Associate Professor Megan Lewis

Biography/ Background

Megan Lewis is Associate Dean (Future Students), overseeing e-Science, the free, electronic magazine produced by the Faculty of Sciences.

She was Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Sciences from 2010-2012 and previously Head of the Soil and Land Systems Discipline (203-2006).

Megan has an extensive background in remote sensing, vegetation ecology and environmental management. She has more than 30 years of experience as an educator at the University of Adelaide, Roseworthy Agricultural College, and the South Australian College of Advanced Education, teaching undergraduates and postgraduates in environmental science, natural resource management and geoscience, and providing in-service training for Australian and international professionals in spatial information science and environmental management.

Qualifications

PhD, University of NSW, 2000 "Discriminating Arid vegetation Composition with Multispectral and High Spectral Resolution Imagery"

M. App. Sc. (Remote Sensing), University of NSW, 1993 "Land Cover Mapping for Barrow Island, W.A. using Landsat MSS"

M. Environmental Studies, The University of Adelaide, 1977 "Quantifying Arid Zone Recreation Impacts"

B.Sc. (Hons. First Class) - Botany, The University of Adelaide, 1974 "Ecological Studies Towards Management of Whyalla Conservation Park, SA"

Teaching Interests

Megan teaches and coordinates courses in remote sensing and environmental mapping.

Remote Sensing III interprets image-based information gathered by sensors on space and airborne platforms. The course introduces the principles and application of remote sensing to a range of disciplines - environment, geoscience and agriculture. Practicals give 'hands-on' experience with image analysis software, including processing and interpretation for projects.

She has supervised over 17 Honours students, 9 of whom have been awarded First Class Honours. Opportunities for future Honours research projects are available in the Ecology, Evolution and Landscape Sciences booklet.

Postgraduate research students

Megan supervises and co-supervises a large group of PhD students in projects using remote sensing and spatial analysis tools for understanding terrestrial and marine environments. Current students are:

Tanya Doody - Quantifying water savings from willow removal in South East Australia

Adam Kilpatrick - Rangeland condition monitoring using remotely-sensed cross-fence comparisons

Erika Lawley - Mapping and monitoring land condition and its dynamics in arid Australia using satellite remote sensing

Victoria Marshall - Mapping and modelling the invasive weed, Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) in the Australian arid zone

Chittana Pomphila - Mapping and monitoring forest cover change in Lao PDR

Ramesh Raja Segaran - Spatial modelling of multi-function green space in the urban environment 

Completed PhDs

Paul Bierman - Remote sensing to monitor interactions between aquaculture and the environment of Spencer Gulf, South Australia, 2010

Tumi Bjornsson, Regional scale modelling of the lower River Murray wetlands: a model for the assessment of nutrient retention of floodplain wetlands pre- and post-management, 2008

Anna Dutkiewicz - Evaluating hyperspectral imagery for mapping the surface symptoms of dryland salinity, 2006

Ken Clarke - Landscape scale measurement and monitoring of biodiversity in the Australian rangelands, 2008

Reza Jafari - Arid land condition assessment and monitoring using multispectral and hyperspectral imagery, 2008

David Summers - Discrimination and mapping of soil variability with hyperspectral reflectance data, 2009

Dorothy Turner – Fire regimes in desert Australia on a continental scale

 Completed MSc

David Hart - On using airborne optical vertical polarisation to remove sea surface reflectance for enhanced visualisation of seagrass and other benthos, 2009.

 

Teaching Awards

2006 Winner, Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Award for Excellence in Education and Professional Development 

2006 Winner, Individual Award for Education and Professional Development, South Australian Spatial Excellence Awards

2007 Winner, Executive Dean of Sciences Prize and Award for Excellence in Teaching (staff with more than five years of teaching experience).

 

Research Interests

Application of remote sensing and spatial data to environmental and agricultural management

Hyperspectral remote sensing for discriminating vegetation and landscape composition

Spectral properties of Australian plants and soils

Spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of Australian landscapes, in particular arid environments

This research has been funded by the Australian Research Council, Land and Water Australia, Environment Australia, Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce, SA Soil Conservation Council, SA Native Vegetation Council, Anglo-American Corporation and the South African National Research Council.

Megan Lewis is leader of the "Spatial Diagnostic Tools for the Deployment of Perennial Plants in the Landscape" project within the CRC for Plant Based Management of Dryland Salinity (http://www.crcsalinity.com/programs/index.php?disptype=projects&id=28) and a contributor to the "Rewards for Biodiversity" project in the Desert Knowledge CRC.

Publications

Professional Associations

Remote Sensing  and Spatial Sciences

Education Sustaining Partner,  Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (2010-present)

Co-Chair, International Society of Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing Technical Commission VII Working Group 3: Processing of Hyperspectral Data (2004-present)

Member SA Regional Committee of the Spatial Sciences Institute (2003-04)

Director, Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Association of Australasia (1998-2003)

Member of the Board of Directors, Spatial Australia (2003-04)

Convenor, Spatial Education Australia (2002)

Convenor, 10th Australasian Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Conference, Adelaide (2000)

Member, Technical Organising Committee for the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Sydney (2001)

Environmental Management

Sessional Commissioner, South Australian Environment, Resources and Development Court

In addition, Megan has extensive experience as an environmental specialist on State and Australian Government statutory bodies including the South Australian Development Assessment Commission, Development Policy Advisory Committee, Advisory Committee on Planning, Pastoral Board, National Parks & Wildlife Council, Wilderness Advisory Committee, Soil Conservation Council, Coast Protection Board, Roadside Vegetation Advisory Committee and Aquaculture Committee. 

Expertise for Media Contact

Categories	Environment
Expertise	Vegetation (conservation, mapping and survey, regeneration); remote sensing and geographic information systems (use of satellite and airborne imagery for environmental mapping and monitoring, new generation high resolution sensors); arid lands/rangeland ecology and management; mapping of vegetation; satellite technology; vegetation ecology
Notes	Alt phone: (08) 8303 7210

Entry last updated: Friday, 3 May 2013