Biography
Adam Mathews is a broadly trained geographer who focuses his research on three-dimensional remote sensing and environmental modeling using drone-based Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry and lidar. He is also interested in improving GIScience instruction by conducting education research at the K-12 and university levels. Recent funded projects have examined and quantified change across large urban environments using multisource, multiscale and multitemporal remotely sensed data fusion (e.g., lidar, imagery, synthetic aperture radar) and analysis.
Experience
- Professor, Binghamton University, 2026-present
- Associate Professor, Binghamton University, 2023-2026
- Fulbright Scholar/Fellow, University of Galway (Ireland), 2025
- Associate Professor, Western Michigan University, 2020-2023
- Assistant Professor, Western Michigan University, 2018-2020
- Assistant Professor, Oklahoma State University, 2014-2018
- Visiting Scholar, Charles Sturt University (Australia), 2013
Funding sources
- NASA Land Cover/Land Use Change Program
- U.S. Department of Education
- American Geophysical Union
- Michigan Space Grant Consortium
- Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department
- Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium
Selected publications
- Vailakis, P.G., T.J. Pingel, D. Horvath, A.J. Mathews, and M. Blumler. 2026. Remote Sensing Applications for Assessment of White-tailed Deer Overabundance in Forested Ecosystems. Remote Sensing 18(5): 690. doi:10.3390/rs18050690.
- Ishrak, M.F., A.J. Mathews, J.L. Newberry, and W. Yu. 2026. Urban Land Use Efficiency in the United States: Assessing UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Geographies 6(1): 21. doi:10.3390/geographies6010021.
- Bloom, C., L. DeChano-Cook, and A.J. Mathews. 2025. "Using Geospatial Tools to Enhance Students’ Learning about Geography and Landscapes." The Geography Teacher 22(2): 69-73. doi:10.1080/19338341.2025.2475949.
- Morgan, G.R., and A.J. Mathews. 2025. "Drones in geography higher education curriculum: Where are we?" The Professional Geographer 77(3): 217-228. doi:10.1080/00330124.2025.2460994.
- DeChano-Cook, L., C. Bloom, and A.J. Mathews. 2025. "Hands-On Geography Activities Leading to Community-based Learning." In: Experiential Learning in Geography: The World as Our Classroom (ed. J.E. Wessell), p. 3-15, New York: Springer, ISBN: 978-3031825743. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-82575-0_1.
- Bennett, M.M., C.J. Gleason, B. Tellman, L.F. Alvarez Leon, H.K. Friedrich, U. Ovienmhada, and A.J. Mathews. 2024. "Bringing satellites down to Earth: Six steps to more ethical remote sensing." Global Environmental Change Advances 2: 100003. doi: 10.1016/j.gecadv.2023.100003
- Mathews, A.J., L. DeChano-Cook, and C. Bloom. 2023. "Enhancing middle school learning about geography and topographic maps using hands-on play and geospatial technologies." Journal of Geography 122(5): 115-125. doi: 10.1080/00221341.2023.2226156
- Rogers, S., K.K. Singh, A.J. Mathews, and A.R. Cummings. 2022. "Drones and geography: who is using them and why?" The Professional Geographer 74(3): 516-528. doi:10.1080/00330124.2021.2000446
- Mathews, A.J. and S.V. Nghiem. 2021. "Examining urban built-up volume: three-dimensional analyses with lidar and radar data." In: Urban Remote Sensing: Monitoring, Synthesis and Modeling (2nd Edition) (ed. X. Yang), Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN: 978-1119625841. doi:10.1002/9781119625865.ch2
- Mathews, A.J. 2021. "Structure from motion (SfM) workflow for processing drone imagery." In: Fundamentals of Capturing and Processing Drone Imagery and Data (eds. A.E. Frazier and K.K. Singh), p. 91-102, New York: Taylor and Francis, ISBN: 978-0367245726
Education
- PhD, Texas State University
- MA, Binghamton University (SUNY)
- BS, SUNY Cortland
Research Interests
- Remote sensing
- GIS
- Drones/UAS
- Urban change
Teaching Interests
- Introduction to geospatial technologies
- Remote sensing and GIS
- Quantitative methods
Honors and Awards
- 2024, Honorable Mention for Harpur College Teaching Award, Binghamton University
- 2022, Honorable Mention for ABCs of Geography, Globe Book Award for Public Understanding of Geography, American Association of Geographers
- 2021, Emerging Scholar Award, Office of the Provost, Western Michigan University
- 2016, 1st Place Prize, President’s Cup for Creative Interdisciplinarity, Office of the Provost, Oklahoma State University