Faculty Profile: Thomas L. Millette
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Thomas
L. Millette
Associate Professor of Geography
Director Geoprocessing Laboratory
Office: Room 413 Clapp Laboratory
Email: Thomas
L. Millette
Phone: 413.538.2813 (Office)
Fax: 413.538.2239
Education
Ph.D. Physical Geography, 1989
Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
M.A. Physical Geography, 1986
Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
M.Sc. Physical Geography, 1983
McGill University, Montreal, PQ, Canada
B.A. Physical Geography/Geology, 1978
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
Specializations include: Remote Sensing, Expert Systems,
Geographic Information Systems, Forest Modeling, Land Cover Change, Geomorphology
Personal Statement
One of the most fundamental motivating forces in my life is the practice of environmental science. I enjoy thinking
about the environment and how it works. I enjoy exploring the complex
biophysical relationships and interactions that provide the opportunity
for a rich diversity of life to evolve and flourish. As a scientist, I
engage on a daily basis in attempts to abstract the environment into some
manageable model in order to test and measure human impacts on natural
systems. My work in science cuts across a wide spectrum of individual
disciplines including geography, geology, ecology, biology, forestry,
physics, chemistry, computer science, psychology, politics, and economics
in the search for A better understanding of environmental stresses and
responses.
I have been extremely fortunate in my career, I have worked in most of the far flung corners
of the world including the High Arctic of Canada and the African
Rift Valley of Kenya; from the majestic Himalayas to the quaint
villages of Southern Vermont. I love the work that I do. It is as
much a part of me as the color of my eyes, the sound of my voice,
and the tenor of my wit. I feel very lucky to be able spend my life
in the practice of science in a place with a wonderful intellectual
and aesthetic spirit. My colleagues and students at Mount Holyoke
are central to the excitement that fills my professional life. I
think these people and this place help make me a better teacher
and scientist.
Teaching
The courses I teach, although varied in content, share two common characteristics:
first, they focus on the application  of
computer technology for environmental modeling; and second, they are almost
exclusively project based and student driven. My courses have very few
traditional lectures or labs. Each class is organized around a"real
world" environmental problem or situation requiring the application
of remote sensing (satellite imagery analysis) or geographic information
systems (GIS - computer modeling with spatial data). The courses I teach
include the following:
- Geog 201 - Computer Mapping and Analysis - is a basic introduction
to maps, computer mapping tools, and spatial data analysis.
- Geog 203 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) -
which introduces students to the computer hardware, software and data
models pertinent to GIS and explores environmental applications of GIS
technology.
- Geog 204 - Atmosphere and Weather - is an introduction to the structure
and processes of the atmosphere including enerdy budgets and adiabatic
processes. The class also includes a basic primer in
 weather forecasting.
- Geog 303 - Advanced GIS - is a project based class that applies GIS
modeling to a real world situation. Sometimes the GIS application is
drawn from the local community, and sometimes from my personal research
in the Himalayas.
- Geog 304 - Planning and the Environment - is a seminar class that
focuses on the development and suburbanization of the United States
following the mass dissemination of the automobile.
- Geog 307 - Remote Sensing - is a project based introduction to multispectral
satellite imagery analysis. Computer techniques for image enhancement
and classification are explored via an actual land cover database development
project.
Landsat TM Satellite
data of southern Vermont |
Student classification
of southern Vermont land cover |
Research
My training as a scientist is both broad and eclectic. Although my degrees
come from geography and geology departments, I have had significant contributions
to my bag of tools from forestry, physics, computer science (including
artificial intelligence), biology, ecology, and planning. Due to my broad
interests and training, I have always maintained a very broad research
program that has included:
- Land cover database development from satellite data
- Integration of remote sensing and GIS for non-point source pollution
modeling
- Artificial intelligence applied to image analysis and resource management
- GIS based land use and forest modeling
- Development of institutional delivery models for GIS products and
services
My current projects include developing airborne sensor systems for forest
modeling and non-point source pollution modeling, using satellite imagery
to assess and characterize the driving forces for land cover change and
forest degradation in the Middle Mountains of the Nepalese Himalayas;
Characterizing historical land cover change in the mangrove forests of
the Sundarbans of Northeast India; Land cover change impacts on the Lake
Champlain Basin of Vermont, New York, and Southern Quebec; and my newest
interest, spatial modeling and urban design - how to use GIS modeling
to help make urban settings richer places to live.
More research details can be found on the GPL page.
Publications
Selected Publications (abbreviated list)
- T.L. Millette, J.D. Sullivan, and J. Henderson, 1997, "A
GIS Based Regional Forest Land Evaluation and Site Assessment
Model" (PDF). Journal of Forestry, 95:9 pp.27-32.
- Foresman, T.W. and T.L. Millette, 1997 "Integration of
Remote Sensing and GIS Technologies for Planning", in Integration
of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems, J. Star,
J. E. Estes, and K.C.. McGuire, Eds., Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK, pp 134-157.
- Millette, T.L., R.E. Wilkie and R.Herbert, 1997, Exploring The
Images of Data: Computer Exercises and Data Sets for Exploring
Imagery and Data. Five Colleges, Inc. Amherst, MA 160 p.
- T.L. Millette, A.R.Tuladhar, R.E. Kasperson, and B.L. Turner
II, 1995, "The Use
and Limits of remote sensing for Analyzing Environmental and Social
Change in the Himalayan Middle Mountains of Nepal" (PDF), Global Environmental Change 5:4 pp.367-380.
- Cameron, D, R. Cohn-Lee, D. A. Saunders, and T.L. Millette,
1995, "Poison Runoff Solutions for Cuyahoga County: Healing
the Waters of Greater Cleveland", NRDC Briefing Paper, Natural
Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC, 58p.
- Millette, T.L., 1992, "Vermont Planners Add Image Processing
to GIS Tools", Geo Info Systems, Aster Publishing, Eugene
OR, v2:5, pp.42-45
- Millette, T.L. and T. Sickley, 1992, "Integration of Idrisi
Raster Land Cover Classifications with Vermont GIS 1:5000 Orthophoto
Based Arc-Info Coverages", VGIS Technical Paper #7, Vermont
Center for Geographic Information, State of Vermont, Burlington,
VT 9p.
- Millette, T.L., 1990, "The Vermont GIS: A Model for Using
Regional Planning Commissions to Deliver GIS in Support of Growth
Management", Chapter 4 in GIS Development and Applications,
L. Worral Ed., Belhaven Press, London, U.K., pp. 65-86.
Professional Activities
- Research Associate - George Perkins Marsh Institute for the
Environment, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts - 12/93
to present
- Member - Technical Advisory Board, Vermont State GIS, Vermont
Center for Geographic Information, State of Vermont 10/92 to present
- Member - Advisory Board for Undergraduate Education (Semester
in Ecology Program), Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Woods
Hole, Massachusetts 5/97 to present
- Member - Advisory Board for Undergraduate Education, Columbia
University Biosphere II Center, Oracle, Arizona 9/97 to present
Of Note:
- 1997 Distinguished Lecturer
The Mountain Research Institute, University of Montana, Bozeman,
MT
- Member Organizing Committee of the NSF Funded Workshop
"Land Cover/Use Dynamics in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas"
Kathmandu, Nepal, April, 1997
- Member Organizing Committee, 1998 Annual Meeting of the Association
of American Geographer
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