Claire Armour
Claire hails from the wild west town of Calgary, Alberta, but has been in and out of UBC since 2013 when she started her undergraduate degree in engineering. After completing her Master of Geomatics for Environmental Management (MGEM), she joined the Integrated Remote Sensing Studio (IRSS) as a doctoral student where she researches Predictive Ecosystem Mapping and LiDAR in Southwest BC. Between Claire’s undergrad and master’s, she was living in the mountain town of Canmore, AB where she worked for Parks Canada and a local ski resort called Sunshine Village within Banff National Park.
She enjoys visiting trails with her dog Otto, skiing, and acquiring random knowledge from the internet. Her favourite part of living in Vancouver is the multitude of breweries, restaurants, and coffee shops and she loves to try a beer, or three, while reading a book or trying to beat her own personal record on NYT crosswords.
Sarah Zwiep
Sarah grew up in Port Coquitlam, BC, but now happily calls Vancouver home. In 2023, she obtained her BASc (Hons) in Computing Science with a certificate in GIS from SFU. She has worked as a STEM instructor, research assistant, and geospatial developer and credits all these experiences for helping foster her interest in the intersection of remote sensing and computing.
Sarah is joining the IRSS lab as a Research Scientist with the Mitacs Accelerate program, working with both IRSS and Hatfield Consultants on the ESA’s PEOPLE Ecosystem Restoration project.
When not in front of a computer, Sarah enjoys going on bike tours with friends, reading, making her nephew laugh, and resting.
Joe Meyer
Joe grew up in Evanston Illinois in the States, and moved to Vancouver to study Computer Engineering at UBC, and has one year left in his undergrad. He is interested in how to apply his background in software to remote sensing, and is hoping to learn more about GIS.
If he’s being honest, the main reason he moved to Vancouver is the mountains (even though UBC is pretty cool), and in his free time he can be found backcountry skiing, scrambling, backpacking, or even taking a dip in a freezing alpine lake. He also enjoys a good book and a nice cup of coffee on the occasional rainy day in Vancouver.
Spencer Hardy
Spencer grew up in Portland, Oregon before moving to Vancouver in 2020 to attend UBC where he is currently completing a Bachelor’s of Science in Natural Resource Conservation. Prior to working in the IRSS, he worked as a forest technician in Pemberton, British Columbia. He’s passionate about flying his drone and has recently developed a keen interest in GIS, fascinated by its potential in the world of conservation. Eager to contribute, he’s excited to help advance ongoing projects in the lab.