Our team
Will Kochtitzky, PhD
I love leading this passionate group of students working on the impacts of climate change in Maine and polar regions. We use a wide range of geospatial methods to quantify the rapid changes we are observing at all latitudes.
Our work is currently supported by the Maine Space Grant Consortium, Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program, Maine Community Foundation, and the University of New England.
Katelyn (Katie) DeWater ‘25
Katie is a Marine Sciences major with minors in GIS and Applied Mathematics. Before attending UNE, she lived and graduated from high school in Livonia, NY. Her research focuses on quantifying the impacts of climate change on Maine’s salt marshes. Recently, she has been digitizing salt marsh pool expansion to understand patterns of erosion and the impacts of sea level rise. When Katie is not in the lab, she enjoys spending as much time outside as possible and can be found hiking, skiing, swimming, gardening, and biking.
Jessie Maguire ‘26
Jessie is a master’s student at UNE studying Marine Sciences. She graduated from Monmouth University in 2024 with a major in Marine and Environmental Biology and Policy and a minor in GIS. Jessie’s research focuses on generating species distribution models (SDMs) for vulnerable marine species within the Gulf of Maine under predicted warming scenarios. She is also conducting lab studies on black sea bass (Centropristis striata) to measure consumption rates under different warming treatments. When Jessie isn’t in the lab, she can be found at the beach, drawing, or dancing.
Ruth Ellis ‘26
Ruth is an environmental science major with a GIS minor. Before college, she grew up and graduated high school in Merrimack, NH. With a huge love for the environment and specifically the impacts of climate change on vulnerable ecosystems and people, she devotes her college studies to understanding and combatting the negative effects of climate change. Her current research focuses on coastal erosion, storm damage, and salt marsh health and monitoring. When not occupied by schoolwork or research she likes to spend her free time painting, making music, swimming, kayaking, being outside, and spending time with friends, family, and her dogs!
Johanna Birchem ‘26
Johanna is an Environmental Science major with minors in GIS and Climate Change Studies. Before attending UNE, she lived and graduated from high school in Lake of the Woods, Minnesota. Within environmental science, she is interested in population movements through telemetry in response to climate change, concentrating on fisheries. Recently, she has been surveying beaches through various drone flights to monitor dune changes in response to storms, assisting in lidar surveys, digitizing dunes, creating profiles of beach characteristics, and producing trail maps for a local land trust. Outside the lab, Johanna enjoys hunting, fishing, canoeing, playing guitar, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Tyler Janik ‘27
Tyler is an Aquaculture and Aquarium Science major, minoring in GIS. He has lived in the beautiful city of Northampton, Massachusetts his whole life. He is a fellow on the Ram Island Sensor Network Project team and works in the amazing Clownfish and Coral Lab on campus. Tyler is interested in using his knowledge of GIS to study the effects climate change has on the ecology and biodiversity of coral reefs. He likes to spend his free time outdoors and continuing his understanding of the natural world!
Past Students
Luke Gould ’23 – BA Marine Affairs
Michael Fish ’23 – BS Environmental Science
Paige-Marie Merrill ’24 – BS Environmental Science
Matthew Pittsley ’24 – BS Environmental Science
Kaleigh Potter ’25 – BS Environmental Science
Jack Genoways ’25 – BS Marine Science