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I am an Associate Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. Justin co-founded and is faculty-director of TEEMs (The Earth-Economy Modelers), a research center in Applied Economics that links economic and ecosystem models to assess sustainability policies. I work closely with the Natural Capital Alliance at Stanford University and the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) at Purdue University. Justin’s research focuses on how the economy affects the environment, and vice versa, on global to local scales. Currently, Justin leads a project that links the GTAP macroeconomic (computable general equilibrium) model with the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model from the Natural Capital Project, aiming to build strong quantitative evidence on how changes in ecosystem services affect economic performance at the macroeconomic level and how global policies can be designed to sustainably manage our natural capital. Specifically, I connect models of ecosystem services with general equilibrium economic models. To do this, I write open-source software (Python, R and C/C++) that uses big data (mostly from satellites) with economic modeling and machine-learning/AI techniques.

I also am the lead developer of the SEALS model, a land-use change prediction model, incorporating AI/ML techniques able to predict change globally at a fine resolution (10 to 300 meter). SEALS has been connected to multiple models, including GTAP, MAgPIE, GLOBIOM, and other Integrated Assessment models. See my research page for more information and additional projects.

In addition to ecosystem services, I also research food security, climate change, agent-based modeling, AI/machine-learning and agricultural management in developing countries. In my spare time, I am a mountain biker, rock climber and board game designer.