Education
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University of University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
PhD. Geograph & Earth Systems Science – "Beech under global change: Untangling the genetic, physiological, and ecological foundations of drought tolerance"
Supervisor: Dr. Sofia van Moorsel, Spatial Genetics of Ecosystems-Plant Ecology & Global Change group
Fully funded through Swiss National Science Foundation Grant
Mar 2026 – Present
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University of British Columbia , Vancouver, Canada
MSc. Forestry – “Detecting and characterizing non-stand replacing disturbances using medium-resolution satellite imagery and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) in a continuous context”
Supervisor: Dr. Nicholas Coops, Integrated Remote Sensing Studio
Fully funded by Silva21 NSERC Alliance Grant
May 2023 – July 2025
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University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
BSc. Plant and Soil Sciences and Geological Sciences with Honours
Directed Studies Project – “An analysis of the effects of alpine glacier wastage on agricultural water resources throughout the Canadian Portion of the Columbia Basin”
Supervisor: Dr. Daniel Moore
Sept 2017 – Dec 2021
Experience
- Doctoral Researcher – Spatial Genetics of Ecosystems- Plant Ecology & Global Change group, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Research focused on drought tolerance in European Beech Fagus sylvatica
Mar 2026- Present
- Research Associate – FORM Group, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Research on remotely sensed drivers of tree species–specific resilience to drought across Switzerland.
Aug 2025 – Feb 2026
- Graduate Research Assistant – UBC Forestry, Vancouver, Canada
Research on Non-Stand Replacing Disturbances using Landsat/HLS imagery and predicting LiDAR-derived structural metrics. Two first-author papers and one co-authored manuscript.
May 2023 – July 2025
- Teaching Assistant – Introduction to Geomatics for Natural Resource Management (NRES 241)
Delivered ArcGIS Pro and QGIS labs, assisted students, and developed teaching materials.
Jan 2025 – Jun 2025
- Teaching Assistant – Introduction to Conservation (CONS 101)
Guided field trips, graded assignments and exams, hosted office hours, and delivered lectures on “Remote Sensing for Conservation.”
Sept 2023 – Jan 2024; Sept 2024 – Jan 2025
- Geospatial and Geological Consultant – Self-employed
Provided GIS and geological mapping services for mineral exploration clients.
Mar 2022 – Jun 2023
- Junior Geologist / GIS Manager – Anomalous Exploration, Squamish, Canada
GIS lead for Surge Copper’s Ootsa-Berg Project; managed QField data, trained staff, and assisted with mapping and sampling.
Mar 2022 – Nov 2022
- Research Assistant – Climate and Cryosphere Lab, Vancouver, Canada
Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Award recipient. Conducted R/Python analyses on glacial retreat and water resources; created interactive QGIS maps and supported fieldwork.
May 2021 – Dec 2021
- Farmers’ Market Assistant Manager – Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Vancouver, Canada
Managed communications with 90 vendors, trained volunteers, and created website/blog content.
Apr 2020 – Apr 2021
- Hydrogeology Intern – GSI Water Solutions, Bend, Oregon, USA
Supported groundwater projects and data analysis; assisted in pump tests and aquifer studies.
Jun 2019 – Aug 2019
Publications
- Brown, M. S., Coops, N. C., Mulverhill, C., & Achim, A. (2025). Detection of non-stand replacing disturbances (NSR) using harmonized Landsat–Sentinel-2 time series. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. doi
- Brown, M. S., Coops, N. C., Mulverhill, C., & Achim, A. (2026). Characterizing the Impact of Non-Stand Replacing Disturbances on LiDAR Based Forest Structure Using a Harmonized Landsat-Sentinel-2 Time-Series. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing.doi
- Mulverhill, C., Coops, N. C., Brown, M. S., & Achim, A. (2025). Characterizing changes in forest condition associated with non-stand replacing disturbances within a continuous forest inventory context. In preparation.
- Brown, M. S. (2025). Detecting and characterizing non-stand replacing disturbances using medium-resolution satellite imagery and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) in a continuous context (MSc thesis, University of British Columbia). doi
Conferences and Talks
- Brown, M. S., Coops, N. C., Mulverhill, C., & Achim, A. (2024, September 9–13). Detection of non-stand replacing disturbances (NSR) using harmonized Landsat–Sentinel-2 time series. Oral Presentation at ForestSAT 2024, Rotorua, New Zealand.
- Brown, M. S., Coops, N. C., Mulverhill, C., & Achim, A. (2025, April 29). Detecting and characterizing non-stand replacing disturbance (NSR) using moderate resolution satellite imagery and LiDAR in a continuous context. Oral presentation at Silva21 Annual General Meeting, Sherbrooke, Canada.
- Brown, M. S., Coops, N. C., Mulverhill, C., & Achim, A. (2024, May 5). Identifying and assessing the impact of non-stand replacing disturbance within a near-real time context. Oral presentation at Silva21 Annual General Meeting, Ottawa, Canada.
- Brown, M. S., Coops, N. C., Mulverhill, C., & Achim, A. (2023, June 17). Characterizing and assessing the impact of non-stand replacing disturbances within a near-real-time context. Oral presentation at Silva21 Annual General Meeting, Lunenburg, Canada.
- Brown, M. S. & Bunn, D. (2024, Nov 21; 2023, Dec 5). “Remote sensing for conservation.” Guest lecture for CONS 101, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
- Brown, M. S. & Moore, R. D. (2021, Mar 21). “An analysis of the effects of alpine glacier wastage on agricultural water resources throughout the Canadian portion of the Columbia Basin.” Poster presented at Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC), UBC, Vancouver, Canada.
Certifications
- Geoscientist-in-Training (GIT) – Engineers and Geoscientist BC (Aug 2022) – License #218021
- Occupational First Aid Level 1 (Apr 2022)
- Avalanche Safety Skills 1 – Avalanche Canada (Jan 2020)
- Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS:2; 2019)
- International Baccalaureate Diploma (2017)
- BC Class 5 Driver’s License
Relevant Projects
- Bridge Glacier Blog Series (Sept–Dec 2021) – Landscapes of Climate Change Lab. Wrote science communication blog series on glacier evolution. Blog
- Directed Studies Project – UBC (Sept 2020 – Apr 2021). Conducted remote sensing–based analysis of glacier retreat impacts on agricultural water resources in the Columbia Basin.
- GEOB 370 Final Project – Bike Commutability in Three Large Cities (Apr 2021). Created an MCE suitability model assessing bike commutability in Amsterdam, Vancouver, and Dallas. StoryMap
Technologies and Skills
- R, Python, CloudCompare, QGIS, QField, ArcGIS Pro, and HTML/CSS
- Fieldwork, geological mapping, and cartography
- Literature review and science communication
- Technical skills – woodworking, bicycle maintenance, and power tools
- Physically active and comfortable in rugged environments
- Conversational Spanish and Italian
Awards
- International Tuition Award (Summer 2023, Winter 2023–2024, Winter 2024) – $4,264 CAD
- Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Award (WLIURA, 2020) – $11,000 CAD
- Dean’s List (2019–2020, 2021)
- Michael J. Goldstein Service Memorial Award (2021) – $575 CAD
- Thunderbird Nordic Ski Award (2019) – $285 CAD
- TSC Executive Team of the Year (2018–2019) – More
Volunteer
- Travel and Safety Officer – UBC Nordic Ski Team (Mar 2018 – Apr 2020)
Coordinated travel and logistics; liaison between UBC Athletics and the team; competed in 1.5–50 km races.
- UBC Zero Waste Intern Squad (Sept 2018 – Apr 2019)
Supported recycling and composting initiatives and public outreach events.
- Environmental Justice Research Literature Review (Nov 2018 – Feb 2019)
Assisted in reviewing studies focused on pollutant exposure in Northern communities.