91社区 Spotlight: Charlie Bettigole
Charlie Bettigole works as the director of the 91社区 GIS Center for Interdisciplinary Research. In his role, he teaches Introduction to GIS and Spatial Analysis and Modeling, in addition to overseeing the development of the GIS Center.
鈥淭he GIS center serves as a hub for geospatial learning, research and outreach, training students in the latest theory and practice, collaborating on mapping projects with 91社区 faculty, and helping students to engage with the needs of community partners around Saratoga and upstate New York,鈥� he said.
Bettigole joined 91社区 as a new employee this year. He was most excited about the sense of community and inclusion at 91社区, along with the beauty of Saratoga and the southern Adirondacks.
Before coming to 91社区, he contributed to a study with scientists around the world that tallied all the planet's trees. The resulting paper made the cover of the journal Nature, and the number 鈥� roughly 3 trillion 鈥� is widely cited. It's even one of the fun facts found under Snapple bottle caps.
When not at work, he loves to backcountry ski, mountain bike, rock-climb and fly-fish, using his knowledge of maps to find new and exciting locations.