Jennifer Gebelein, Ph.D., is research professor in the Department of Earth and Environment and director of academic initiatives in the Division of Academic and Career Success at Florida International University.
Professor Gebelein received her Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her master's degree in marine affairs and policy from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) of the University of Miami. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Syracuse University.
The focus of her work is land cover / land use mapping in the Caribbean, and change in the Caribbean landscape due to anthropogenic influences. Her research has involved utilizing satellite image analysis and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) spatial data to assess the land use and natural land cover history of Cuba. Dr. Gebelein has made several field trips to Cuba to acquire field data for accuracy assessment analysis in her land cover maps of the island's vegetation, coastal, agricultural, and urban features. She is a member of the South Florida Geographers Association, the American Association of Geographers, the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) Faculty Advisory Board, and the Cuban Research Institute Faculty Advisory Board.
Recent Book Publication: A Geographic Perspective of Cuba's Changing Landscapes