Ross provides strategic direction and oversight for the Center’s programs and initiatives in research and academics. He works across disciplinary boundaries to develop innovative analytics for scenario-based modeling and visualization of alternative futures. Ross is a Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Professor and faculty member in the College of Natural Resources. In 2019, he was named NC State’s Goodnight Distinguished Professor of Geospatial Analytics. He has been principal investigator of numerous research grants totaling over $15M, including two decades of continuous funding from the National Science Foundation. His projects catalyze the creation of interdisciplinary teams of data scientists––from the natural and social sciences, engineering, and design––who are collaborating on grand societal challenges, such as controlling the spread of infectious disease and creating smart and connected cities. According to Ross, “everything is spatial and location matters in science, society and decision-making.” Ross received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also served as president of the US-International Association of Landscape Ecology from 2016 to 2018.