Ryan Baxter

Ryan Baxter is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Geography and the Dutton e-Education Institute within the College of Earth & Mineral Sciences. He teaches courses for the Penn State Online Geospatial Program, which offers Certificate and Master's Degree options in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and also teaches undergraduate GIS courses in the Department of Geography.

Baxter is active in several research projects at Penn State's Institute of Energy & the Environment (IEE) that span two topical areas: geographic information science and the land-use implications of energy production. His GIS-related research interests include spatial databases, online data discovery tools, interactive mapping applications, and cloud-based GIS services. He is the lead developer and system administrator for the Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (PASDA) clearinghouse and the Penn State Data Commons. His energy-related research interests include the spatial modeling of land-use change, quantifying the amount of land available for bioenergy feedstocks, and assessing the suitability and productivity of energy crops, such as switchgrass and winter rye.