Rate My Professor Emily Francis

Emily Francis serves as Assistant Professor of Forest Biometry and Ecology within the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University, part of the Warner College of Natural Resources. As principal investigator of the Francis Lab, her team employs advanced techniques, including satellite and airborne remote sensing integrated with ground-based field data, to investigate rapidly evolving forest disturbance regimes and their interactions with climate change and historical management practices. Francis completed her PhD in Environmental Earth System Science at Stanford University in 2019, following a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University in 2013, where she graduated magna cum laude and received awards such as the Francis LeMoyne Page Award and senior thesis grant. Her academic interests center on biometry—the measurement and analysis of ecosystems—and forest ecology, particularly how disturbances including droughts, insect outbreaks, and wildfires alter forest dynamics. She develops novel statistical and simulation models to fuse disparate data sources, enabling comprehensive assessments of tree growth, mortality rates across species, forest composition, and structural diversity essential for effective management.

Francis has authored or co-authored influential publications that advance ecological research and practical forestry applications. Standout works encompass “Integrating forest structural diversity measurement into ecological research” (2023), “Remote measurement of canopy water content in giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) during drought” (2018), “Quantifying the role of wood density in explaining interspecific variation in growth of tropical trees” (2017), “Elevated mortality rates of large trees allow for increased frequency of intermediate trees” (2023), “Proportion of forest area burned at high-severity increases with increasing forest cover and connectivity in western US watersheds” (2023), and “High-Resolution Mapping of Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) Distributions in Three Californian Forests” (2019). Her scholarship has significantly impacted understandings of carbon storage, wildfire risk, and climate resilience in western U.S. forests, including Rocky Mountain conifers and California redwoods. Recognized with honors such as the Stanford Graduate Fellowship (2015), Stanford McGee and Levorsen Research Grant (2015), Save the Redwoods League Research Grant (2016), Certificate for Outstanding Mentoring (2017), and NEON ESA Early Career Scholar (2019), Francis also commits to teaching that bridges theory and practice through field work, quantitative analysis, and real-world projects. Her position at CSU supports extension efforts addressing regional challenges like wildfires in the upper Rio Grande watershed.