Lab Members

Principal Investigator

Jake Hawes
Jason 'Jake' Hawes

Assistant Professor, School of Computing & Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources
University of Wyoming — Laramie, WY

Jake's research deploys mixed methods and interdisciplinary analysis to model coupled natural-human systems across scales. His recent and ongoing work includes exploring the relationship between natural hazards and community adaptive capacity, understanding the role of urban agriculture in future cities via industrial ecology and spatial science, and improving models of infrastructure system resilience.

Current Lab Members

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Vanessa Lueck, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Wyoming — Laramie, WY

Bio coming soon.

Lueck, V., Lokman, K., Low, M., & Doyon, A. (2026). The value of values: Rethinking flood adaptation practices. Environmental Science & Policy, 179, 104385.
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Md. Ismail Hossain

Graduate Research Assistant (MS), Geospatial Information Science & Technology
University of Wyoming — Laramie, WY

Ismail's thesis examines digital-twin readiness in small cities, using Laramie and Afton, Wyoming, as case studies to evaluate whether smaller communities possess the spatial data infrastructure and institutional capacity needed to adopt advanced spatial technologies equitably. Before joining UW, he studied Urban Planning, graduating first in a class of 55. He also brings nearly three years of industry experience as a Software Development Engineer in Test and co-founded NextHunger, a small IT firm. His research interests include GeoAI and Machine Learning, Digital Twins, Transportation Planning, Urban Informatics, Smart and Resilient Communities, and Human–environment interactions. He plans to pursue doctoral studies in Summer/Fall 2027.

Njoku, J. N., Shukla, D., Katariya, V., Hossain, M. I., & Hawes, J. K. (2026). PANDA: A lightweight digital twin framework for smart parking management. In Proceedings of the ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering (i3CE 2026). Songdo, South Korea.
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Sandip Pantha

Graduate Research Assistant (MS), Geographic Information Science & Technology / Environment & Natural Resources
University of Wyoming — Laramie, WY

Sandip is a master's student at the University of Wyoming pursuing a dual major in Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST) and Environment and Natural Resources (ENRS). His research focuses on the intersection of social vulnerability, climate risk, and geospatial analysis, with a particular interest in wildfire risk, environmental hazards, and community resilience. His current thesis examines the geography of social vulnerability and wildfire risk across Wyoming using spatial analysis and socio-environmental indicators. Before joining UW, he completed a Bachelor of Science in Forestry at Tribhuvan University, Nepal, and worked on several interdisciplinary research projects related to climate change vulnerability, flood-induced migration, and urban water security in Nepal. His technical interests include GIS, remote sensing, Google Earth Engine, R, and spatial data science for environmental decision-making. He is interested in future PhD opportunities related to climate adaptation, socio-environmental systems, geospatial modeling, and applied GIS research.

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Nolan Reitz

Undergraduate Research Assistant — BS, Computer Engineering, University of Wyoming (Expected May 2028)
University of Wyoming — Laramie, WY

Bio coming soon.


Past Lab Members

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Briana Hiser

School of Computing Undergraduate Research Experience Fellow — BS, Architectural Engineering, University of Wyoming (May 2026)

Briana joined the lab as a School of Computing Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) fellow while completing her BS in Architectural Engineering at UW. Her fellowship work examined the reproducibility, representativity, and transparency of supervised machine learning models in industrial ecology research — contributing to a growing conversation about methodological standards at the intersection of ML and sustainability science.

Donati, F., Tu, Q., Ward-Bond, J., Reitz, N., Hiser, B., et al. (2026). A call to ensure reproducibility of machine learning applications in industrial ecology. ResearchSquare [preprint]. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9270723/v1

Join the Lab

The lab is actively recruiting a postdoctoral researcher. Interested candidates should send a CV and brief statement of interests (no more than two pages) to Jake at jhawes@uwyo.edu.