Rate My Professor John Weishampel

John F. Weishampel, PhD, serves as Interim Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Central Florida. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Duke University and master’s and doctoral degrees in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia. Following his doctoral studies, he was a National Research Council Research Associate in the Biospheric Sciences Branch at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Joining UCF in 1995, Dr. Weishampel has advanced through numerous leadership positions, including seven years as graduate program director, where he spearheaded the creation of the Conservation Biology PhD and certificate programs. From 2015 to 2024, he was Senior Associate Dean and Director of Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Graduate Studies, overseeing new degree program development, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Council of Graduate Studies. Additionally, he served two years as an Intergovernmental Personnel Act Program Officer at the National Science Foundation’s Division of Graduate Education, managing the Research Traineeship and Innovations in Graduate Education programs supporting over 100 institutions and thousands of STEM graduate students.

Dr. Weishampel’s research centers on landscape ecology, investigating how landscape patterns affect ecological processes and biodiversity across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems. He integrates simulation models with remote sensing data from satellite, airborne LiDAR, and GIS technologies to analyze forest canopy structure, sea turtle nesting behaviors influenced by sea surface temperatures, dune vegetation fertilization, and hidden archaeological sites beneath forest canopies. His pioneering applications of LiDAR have mapped ancient Maya landscapes at Caracol, Belize, while coastal studies address sea level rise impacts on nesting sea turtles. Funded by NSF, NASA, NOAA, EPA, USDA, and ED, his contributions include the NSF CAREER award and NASA New Investigator award. He has held Fulbright Distinguished Research Chair at Simon Fraser University, Fulbright Senior Scholar at Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Charles Bullard Fellow at Harvard University, visiting professor at EHESS in Paris, and Fulbright Intercountry Scholar at University of Zaragoza. Dr. Weishampel taught courses in environmental science, ecology, and global change biology, mentoring scores of undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Key publications include “Airborne LiDAR, archaeology, and the ancient Maya landscape at Caracol, Belize” (2011, Journal of Archaeological Science), “Dune vegetation fertilization by nesting sea turtles” (2007, Ecology), and “Earlier nesting by loggerhead sea turtles following sea surface warming” (2004, Global Change Biology).