Professor
Department: Gianforte School of Computing
University System: Montana State University - Bozeman
Website(s): https://www.cs.montana.edu/richard.sojda/
Professional Summary:
Rick addresses applied research problems by combining interests in wildlife ecology, artificial intelligence, and decision support. He is a Fellow of the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society. Currently, he serves in three capacities: [1] as Branch Chief for Climate and Land Use Change and Decision Support at the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, [2] as co-Science Coordinator for the Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative, and [3] as Science Advisor for Decision Support for the USGS in Climate and Land Use Change. He has conducted research in the development of machine learning methods for detecting birds in Doppler weather radar, in model development for assessing wind energy in relation to migrating cranes and geese, in development and evaluation of multiagent systems for trumpeter swan management, in scenario analysis for climate change, in relating geohydrologic studies to wetland management, and in assessing the ecological effects of oil development on prairie potholes. He collaborates closely with graduate students and is a research faculty member in the Computer Science Department at Montana State University, and also serves in the Computer Science Department at Colorado State University. Previously, Rick served in the National Wildlife Refuge System focusing on various aspects of habitat (wetlands, croplands, grasslands) management, law enforcement, and migratory bird surveys. He began his career as an Extension Specialist for Cornell University.