Ruth DeFries

Ruth DeFries is an environmental geographer who uses remotely sensed satellite imagery to explore the relationship between the Earth’s vegetative cover, human modifications of the landscape, and the biochemical processes that regulate the Earth’s habitability. Ruth DeFries received a B.A. (1976) from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. (1980) from Johns Hopkins University. She was a research scientist (1980-1983) at the India Institute of Technology in Bombay and senior project officer (1987-1991) at the National Research Council. She joined the faculty of the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1991,.