People

Director of the Geospatial Ecology Program

Patrick N. Halpin
Associate Professor of Marine Geospatial Ecology
Marine Science & Conservation
Environmental Sciences & Policy

Patrick Halpin is an Associate Professor of Marine Geospatial Ecology and Director of the Geospatial Analysis Program at the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia in 1995.

Prof. Halpin’s research focuses on marine geospatial analysis, ecological applications of geographic information systems and remote sensing; and marine conservation and ecosystem-based management. He leads the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL) at Duke University and sits on a number of international scientific and conservation program steering committees.

Research Scientists

Ana Cañadas

Research Scientist

Ana has been conducting research on cetaceans since 1990. She has spent nearly three decades working on numerous marine top-predators research and conservation projects in Spain and Europe. Read More

Daniel Dunn

Research Scientist

Daniel is a research professor with University of Queensland with a continued affiliation with MGEL. As an interdisciplinary marine conservation scientist, he strives for an integrative approach bringing together ecology, biogeography, oceanography, conservation, natural resource management and social sciences. Read More

Ei Fujioka

Research Scientist

Ei is a lead developer of marine biogeographic information centers including OBIS-SEAMAP, OBIS, and MiCO.eco/system. Read More

Andre Boustany

Research Scientist

Research scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium and MGEL.

Robert Schick

Research Scientist

Research scientist for MGEL.

Tina M. Yack

Research Scientist

Dr. Yack has over 20 years of experience studying marine mammal bioacoustics and ecology. Her research interests center around utilizing innovative techniques and methods to address conservation and management needs for cetacean species. Read More

Research Staff

Corrie Curtice

Research Analyst

Corrie’s project work includes examining issues surrounding the financing of conservation software tool development; a spatial analysis of birds, bats, marine mammals and turtles in conjunction with UNC Chapel Hill as part of a feasibility study for locating wind turbines off the coast of North Carolina; and spatial analysis and modeling of marine animal habitat use, including Hawaiian monk seals and leatherback sea turtles. Read More

Ben Donnelly

Research Analyst

Ben joined MGEL in 2007 and plays a key role in many ongoing projects including OBIS-SEAMAP, the Marine Ecosystem Services Project and work with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Read More

Jason Roberts

Research Analyst

Jason splits his his time between writing software tools and conducting scientific research. He is interested in facilitating progress in marine ecology and conservation by developing, applying, and helping others apply advanced software tools, statistical methods, and modeling approaches. Read More

Jesse Cleary

Research Analyst

Jesse works on a range of data provisioning, cartography, and applied marine GIS projects across the lab, translating the science work of the lab for use in spatial planning processes. Read More

Connie Kot

Research Associate

Connie works on a variety of projects with MGEL, including the Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean initiative (MiCO), State of the World’s Sea Turtles (SWOT), Ocean Biogeographic Information System – Spatial Ecological Analysis of Megavertebrate Populations (OBIS-SEAMAP), and the Global Bycatch Assessment Project (Project GloBAL).