Rate My Professor Aaron Maxwell

Aaron E. Maxwell, PhD, GISP, serves as Associate Professor of Geography in the Department of Geology and Geography at West Virginia University, a position he assumed in August 2024 following promotions from Assistant Professor (2019-2024) and Teaching Assistant Professor (2016-2019). His academic career at WVU began earlier with roles as Geology Teaching Assistant (2008-2010), Remote Sensing Analyst at the Natural Resource Analysis Center (2010-2012), Visiting Scientist there (2013-2014), and Adjunct Professor (2016). Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Natural Science and Adjunct Professor at Alderson Broaddus University (2012-2016). Maxwell holds a PhD and MS in Geology from West Virginia University, and BS degrees in Chemistry, Biology, and Environmental Science (minor in Education) from Alderson Broaddus College.

Maxwell's research specializes in spatial predictive modeling, geohazard mapping, and applications of machine and deep learning in remote sensing and geospatial science. Current projects address deep learning assessment in remote sensing, LiDAR-based forest fuel estimation, slope failure mapping, geomorphic feature extraction, karst mapping, flood resiliency with participatory GIS, and synthetic 3D data generation. In 2021, he received an NSF CAREER Award ($636,785 over five years) to map 60 years of West Virginia landscape changes, build landslide inventories and models, and develop K-12 data science education in R and Python. He authored Supervised Learning in Remote Sensing (Elsevier, 2025) and influential papers including "Land-surface parameters for spatial predictive mapping and modeling" (Earth-Science Reviews, 2022), "Semantic segmentation deep learning for extracting surface mine extents from historic topographic maps" (Remote Sensing, 2020), and "geodl: An R package for geospatial deep learning semantic segmentation using torch and terra" (PLOS ONE, 2024). With over 4,400 ResearchGate citations, his contributions enhance reproducibility, accuracy in remote sensing, and geohazard management in Appalachia. Maxwell is GISP-certified, Faculty Director of the West Virginia GIS Technical Center, and AmericaView Board Director (2025-2028).