Dr. Wei GaoDirector of USDA UV-B Monitoring Research Program and Center of Remote Sensing and Modeling for Agriculture Sustainability
Phone: 970 491-3609
Email: wei.gao@colostate.edu
Director of the USDA UV-B Monitoring Research Program and Center of Remote Sensing and Modeling for Agriculture Sustainability. Manager of a network of instruments with over ten years of data. Also a Senior Research Scientist studying the impact of UV radiation on agriculture.
Research Interests
- UV radiation and the effects on agriculture and ecosystems along with other climate stress factors
- Remote Sensing application in ecosystems
- Regional climate/ecosystems modeling
- Impacts of climate change on agriculture
- Total ozone interactions with other atmospheric parameters
Education
PhD. Applied Meteorology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, In. 1997
M.S. Computer Information System, Regis University, Denver, Co. 2004
M.S. Agro-Micrometeorology and Modeling, Mississippi State University, , Ms. 1992
B.A. English, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China, 1987
B.S. Applied Meteorology, Nanjing Institute of Meteorology, Nanjing, China, 1982
Professional Affiliations
- International Opticval Engineering Society(SPIE)
- American Society of Agronomy(ASA)
- American Meterological Society(AMS)
Dr. John DavisResearch Scientist, UV climatology, radiative transfer modeling, and UV measurement applications
Phone: 970 491-3613
Email: john.davis@colostate.edu
Primary responsibility is to develop new algorithms and tailoring UVMRP products to specialized stakeholder needs.
Research Interests
- Modeling and measurement of solar and infrared radiation
- Optical properties of clouds and their potential role in any climate change scenario
- UV portion of the solar spectrum
Dr. Zhiqiang GaoResearch Scientist, remote sensing applications
Phone: 970 491-3606
Email: zhiqiang.gao@colostate.edu
Primary responsibility is to provide spatial and interpolative analysis on UVMRP UV-B data. Also responsible for the design of ecosystem models and simulations as well as coupling the UVMRP UV-B ground data, TOMS remote sensing, and GOME MODIS remote sensing data.
Research Interests
- Remote sensing applications and geographical information system(GIS)
- Eco-model design and applications
- Land use and land cover
- Retrieved land surface flux parameters from remote sensing data(MODIS/ETM/TM)
Education
PhD. Cartography and Geographical Information System, Institute of Remote Sensing Applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, 1998
M.S. Cartography and Remote Sensing, Xingiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, 1993
B.S. Natural Geography, Shandong Normal University, China, 1989
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. James R. Slusser- Retired
Email: jamesrobertslusser@gmail.com
Dr. Slusser earned his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1994. He joined the UVMRP in April 1996 as a Research Scientist, after serving as a Research Associate at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Lauder, New Zealand and at the Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Cambridge, England. Jim became Director of the UVMRP in 1999 following the retirement of Dr. Jim Gibson, and in 2002 was promoted to Senior Research Scientist. He retired in 2008.
Rita DeikeOffice Manager
Phone: 970 491-3600
Email: rita.deike@colostate.edu
Primary responsibility is to provide project accounting and budget interface with project subcontractors and the University. Assists with USDA, CSREES, and CRIS reporting protocols. Assists with the management of a large number of UV-B site files, annual site contracts, subcontracts, and travel for field technicians. Assists in the management and responsibilities of an off-campus administrative unit.
Areas of Interest
- Budgets
- Grant writing
- Networking

George Janson
Research Associate, site operations, instrumentation calibration, and project management
Phone: 970 491-3621
Email: george.janson@colostate.edu
Primary responsibility is to maintain data retrieval rate of better than 95% for all sites in the monitoring network. This is accomplished with an annual visit to each site and by maintaining close cooperation with all site operators throughout the year. Secondary responsibilities are the in-house expertise for repair and preventative maintenance of primary instruments (UV-MFRSR, UVB-1, vis-MFRSR), and the continual evaluation of field performance of each instrument so as to detect problems as quickly as possible, and then get those problems corrected in a timely manner.
Areas of Interest
- Instrumentation
- Calibration
Education
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. 1975
A.S. Math/Science, Columbia-Green Community College, Hudson, N.Y. 1973
Curriculum Vitae

Bill Durham - Retired
Email: bill.durham@colostate.edu
Bill was with our program for 16 years. For many operators he was the face and voice of the network, catching and fixing network problems quickly. After working for the US Naval Observatory in Flagstaff as well as New Zealand, Bill applied to the USDA UV Radiation Network and became our first employee. He made many trips around the country in those early few years meeting with numerous researchers, many of whom ultimately became the nexus of the current UVMRP network. Now he will be spending time traveling with his wife to parts unknown.
![]() |
Roger Tree
Research Associate, instrumentation applications and special studies Phone: 970 491-3622 Email: roger.tree@colostate.edu |
Becky OlsonResearch Associate, programming, web page and database administration
Phone: 970 491-3620
Email: elizabeth.olson@colostate.edu
Primary responsibility is to design and program our web page, design, program and maintain our database as well as some scientific programming.
Areas of Interest
- Java programming language
- Web design and programming
- Database Administration
- Object oriented languages
- Scientific algorithms
Education
M.S. Applied Mathematics, St. Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri
B.S. Mathematics Education, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
Curriculum Vitae
Scott JanssenResearch Associate, computer system administration
Phone: 970 491-3607
Email: scott.janssen@colostate.edu
Primary responsibility is to monitor and manage the computer systems used by the UV-B Monitoring and Research Program staff. Maintain a variety of systems including 6 versions of Windows and 4 version Linux machines. Implement campus wide monitoring operations as needed. Assist the program staff with any problems related to their home and work computers, fax machines and printers. Ensure uptime and data availability of our remote stations as well as our internal machines. Evaluation and configuration of small, field deployed computers to help in the migration of our monitoring network to internet connected stations. Data backup and off-site storage of program data to protect from catastrophic failure.
Certifications
- Microsoft MCSE Windows 2003
- Microsoft MCSA Windows 2003
- Microsoft MCSE Windows 2000
- Microsoft MCSE Windows NT 4
![]() |
Yansong Bao
Post Doc, remote sensing applications Phone: 970 491-3606 Email: yanson.bao@colostate.edu |
Maosi ChenPhD Student, remote sensing applications
Phone: 970 491-3606
Email: maosi.chen@colostate.edu
- Infrastructure of crop models and regional climate models
- UV radiation impact on crops
- Remote Sensing application in agriculture
Education
- M.S. Cartography and Geographical Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing, China, 2009
- B.S. Information Management & Information System, China Agricultral University, Beijing, China, 2006

Bill Smith
Email: bill.smith@ntsg.umt.edu
Bill Smith (Dr. Wei Gao, advisor) graduated summer 2008 with a Master's Degree in Ecology awarded by the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at Colorado State University. The title of his thesis was Ultraviolet-B Radiation: Impacts on Litter Decomposition Under Different Precipitation Regimes and Biotics. He is now working in Dr. Steve Running's Lab at the University of Montana, Mis- soula where he will be involved in regional to global scale modeling of future climate change scenarios.
![]() |
Chelsea Corr Graduate Student, Atmospheric Science Department, atmospheric modeling Phone: 970 491-7484 Email: ccorr@gust.sr.unh.edu |



