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
287.006Independent Study - Geography
398.001Professional Practice: Internship in Environmental Systems
305.001Remote Sensing
305.002Remote Sensing
405.001Remote Sensing
405.002Remote Sensing
238.001Statistics for Geographers I
398.001Professional Practice: Internship in Environmental Systems
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
Sampeck, K., & Thayn, J. Translating Tastes: A Cartography of Chocolate Colonialism. Substance and Seduction: Ingested Commodities in Early Modern Mesoamerica. University of Texas Press (2017)
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.
Jadallah, M., Hund, PhD, A., Thayn, J., Studebaker, J., Roman, Z., & Kirby, E. Integrating geospatial technologies in fifth-grade curriculum: Impact on spatial ability and map-analysis skills. Journal of Geography 116.4 (2017): 139--151.
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.
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.
Thayn, J. Various Maps of Civil War Battle Fields. Luvaas, Jay and Nelson, Harold W. (EDs), Guide to the Atlanta Campaign: Rocky Face Ridge to Kennesaw Mountain. University Press of Kansas (2008)
Thayn, J. Map of the Eastern Mediterranean. Purity Lost: Transgressing Boundaries in the Easter Mediterranean, 1000-1400. Johns Hopkins University Press (2006)
Thayn, J. Various Historical Maps of Russia. The Foe Within: Fantasies of Treason and the End of Imperial Russia. Cornell University Press (2006)
Technical Report
Thayn, J., Campbell, M., & Deloriea, T. Mapping Tile-Drained Agricultural Lands. Institute for Geospatial Analysis and Mapping (GEOMAP) at Illinois State University (2011)
Presentations
Assessment of spatial and temporal variations in chloride concentration in an agricultural tile-drained area in central Illinois. Illinois Groundwater Association Spring Meeting. Illinois Groundwater Association. (2023)
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.
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)