Qinfeng Guo

Qinfeng Guo joined EFETAC in 2006 as a research ecologist and is currently conducting collaborative research using plant traits in life history and genetics to predict invasiveness of introduced species, and using life history and distribution information from both native and exotic habitats to simulate/predict the spread of invasive species under various climatic scenarios. Guo worked at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the University of Arizona, and the University of Tokyo before joining the U.S. Geological Survey in 2001. His work has included desert/chaparral/ grassland plant community ecology, simulations of climatic effects on linear forests in agroecosystem, biogeography (disjunct plants between Eastern Asia and North America), and biological invasions. Guo’s research interests include plant community ecology, biodiversity, biological invasions, plant-animal cosuccession, community/ecosystem self-organization, and biogeography. A native of Chengde, Hebei, China, Guo received a Ph.D. in biology (ecology) from the University of New Mexico in 1994.

Stephen Creed

Stephen Creed joined EFETAC in January 2007 as a GIS specialist and is applying geotechnologies with other unit scientists to develop an early warning system for detecting natural and human forest threats. Creed joined the Forest Service in January 2005 as part of the Southwestern Regional Office’s GIS unit in Albuquerque, NM, where he managed aerial photography and photogrammetric mapping projects for fire and recreation, as well as conducting GIS training courses for resource staff throughout the region. From 1999 to 2005, Creed worked as a geographer for the U.S. Geological Survey at the National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, LA, studying coastal erosion and habitat changes along the gulf coast with remote sensing and GIS. He also served as a pilot for the center, conducting aerial imagery surveys and wildlife migration studies of bear populations with aerial telemetry. Originally from Louisiana, Creed completed a Bachelor’s in aviation in 1991 at Louisiana Tech University and subsequently worked as a commercial pilot and flight instructor before earning a Master’s in geography from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, TX.

Steve Norman

Steve Norman joined EFETAC in 2005 as an ecologist. His work on the fire history and vegetation dynamics of coastal redwood forest is clarifying the tradeoffs associated with wildfire management and prescribed fire. His research is also showing that over the centuries, the interaction of changing cultures and climate has substantially altered the structure and composition of some of the most magnificent forests on Earth. Norman joined the Pacific Southwest Station in 2001 to help develop a comparative risk assessment framework to help planners and managers improve land management decisions. Norman was raised in the northern hardwood forests of Pennsylvania, where he developed a passion for unusual trees, remote places—and an understanding of how forests change through time. In the early 1990s, he spent 2 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica, where he helped farmers reforest degraded lands and improve forest management practices. He received a Ph.D. in geography from Penn State in 2002.