Assistant Professor
School of Arts & Sciences
david.lutz@colby-sawyer.edu
Dr. Lutz joined the faculty in 2023 after six years as a research assistant professor at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Wake Forest University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia. Dr. Lutz has focused his research on the use of satellite imagery, computer models and sensor networks to understand forest ecosystems and environmental change. He has led numerous grants investigating regions throughout temperate, tropical and boreal forests around the world.
Dr. Lutz teaches courses in Environmental Science, GIS and Remote Sensing, and Environmental Chemistry. His research has been funded by NASA, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the National Science Foundation, and several foundations. Dr. Lutz has served as a peer reviewer for over 20 scientific journals as well as being an institutional award panelist for NASA’s Terrestrial Ecology, Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry, and Land Cover Land Use Change Programs. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed manuscripts including in the journals Nature and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Lutz enjoys going on walks and hikes with his wife, Kate, and their two dogs, Waffle and Tugboat. He is an avid gardener, basketball official, and has seen over 50 Phish concerts.
*Represents work performed as an undergraduate