Jae Ogilvie

Other titles

Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Studies

Academic interests

• LiDAR Based Forest Modeling
• Wet Areas Mapping
• GIS Analysis

Brief biography

Jae Ogilvie started out his academic career in Computer Engineering, but soon realized that was not his calling. He transferred and graduated with his BSc in Forestry and Environmental Management with a minor in computer applications from UNB in 2006, followed by Master of Science in Forestry, in 2017.

As an undergraduate student, Jae worked for J.D. Irving, Limited as a silvicultural surveyor during his undergraduate summer work term and also worked for Dr. Paul Arp as a research assistant during his Honour's Thesis. Jae's combination of computer skills and love of the outdoors led him to becoming a Research Associate and GIS Instructor in the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management in 2009.

While at UNB, Jae has been involved in the instruction of GIS courses to undergraduate students since 2009 and focuses his research efforts on GIS-based landscape process models, including leading development for the Forest Watershed Research Centre's wet areas mapping (WAM) model.

As a research associate, a substantial focus of Jae's work has been on the wet areas mapping initiative with the Government of Alberta. He developed provincially significant LiDAR-based WAM datasets for Alberta, beginning in 2009; which have been widely accepted by government and forest/energy companies to improve environmental outcomes and enhance planning capabilities. This work has led to the research team's nomination for the Alberta Science and Technology (ASTech) award for Outstanding Achievement in Environmental Technology & Innovation and the receipt of the 2013 Emerald Award to the project's funding agency (Alberta Department of Environment & Sustainable Resource Development).

In recent years, Jae has changed roles from research associate to senior instructor teaching professor. While his primary focus has shifted from research to teaching, he continues to foster research relationships.

Jae enjoys spending time with his young family and time permitting, getting out for a walk in the woods.

Courses taught

• GIS with Applications in Forestry I
• GIS with Applications in Forestry II
• Forest Inventory & Growth
• LiDAR with Applications in Forestry & Environmental Management

Selected research

Nijland W., Coops N., Macdonald E., Nielsen S., Bater C., White B., Ogilvie J., & Stadt J. 2015. Remote sensing proxies of productivity and moisture predict forest stand type and recovery rate following experimental harvest. Forest Ecology and Management. 357 (2015), 239-247.

Agren A. M., Lidberg W., Stromgren M., Ogilvie J. & Arp PA. 2014. Evaluating digital terrain indices for soil wetness mapping – a Swedish case study. Hydrology and Earth Systems Sciences, vol 18 (9), 3623-3634.

Jones M-F., Castonguay M., Nasr M., Ogilvie J., Arp PA., Bhatti J. 2014. Modeling hydrothermal regimes and potential impacts of climate change on permafrost within the south Mackenzie plain, Northwest Territories, Canada. Ecoscience vol 21 (1), 21-33.

White B., Ogilvie J., Campbell D., Hiltz D., Gauthier B., Chisholm K., Wen H., Murphy P., & Arp PA. 2012. Using the Cartographic Depth-to-Water Index to Locate Small Streams and Associated Wet Areas across Landscapes. Canadian Water Resources Journal, vol 37(4), 333-347.