Non-Tenure Track Faculty Research Excellence Awards 2023

Dehai Zhao, senior research scientist at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, is among the top quantitative forest scientists in the world. A leader in forest biometrics, he focuses primarily on issues of tree growth and yield in intensive southern pine plantations. But his work covers a wide range of topics and approaches, including analyzing long-term experiments, assessing foundational biological and silvicultural concepts, and exploring and developing the frontiers of forest biometrics. Zhao has also served as a longtime associate editor for Forest Science, the premier global journal in his discipline. As he moves his research specialist’s discipline forward, he has produced a steady stream of more applied studies to address stakeholder questions and problems, helping improve silvicultural and management practices of southern pine and mixed-species forests. His strong record of externally funded research, scholarly publication and collaborative skills have influenced how millions of acres of forestland are managed.