Dr. Jonathan Thayn
Professor
Geography-Geology-Environment
Office
Felmley Hall of Science - FHS 200A
Office Phone
Email
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Biography
I grew up in a relatively small coal-mining community in southeastern Utah, halfway between the Book Cliff Mountains and the desert of the San Rafael Swell. My interest in geography first took root as I hiked, explored and camped with my family and friends in the wilderness around my home. Fieldwork continues to be a principal element of my research, which focuses on understanding landscape-scale ecosystems, their response to perturbation, and their seasonal variations. My primary tools are remote sensing, GIS and statistical spatial analysis.
Current Courses
344Biogeography: Distribution of Life
445Biogeography: Distribution of Life
293Career Preparation in Environmental Systems
287Independent Study - Geography
398Professional Practice: Internship in Environmental Systems
308Statistics for Geographers II
488Statistics For Geologists
287Independent Study - Geography
398Professional Practice: Internship in Environmental Systems
305Remote Sensing
305Remote Sensing
405Remote Sensing
405Remote Sensing
238Statistics for Geographers I
Teaching Interests & Areas
I am a proponent of research-based learning. My remote sensing and biogeography courses are built around research projects. Students typically complete the bulk of the project during the semester with the goal of submitting the completed work to scientific peer-review. This holds students’ attention, introduces them to research and the value of the material discussed in class, and introduces a sense of authenticity to coursework. Smaller research projects are used in my geography of Latin America course.
Research Interests & Areas
Most of my work focuses on characterizing and modeling landscape-scale ecosystem function and response to perturbation using time-series' of satellite imagery. I am particularly interested in applications associated with agriculture, grassland and forest ecosystems, and archaeology. Much of my work is done in the Great Plains region of the United States and in Latin America.
Other
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR)
La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Other Remote Pilot Certification
Parkland College
Champaign, Illinois
Ph D Geography
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Other Geography
University of Texas at Dallas
Dallas, Texas
MA Public Administration
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah
BS Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Cartography
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah
AA Spanish
College of Eastern Utah
Price, Utah
Douglas Clay Ridgley Endowed Fellow
Illinois State University
2018
Kenneth A. and Mary Ann Shaw Teaching Fellowship
College of Arts and Sciences, Illinois State University
2017
Outstanding Scholarly Achievement Pre-Tenure
College of Arts and Sciences
2014
Research Initiative Award
Illinois State University
2014
Douglas Clay Ridgley Endowed Fellow
Illinois State University
2013
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
Robert N. Colwell Memorial Fellowship
2008
Eugene Dehner Award
Kansas Academy of Science
2008
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
Ta Liang Memorial Award
2007
Francis E. "Gene" Lortz Memorial Award
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
2006
Book, Chapter
Thayn, J. B., K.P. Price, and W.I. Woods. (2008) Locating Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE) using satellite remote sensing – a possible approach. In W. I. Woods, W. G. Teixeira, J. Lehmann, C. Steiner, A. WinklerPrins & L. Rebellato (Eds.), Amazonain Dark Earths: Wim Sombroek's Vision. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Encyclopedia
Thayn, J.B. (in review). Eigenvector Spatial Filtering and Spatial Autocorrelation, an entry in the Encyclopedia of GIS, 2nd Edition. Edited by S. Shekhar and H. Xiong.
Journal Article
Thayn, J.B. A. Paque, and M. Maher. (2021) Detecting Geo-Positional Bias in Imagery Collected using Small UASs. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. 87(9)
Thayn, J.B. (2020) Detecting Narrow Mangrove Stands in Baja California Sur, Mexico using Linear Spectral Unmixing and LandSat 8 Data. Marine Geodesy. 43(5) 493-508.
Thayn, J.B., C. Ballard, E. Eichholzer, J. Richard, J. Hawks, and M. Genard. (2018) Predicting gypsy moth population size in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park using a satellite disturbance index. Geographic Bulletin. 59 116-127.
Thayn, J.B, K. Sampeck, and M. Spaccapaniccia. (2016) Refining Hernando de Soto’s route using Electric Circuit Theory and CircuitScape. Professional Geographer. 68(4) 595-602.
Buss, K., and J.B. Thayn. (in press) Monitoring fire recovery in a tallgrass prairie using a weighted disturbance index. GIScience and Remote Sensing. 52(5) 527-542
Thayn, J.B. (2013) Using a remotely sensed optimized Disturbance Index to detect insect defoliation in the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin, USA. Remote Sensing of Environment, 136:210-217.
Thayn, J.B., and E. Legerski. (2013) The affects of spatial patterns of neighborhood risk factors on adverse birth outcomes. Social Science Journal. 50(4) 635-645.
Thayn, J.B., and J. Simanis. (2013) Accounting for Spatial Autocorrelation in Linear Regression Models using Spatial Filtering with Eigenvectors. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 103(1), 47-66.
Thayn, J.B. (2012) Assessing vegetation cover on the date of satellite-derived start-of-season. Remote Sensing Letters. 3(8), 721-728.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and W.I. Woods. (2011) Locating Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE) using Vegetation Vigour as a Surrogate for Soil Type. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 32(21), 6713-6729.
Thayn, J.B. and K.P. Price. (2008) Julian dates and introduced temporal error in remote sensing vegetation phenology studies. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 29(20), 6045-6049.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and R.B. Boone. (2008) Rangeland biocomplexity and cattle stocking rates in Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 111(3/4), 292-300.
Map/Diagram/Artwork
Historical Archaeology, 3rd Edition. Oser, Charles V. (2017) Pearson Press. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. ISBN: 978-0-205-97213-5.
A Cartography of Chocolate. In The Recipes Project: Food, Magic, Art, Science, and Medicine. Sampeck, Kathryn. (2015). Retrieved from http://recipes.hypotheses.org/6240.
Presentations
Commander, O., Peterson, E. W., O'Reilly, C. M., Thayn, J., Perry, W. L., and Twait, R., Assessment of spatial and temporal variations in chloride concentration in an agricultural tile-drained area in central Illinois, in Proceedings The Geological Society of America Connects 2022, Denver, CO, 2022, Volume 54, Geological Society of America, doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-380813.
Thayn, J.B. (2021) Remote Sensing the Sea of Cortés. Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM) graduate colloquia at Iowa State University. Ames, Iowa. October 15.
*Tilahun, T., Seyoum, W.M., Thyan, Jonathan, 2019 “Mapping Subsurface Tile Drainage Systems in Agricultural Fields Using Unmanned Vehicle System (UAS)-based Radiometric and Thermal and Opitcal Sensors” American Geophysical Union, Annual Conference, San Franscio, CA.
Paque, A., J.B. Thayn, L., Gallagher, and M. Maher. (2019). Assessing the Accuracy of Drones and GPS Devices. Illinois GIS Association (ILGISA) Annual Conference. Normal, Illinois. October 21-22.
Thayn, J.B. (2019) Environmental Research in Latin America. An invited presentation to the Peace Corps recruitment group at Illinois State University. Normal, Illinois. February 26.
Thayn, J.B. (2019) Invigorating Learning with Genuine Research Experiences. An invited keynote presentation at the Geography Education in the 21st Century Conference at ISU. Normal, Illinois. November 2.
Gómez-Gutiérrez J.G., C.J. Robinson-Mendoza, I. Ambriz-Arreola, J.B. Thayn. (2018) Efecto del Calentamiento del Mar y las Disminución de la Clorofila Detectados por Satélite en la Biomasa y Abundancia del Zooplancton en el Golfo de California. Seminario del Departamento de Zooplancton, Centro Interdisciplinaria de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR), La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico, February 14. (Spanish).
Piske, J.T., F.C. Harris, M.M. Rutte, N.A. Sheffield, E.W. Peterson, and J.B. Thayn. (2018) Correlation of Crop Cover and Nitrate in Two Agricultural Watersheds, a Preliminary Investigation. 52nd Annual North-Central GSA Section Meeting. Ames, Iowa. April 6. 10.1130.abs.2018NC-311587.
Thayn, J.B. (2018) The Environmental Geography of Baja California Sur. Illinois State University Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment Colloquia Series. Normal, Illinois. October 26.
Thayn, J.B., J.G. Gómez-Gutiérrez, A. Martínez-López, and C.J. Robinson. (2018) ¿La estimaciones tele-detectadas de concentración de clorofila-a superficial son representativa de la biomasa en el pico de máximo? Seminario Departamental de Plancton y Ecología Marina. Instituto Politécnico Nacional Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR), La Paz, BCS, Mexico. 2 May. (Spanish).
Thayn, J.B., S. Ashcraft, and K. Sampeck. (2017) Networks of rock art: A network analysis of petroglyphs sites in Tennessee and North Carolina. 7th Annual Cherokee Archaeology Symposium. Cherokee, North Carolina. September 7-8.
Hund, A. M., M. Jadallah, J. Thayn, J.G. Studebaker, Z. Roman ◦, D. Schloesser, K. Gupta ◦, and C. Lindstrom. (2016). Using Geographical Information Systems to Improve Elementary Student Social Studies Knowledge and Higher-Level Reasoning. Illinois State University Research Symposium. Normal, Illinois. April.
Jadallah, M., A.M. Hund, J. Thayn, J.G. Studebaker, Z. Roman ◦, D. Schloesser ◦, K. Gupta ◦, C. Lindstrom ●, and N. Landa ●. (2016). Digital Mapping Technology in Elementary Grades: Effects on Spatial Abilities, Map Skills, Interest and Motivation. Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) PI meeting, Washington, D. C. June.
Thayn, J.B. (2016) How Important is Your Major? Illinois State University Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT) Summer Showcase. Normal, Illinois. August 4.
Thayn, J.B. (2016) Invaders, Conquistadores, and Lost Civilizations: The Broad Utility of GIS.
Invited presentation. Utah Valley University, Department of Earth Sciences. February 25.
Invited presentation. Utah Valley University, Department of Earth Sciences. February 25.
Thayn, J.B. (2016) Prehistoric Connections in Northern Bolivia. Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. San Francisco, California, March 29.
Thayn, J.B. (2016) Prehistoric Networks in Northern Bolivia. University Club, Illinois State University. Normal, Illinois, February 5.
Thayn, J.B. (2016) Tracking Hernando de Soto with Electric Currents. Illinois Geographic
Information Systems Alliance (ILGISA) Annual Meeting. Normal, Illinois, February 22.
Information Systems Alliance (ILGISA) Annual Meeting. Normal, Illinois, February 22.
Compton, J., R. Lucas, C. Acker, and J.B. Thayn. (2015) Prehistoric Connections in Northern Bolivia. Illinois Geographical Society Annual Meeting. Normal, Illinois, May 2.
Hund, A. M., M. Jadallah, J. Thayn, J.G. Studebaker, and Z. Roman. (2015). Using Geographic Information Systems to improve elementary students’ geography knowledge and spatial
skills. The Cognitive Development Society pre-conference on The Developmental of Spatial Thinking, Columbus, OH. September.
skills. The Cognitive Development Society pre-conference on The Developmental of Spatial Thinking, Columbus, OH. September.
Hutmacher, L., B. Di Cristofano, C. Lindstrom, A.M. Hund, M. Jadallah, and J. Thayn. (2015) Using Geographical Information Systems to Improve Elementary Student Learning and Motivation in Social Studies . Illinois State University Student Research Symposium. April.
Jadallah, M., A.M. Hund, J. Thayn, and J.G. Studebaker. (2015). The Impact Of Geographic Information Systems On Elementary Grade Students’ Spatial Reasoning . Annual meeting of the National Council for Geographic Education, Washington, D. C. August.
Jadallah, M., T. Lin, A.M. Hund, J. Thayn, J.G. Studebaker, and S. Mullins. (2015) Digital Mapping Technology in Elementary Grades: Effects on Spatial Reasoning and Higher-Level Thinking Processes. National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Chicago, Illinois. April.
Roman, Z., J.G. Studebaker, A.M. Hund, M. Jadallah, J. Thayn, K. Guptav, and D. Schloesser. (2015). Measuring spatial thinking: Is there a reliable and valid measure? Integrating
Cognitive Science with Innovative Teaching in STEM Disciplines: Spatial Learning in STEM conference, Evanston, IL. September.
Cognitive Science with Innovative Teaching in STEM Disciplines: Spatial Learning in STEM conference, Evanston, IL. September.
Thayn, J. B. (2015) Mapping Forest Disturbance using the Spectral Distance to Healthy Forest. Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. Chicago, Illinois, April 24.
Sampeck, K. and J.B. Thayn. (2014) Mapping Colonial Recipes: Tastes for Chocolate and the Project of Colonialism. 2014 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Ethnohistory. Indianapolis, Indiana, October 10.
Studebaker, J. G., S. Mullins, M. Jadallah, A.M. Hund, J. Thayn. (2014). Promoting Students' Spatial Thinking in Upper Elementary Grades using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). DR K-12 PI Meeting held by the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education and the National Science Foundation, Washington, D. C.
Thayn, J.B., K. Sampeck, and H. Earnst. (2014) Tracking Hernando de Soto using the Space Shuttle. Cherokee Archaeology Symposium. Cherokee, North Carolina, September 25-26.
Lemke, M., K. Kirkham, J. Walk, D. Kovasic, J.B. Thayn, K. Bohnhoff, J. Kraft, S. Friedman, T. Noto, K. Chapman, J. Evers, and R. Twait. (2013) Steps toward evaluating the effectiveness of constructed wetlands and adaptive nutrient management practices for improving water quality in money creek watershed, a tile-drained subwatershed of the Mackinaw River, Illinois. Illinois Lake Management Association Annual Meeting, Bloomington, Illinois, April 4-6.
Salazar, J. and J.B. Thayn. (2013) Where Crimes Happen: Mapping Crime in Bloomington, IL. ISU Undergraduate Research Symposium. Normal, Illinois, April 19.
Browne, L., M. Jadallah, and J.B. Thayn. (2012) Are my students learning what I think I’m teaching? A panel discussion on course portfolios. Illinois State University Teaching and Learning Symposium, Normal, Illinois, January 11.
Campbell, M., T. Deloria, and J.B. Thayn. (2012) Mapping effective drained and undrained agricultural fields. Illinois GIS Alliance (ILGISA) Spring Conference, Champaign, Illinois, April 17.
Price, K.P., D. Burchfield, J. Bryant, J.B. Thayn, F. Yu, M.E. Ramspott, D.W. Voisey, J.H. Kastens, and L.C. Johnson. (2012) Cover and biomass of red cedar in Eastern Kansas and Amur Honeysuckle, Kansas Forest Service Annual Meeting, Manhattan, Kansas, December 11. (Invited speaker).
Thayn, J.B., M. Campbell, and T. Deloriea. (2012) Mapping Tile-Drained Agricultural Lands Using Satellite Imagery. Oral report given at Mackinaw River Drinking Watersheds Summer Partners Meeting, Bloomington, Illinois, July 24.
Thayn, J.B., (2011) Assessing remote sensing techniques for measuring vegetation phenology. ASPRS Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 3.
Thayn, J.B., (2011). Exams as learning tools, not just assessment tools. Illinois State University Teaching and Learning Symposium. Normal, Illinois, January 5.
Thayn, J.B., T. Campbell, and T. Deloriea. (2011) Mapping Drainage Tiles: Progress Thus Far. Oral report and presentation given to The Targeting and Monitoring Workgroup, composed of representative from the Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy, The City of Bloomington, The University of Illinois, Illinois State University, McLean County GIS Consortium, McLean County NRCS, and the Illinois State Water Survey. Bloomington, Illinois. June 16.
Thayn, J.B., T. Ford, and C. Erickson. (2011) Locating pre-columbian settlement sites and ring ditches in Beni, Bolivia. AAG Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, April 15.
Ford, T., and J.B. Thayn. (2010) Cloud removal from a sparse time series of ASTER imagery. Poster Presentation, AAG West Lakes Division Annual Meeting. Macomb, Illinois, October 21-23.
Thayn, J.B. (2010) Mapping the amplitude of seasonal floods on the Amazon River. AAG Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 16.
Legerski, E.M., and J.B. Thayn. (2009) Mapping socio-environmental inequalities in birth outcomes: An inter-disciplinary analysis of neighborhoods and health. Poster Presentation, University of Kansas Graduate Research Competition. Lawrence, Kansas, February 23.
Thayn, J.B. and E.M. Legerski. (2009) Accounting for spatial autocorrelation in racial and socio-environmental inequalities affecting birth outcomes. AAG Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 24.
Thayn, J.B., (2009) Spatial autocorrelation. GIS Day @ ISU, Normal, Illinois, November 18.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and W.I. Woods. (2008) Mapping the Amazon River floodplain using harmonic analysis and MODIS data. ASPRS Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, April 28–May 2.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and W.I. Woods. (2008) Mapping the Amazon River floodplain using harmonic analysis and MODIS data. Kansas Academy of Science 2008 Annual Meeting, Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas, March 28-29.
Price, K.P., J.B. Thayn, F. Yu, M.E. Ramspott, D.W. Voisey, J.H. Kastens, and L.C. Johnson. (2007) Estimating cover of Red Cedar and modeling its invasion patterns in a central great plains tallgrass ecosystem. AAG Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 17.
Thayn, J.B., (2007) Onset of greenness; Assessing the impact of julian date of the composite pixel. Kansas Remote Sensing Symposium. Fort Hayes, KS, April 6-7.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and W.I. Woods. (2007) Classifying amazonian vegetation based on seasonal variation using MODIS imagery and time-series analysis. AAG Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 20.
Thayn, J.B., W.I. Woods, and K.P. Price. (2007) Localização das Terras Pretas de Índio usando Sensoriamento Remoto Satélital. (Portuguese). Seminário Terras Pretas de Índio, Manaus, Brazil, July 19-20.
Thayn, J. B., K.P. Price, and R.B. Boone. (2006) Estimating red cedar invasion rates using Landsat and linear spectral unmixture Modeling. AAG Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 11.
Thayn, J. B., K.P. Price, and W.I. Woods. (2006) Amazonian Dark Earths. Center of Latin American Studies Merienda, Lawrence, KS, October 19.
Price, K.P., F. Yu, J. Kastens, M.E. Ramspott, J.B. Thayn, and M. Houts. (2005) Investigating the potential of remotely sensed data and spectral mixing models for mapping Juniper and estimating its cover. Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meetings, Denver, CO, April 5-9.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and R.B. Boone. (2005) Examining relationships between landscape biocomplexity and cattle stocking rates on the rangelands of Kansas. Sigma Xi (Chapter 004) Student Research Paper Competition, Lawrence KS, March 8.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and R.B. Boone. (2005) Rangeland biocomplexity and cattle stocking rates in Kansas. PECORA 16 Symposium “Global Priorities in Land Remote Sensing”, Sioux Falls, SD, October 23-17.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and R.B. Boone. (2005) Rangeland fragmentation and cattle stocking rates in Kansas. Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meetings, Denver CO, April 5-9.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and R.B. Boone. (2005) Using land cover pattern metrics to predict cattle stocking rates in Kansas. University of Kansas Geography Department Colloquium Talk, Lawrence KS, March 17.
Thayn, J.B., D.W. Voisey, and K.P. Price. (2004) Using ArcMap and high resolution imagery to assess the accuracy of linear unmixture analysis results. University of Kansas GIS Day, Lawrence KS, November 17.
Thayn, J.B., K.P. Price, and R.B. Boone. (2004) The effects of ecosystem fragmentation on consumer productivity in Kansas. University of Kansas GIS Day, Lawrence KS, November 17.
Grants & Contracts
Mapping and Spatial Analysis of Rural Broadband Access and Quality to Develop a Roadmap for Smart Farming in Illinois. Illinios Innovation Network. State. (2021)
International Travel Grant. CAS. Illinois State University. (2015)
Cherokee Towns at the Time of Spanish Contact: Discovering the Genesis of the Overhill Cherokees. Cherokee Preservation Foundation. Other. (2013)
Modeling the Spread of Invasive Insects using Circular Probabilities: A Case Study - Gypsy Moths in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. NSF Geography and Spatial Sciences. Federal. (2013)
Promoting Students' Spatial Thinking in Upper Elementary Grades using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). NSF DRK-12. Federal. (2013)
2017-06-08T13:05:11.458-05:00
2017