Matthew’s current research focuses on climate impacts on marginal communities in the sub-arctic during the Little Ice Age. Since 2011 he has been working on an interdisciplinary field project in the Shetland Islands combining archeology, geology and GIS to analyze the destruction of a farming community, described here. The core analysis for this work was undertaken in academic year 2014-15 when Matthew was appointed as Fulbright Visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh in the Institute for the Advanced Study of the Humanities.
His other research interests include GIS education for undergraduates, and developing models for geospatial technology education in a rural region. This work is a collaborative effort, and involves faculty from all seven UMaine System campuses.
