Specialization:
Ecology and Hydrology of Drylands, Distributed Environmental Sensing & Sensor Development, Sub-Saharan Agriculture, Coupled Social-Environmental Systems
Education:
- Ph.D., Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
- B.A., Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
Bio:
Kelly Caylor is the director of the UCSB Environmental Research Institute and holds joint appointments at the Bren School and the Department of Geography. In his research, Professor Caylor seeks to develop improved insight into the way that land use and climate change are interacting to affect the dynamics and resilience of global drylands. His primary research sites are in sub-Saharan Africa, where he is focused on understanding the vulnerability of pastoral and subsistence agricultural communities to current and future changes in hydrological dynamics. Professor Caylor conducts research at a number of spatial and temporal scales; from small-scale experiments during individual rainfall events all the way up to continental-scale analyses of climate trends. A major focus of his research is the development of new methods to improve the measurement and prediction of ecosystem water-use efficiency and novel observation networks for characterization of coupled natural-human system dynamics. Professor Caylor has served on the editorial board of Water Resources Research; the Journal of Gophysical Research — Biogeosciences; Vadose Zone Journal, and Environmental Research Reviews, Environmental Research Letters. He was a recipient of an Early Career Award from the NSF, and was the inaugural recipient of the Early Career Award in Hydrological Sciences given by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).