Curriculum Vitae

Researcher in Informatics and Computing at Northern Arizona University, specializing in ecological and environmental informatics. Possess a unique blend of quantitative, scientific, and R&D expertise to craft scalable solutions. Leverage machine learning and data science to analyze environmental datasets, uncovering hidden spatial and temporal insights. Noteworthy for incorporating plant ecophysiology, soil physical properties, and ecohydrology into interdisciplinary research on land water-use and carbon gain and water resource management. Adept in project management, detail-oriented, and possesses a keen research acumen with a solution-focused approach. A strong communicator known for building collaborative relationships across disciplines, upholding the highest ethical standards.

Highlighted Skills

Bayesian/Machine Learning Models | R/Python/Javascript | Water/Carbon Models | Soil Physical Properties Expertise | Plant Ecophysiology Expertise

EDUCATION

Northern Arizona University
Ph.D. Informatics and Computing— Ecological and Environmental Informatics
M.S. Informatics with Distinction

University of California, Berkeley
B.S. Molecular Environmental Biology— Ecology concentration

RESEARCH

Produced 7 total scientific manuscripts (1 in preparation, 2 in review, 4 published), collaborating with researchers from multiple U.S federal agencies, academic institutions, and industry.

NASA FINESST Fellow/ Scientific Researcher (2023-present)

• Project: Disentangling ecosystem-scale controls on coupled water and carbon fluxes.

FLUXNET Secondment Fellow/ Visiting Scientific Researcher (2023)

• Project: Decoupling of transpiration and photosynthesis at the ecosystem scale, under the mentorship of Dr. Jake Nelson and Dr. Sung-Ching Lee.

USGS Scientific Research Fellow (2022)

• Project: Assessing site-specific soil moisture release functions to improve dryland water balance models.

T3 Ecoinformatics Fellow/ Scientific Researcher (2020)

• Project: Ecohydrological controls on evapotranspiration across a semiarid elevation gradient.

Field Botany Technician, National Ecological Observatory Network, Alaska (2019)

• Collected vegetation diversity data in northern Alaska taiga and tundra ecosystems.

Research Assistant, UC Berkeley, Ackerly Lab (2017-19)

• Collaborated on projects related to plant water-use, xylem embolism, fire disturbance, phenology.

Research Assistant, UC Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology (2018-19)

• Prepared marine vertebrate and invertebrate fossils from the Miocene as a part of the Calaveras Dam project.

Field Biologist/Student Researcher, Richard B. Gump South Pacific Research Station, Mo’orea, French Polynesia (2018)

• Studied the effects of temperature on decalcification in crustose coralline algae and the susceptibility to grazing of crustose coralline algae from different thermal environments.

Research Assistant, UC Berkeley, Sousa Lab (2017)

• Prepared leaves for stable isotope analysis and determined soil chemical composition

Research Assistant, UC Berkeley, Koehl Lab (2016)

• Observed biomechanical response and larval settlement of organisms swimming in turbulent flow.

Research Assistant, UC Berkeley, Looy Lab (2016)

• Assisted with project on the diversity of tropical plant fossils from the Cretaceous period.

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

Reich, E., Samuels-Crow, K. E., Braford, J., Litvak, M. E., Schlaepfer, D., and K. Ogle. In review. Drylands do not use water efficiently for carbon gain. New Phytologist.

Reich, E. and Guo, J., Peltier, D., Palmquist, E., Samuels-Crow, K. E., Boone, R., and K. Ogle. In review. Precipitation pulse dynamics are not ubiquitous: A global meta-analysis of plant and ecosystem carbon- and water-related pulse responses. Global Change Biology.

Ogle, K., Reich, E., Samuels-Crow, K. E., Braford, J., Litvak, M. E., Schlaepfer, D., and M. Devan. 2024. Filling the gaps: A Bayesian mixture model for imputing missing soil water content data. Ecohydrology. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.70004

Reich, E., Samuels-Crow, K. E., Braford, J., Litvak, M. E., Schlaepfer, D., and K. Ogle. 2024. A semi-mechanistic model for partitioning evapotranspiration reveals transpiration dominates the water flux in drylands. JGR Biogeosciences. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JG007914.

Reich, E., Samuels-Crow, K. E., Braford, J., Litvak, M. E., Schlaepfer, D., and K. Ogle. Ecosystem-scale intrinsic water-Use efficiency is infrequently optimal in drylands. Poster presented at AGU Fall Meeting (2023).

Reich, E., Nelson, J., Lee, S-C., Zhang, Q., Migliavacca, M., Wohlfahrt, G., Paul-Limoges, E., Rossini, M., Zhang, Y., El-Madany, T., Damm-Reiser, A., Brummer, C., Buchmann, N., and K. Ogle. Evaluating photosynthesis-transpiration decoupling across timescales and ecosystems. Poster presented at FLUXNET Annual Meeting (2023).

Reich, E., Samuels-Crow, K. E., Braford, J., Litvak, M. E., Schlaepfer, D., and K. Ogle. Evapotranspiration partitioning in drylands using eddy covariance and ECOSTRESS Data. Presented at AGU Fall Meeting (2022).

Reich, E., Samuels-Crow, K. E., Braford, J., Litvak, M. E., Schlaepfer, D., and K. Ogle. Water-use efficiency predictors along an aridity gradient. Presented at the 16th Biennial Conference of Science & Management on the Colorado Plateau and Southwest Region (2022).

Reich, E., Samuels-Crow, K. E., Litvak, M. E., and K. Ogle. Partitioning evapotranspiration in drylands using eddy covariance fluxes and ECOSTRESS data. Poster presented at ESA Meeting (2021).

Skelton, R. P., Anderegg, L. D. L., Papper, P., Reich, E., Dawson, T. E., Kling, M., Thompson, S. E., Diaz, J., and D. D. Ackerly. 2019. No local adaptation in leaf or stem xylem vulnerability to embolism, but consistent vulnerability segmentation in a North American oak. New Phytologist. doi.org/10.1111/nph.15886

Reich, E. The acclimatization and susceptibility to grazing of crustose coralline algae from thermally variable and stable environments. Poster presented at the Bay Area Conservation Biology Symposium (2019). Talk presented at UC Berkeley Integrative Biology department symposium (2018).

AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS

FLUXNET Secondment recipient, $8,000 (2023)

NASA FINESST recipient, $150,000 (2022-2025)

NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2021)

NAU T3 Fellowship recipient, $98,000 (2020-2021)

NAU Presidential Fellowship Award recipient, $36,000 (2020-2024)

Most Compelling Research T3 speaker distinction (2020)

SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES

FLUXNET Outreach Working Group co-chair. Served as a residency coordinator for the FLUXNET artist residency program and served as producer on a podcast dedicated to bridging the gap between eddy covariance flux scientists and stakeholders/farmers.

NAU Informatics Broadening Participation Committee officer/founder. An organization of informatics scientists with the aim to foster participation from underrepresented groups in science.

NAU Ecoinformatics Seminar 2022-2023 Early Career Honorarium Award founder. Acquired funding to invite and compensate two early career researchers to speak in an Ecoinformatics seminar per year.

ResBaz AZ 2023 Steering Committee member. Assisting the planning of a collaborative research event for data-intensive training among quantitative scientists in Arizona.

Transcriptions Magazine editor/contributor. An online zine with the goal of building community space for scientists who are trans, non-binary, two-spirit, and gender non-conforming.

Women and Gender Diverse People in STEM Panel speaker. A Northern Arizona University College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences organized panel for undergraduates.

CERTIFICATIONS

Wilderness First Aid and CPR (2019)

NSF Arctic Field Training (2019)

ADVANCED COURSEWORK

Writing Scientific Papers
Applied Bayesian Modeling
Large-scale Data Structures and Organization
Visualizing Scientific Results
Ethics and Strategies in Science Communication
Software Development & Methodologies
Team-based Research
Research Methods in Informatics and Computing
Ecological Modeling
Data Mining & Machine Learning
Advanced Survey in Ecoinformatics Tools
Modern Regression
Concepts in Ecology
Stable Isotope Ecology