Jake develops technology solutions to enable data-driven decisions. As an engineering student in his native state of Pennsylvania, he developed a geospatial web application to help landowners and the public better understand potential impacts of natural gas development—a controversial and complex issue in the region. This project led him to pursue a technology career at the intersection of engineering and geography.

After initially working as an engineering consultant in noisy New York City, he designed and conducted a Fulbright research project to investigate noise pollution in Austria. He worked with soundscape ecologists to develop methods, software, and data to help urban planners improve public health as well as monitor urban biodiversity. This experience contributed to Jake’s belief in the power of multidisciplinary collaboration between academia and industry.

Jake graduated from Lafayette College with a B.S. in civil and environmental engineering and a B.A. in German. He is currently writing his dissertation in geography at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He lives in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania, where he enjoys skiing and hiking with his wife and two daughters.