote sensing (GEOG 480/680, GEOG 481/681) and GIS (GEOG 372).
Email: [email protected]; Bluesky: @environmondal.bsky.social; Google Scholar; Linkedin
Graduate Students
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Andrew Callahan, MS student
Andrew obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in climate and society from the University of Delaware in the summer of 2025. He will be joining the EASEL lab in the fall of 2025 as a graduate research assistant. Over the course of the four years he participated in multiple internship opportunities at Argonne National Laboratory and with University of Delaware’s Project WiCCED, Center for Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, and Summer Scholars Program. In these opportunities and in undergraduate classes, Andrew has gained experience in conducting literature reviews, general data maintenance and analysis using excel and python, communicating scientific information, and using GIS software like ArcGIS Online. He also enjoys working out in the gym and at his dojo, reading, writing, and gaming. E-mail: [email protected] |
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Keylen Lucero Garcia, PhD student
Keylen Lucero Garcia is from East Harlem, New York, and earned her B.S. in Environmental Studies from Gettysburg College in 2022, with concentrations in Environmental Science, GIS, Spatial Analysis, Marine and Freshwater Ecology, and Wildlife and Conservation Biology, and minors in Writing and Data Science. Since 2015, she has been involved with Columbia University’s Secondary School Field Research Program (SSFRP) at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, first as a student intern and later as an undergraduate team leader, gaining experience in research, mentorship, and project management, during which her interests in wetlands and coastal areas began to take shape. Keylen is interested in remote sensing, GIS, and spatial analysis, particularly to improve aerial data collection and visibility in coastal and aquatic environments. Her interests include exploring how geospatial technologies can enhance the understanding of coastal systems and improve the quality of remotely sensed data at the land-water interface. She is also eager to develop new skills in drone-based data collection and aerial imagery acquisition. She is passionate about using geospatial tools and interdisciplinary research to address environmental challenges. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Geography at the University of Delaware and joined the EASEL Lab in Fall 2026. E-mail: [email protected] |
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Alana Ginsburg, MS student
Alana Ginsburg joined the EASEL Lab in 2025 as a graduate research assistant. She is a current Masters student at University of Delaware. Prior to that, she received a BS in Environmental Science and Policy from University of Maryland College Park in 2024, where she also worked as a research intern for NASA Harvest and the Xylem Lab for 3 years. Her previous research focused the use of Earth Observation for food security in Africa, including the use of machine learning in crop yield forecasting and rangeland monitoring. She is excited about pursuing projects under Dr. Mondal’s guidance related to climate change impacts and community resilience. Alana is originally from New York and recently completed a year of service in New Orleans, Louisiana. E-mail: [email protected] |
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Lauren Hollinger, PhD student
Lauren is from Canton, Ohio, and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Data Analytics and Geography from Ohio Wesleyan University. During her undergraduate, she conducted research at Harvard University’s Harvard Forest and at Ohio Wesleyan, focusing on renewable energy development, remote sensing, and community-scale landscape mapping. She has experience in public service through the City of Canton, applying GIS and spatial analysis for municipal planning and asset management. She also worked with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, focusing on community engagement, environmental education, and public programming. Lauren is particularly interested in the intersection of remote sensing, land use/land cover change, and public policy. She is motivated to use GIS tools to understand how human activity shapes landscapes and to support sustainable, community-informed land management. Lauren is currently pursuing her PhD in Geography at the University of Delaware and joined the EASEL Lab in Fall 2025. E-mail: lholling@udel.edu |
Undergraduate Students
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Sienna Wong is an Environmental Science major at the University of Delaware. She is currently conducting her Senior Thesis research.
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EASEL Lab Alumni
